An Inconvenient Truth: the invisibility of Women in ICT

Abstract

This paper presents research findings from an Australian Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) against a backdrop of declining interest amongst women in courses and careers in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It poses the question of why research conversations around women in ICT are still pedagogically ignored, even after over twenty years of gender research and projects. In reporting the findings of this research project it seeks an understanding of and remedy for the steep decline of interest and uptake of ICT places at tertiary institutions in Australia, particularly amongst young women. In addition to understanding gender differences in educational motivation and performance, and appreciating the challenges posed to ICT education, readers must also be cognisant of the steep decline of interest in careers in ICT in general.