Women in eLearning: We’re Bringing Women into Tech the Wrong Way

While listening to Belinda Parmar’s DevLearn 2014keynote presentation about helping girls andwomen get more involved in STEM careers, I thought: she’s right, but she’swrong. She’s right that the numbers of girls choosing STEM careers istoo low. She’s right that Silicon Valley is a relatively hostileenvironment for women. However, I believe there are a few things that she andeveryone engaged in this discussion consistently get wrong. Here are fourthings I think we can do to be more inclusive and encourage women to enter andstay in STEM fields.

Clearly define the problem

It’s tough to find a solution to aproblem when we don’t have a clear definition of it.Consider the statement, “We don’t have enough womenin ‘tech.’” What exactly is “tech”and what defines if a woman is in it? One Harvard Business Review studyfrequently cited in articles about women in STEM actually focuses on women incomputing. However, STEM includes all the sciences. Where the United Statesabsolutely has a shortage of women majoring in computer science, we have a glut in biology(60 percent of degrees in biological sciences for women vs. 40 percent formen). Women are also well represented in chemistry, mathematics, and earthsciences. Statistics quoted for the rate of women leaving the tech industry(OMG 42 percent!!!) actually only apply to the IT industry. Don’tget me wrong, I believe we have a problem, but until we present it clearlypeople who don’t believe there is a problem willcontinue to tell us to get over ourselves.

I propose that for The eLearning Guild, we define “tech”as any technology that supports learning. “Women in tech”should include women leading companies that deliver that technology,women who create eLearning (whether they code or use rapid development tools)and women who provide technology consulting. Using those factors, we shouldlook at our statistics and see where we actually stand on this diversity issue.

Look critically at your organization

A spate of articles and twitter campaigns (#questionsformen)recently have highlighted overt and casual sexism in the workplace. JessicaWilliams is a comedian who preemptively turned down the opportunity to replaceJon Stewart on The Daily Show. Awriter subsequently described her as a “victim of imposter syndrome”and failing to “lean in.”Would your organization support a woman who turned down a promotion, orwould it assume that she has no confidence in herself? According to research,this type of sexism is exactly what is running women out of many workplaces—notjust tech.

Does your organization value what women bring to your team, or doyou stand by while they are doing corporate housework?Managers have to assign as equal a value to the act of taking notes as to theact of showing up at an optional meeting. Along with minimizing the bias inyour organization, do you proactively encourage women’s participation bycreating a welcoming culture?

Research shows that most companies do have gender bias issues,ranging from pay gaps to hostile work environments. Observe the behaviors inyour organization and consider the changes needed.

Stop telling people to code

Inevitably, most articles on the problem of girls and women intech include the same coda: learn to code. Not really.

Learning to code is not actually a solution to our problem, as somany organizations and activists posit. Coding is a fantastic way to learn tothink and to solve problems. And it may help get more girls to considercomputer science. However, for our problem and our set of women, learning tocode won’t help much. The solution to keeping women in STEM careersis more complex than having women learn one technical skill. You don’thave to know a line of code to be a woman in tech.

Look critically at yourself

Sheryl Sandberg, author of LeanIn, has been both praised and criticized for her position onwomen at work, but she is undoubtedly right on one thing: Be your authenticself. Bring who you are to the table and make sure that your organizationknows what you have to offer. There’s nothing wrong with creating eLearning#likeagirl. Be a#girlboss ifthat’s you. The women who are interested in STEM careers need tosee women being themselves.

Think about your personal stereotypes about people involved intechnology. Make it your own mission to destroy those stereotypes through yourleadership. Have courage to not stand idly by while casual or overt sexismoccurs around you. If you’re a woman in tech, make sure thatgirls and young women get to meet you. Share your successes and your challenges,and do your part to encourage women to be a part of STEM fields.

Now, let’s get it right.