New Intel Report Finds ‘Making’ Can Engage Girls in Computer Science and Engineering, Potentially Reducing Tech Gender Gap
November 13 2014 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Global Report: Community, Mentorship, Parent
Engagement Are Crucial to Girls’ Participation in Making
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
- New Intel-produced report indicates
“making” can increase interest and engagement in computer science
and engineering among girls and women, potentially reducing the
tech gender gap.
- One in 4 U.S. tweens and teens have
made things with technology in the past year, and 7 in 10 would
like to learn to make something with electronics.
- Report reflects Intel’s commitment to
increase access to and interest in computer science and
engineering, especially among girls, women and underrepresented
minorities.
A new global report produced by Intel Corporation indicates that
girls and women involved with “making,” designing and creating
things with electronic tools, may build stronger interest and
skills in computer science and engineering – which could
potentially reduce the growing gender gap in these fields.
With 16 million makers in the United States alone, the maker
movement – a wave of tech-inspired, do-it-yourself innovation – is
extensive and rapidly expanding. Unfortunately, so is the gender
gap in computer science and engineering graduates. Intel’s report,
“MakeHers: Engaging Girls and Women in Technology through Making,
Creating and Inventing,” explores how maker activities can serve as
a gateway to computer science and engineering for girls and women,
and it identifies ways to better engage girls and women in making
in order to increase female representation in these fields.
“Intel believes that making brings ideas to life and spurs
innovation, and we want to ensure that girls and women take part in
this movement,” said Aysegul Ildeniz, vice president of the New
Devices Group and general manager of Strategy and Business
Development at Intel. “This report provides key insights on how to
better engage girls and women in computer science and engineering
and help them access opportunities to invent and create the
future.”
The “MakeHers” report, created in consultation with experts
including the Girl Scouts* and the Maker Education Initiative*,
reflects Intel’s commitment to increase access to and interest in
computer science and engineering, especially among girls, women and
underrepresented minorities.
“With its groundbreaking new report, Intel is demonstrating how
the maker movement has helped turn a generation of tech-savvy girls
– nearly all of whom grew up in the digital age – into the leaders
and entrepreneurs of the economy of tomorrow,” said Anna Maria
Chavez, CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA.
Key global findings1 from Intel’s “MakeHers” report include:
In the U.S., Making Is Already Popular with Tweens and Teens
– Both Girls and Boys
- Girls and boys in the United States are
equally likely to be “tech makers”: 1 in 4 tweens and teens have
made things with technology during the past year, and 7 in 10 would
like to learn to make something with electronics.
Making and Inventing Provides Multiple Entry Points to Engage
and Interest Girls and Women in Computer Science and
Engineering
- Girls and women who make, design and
create things with electronic tools may build stronger interest and
skills in computer science and engineering.
- Female makers come to making through
multiple pathways that include arts, design, crafting and
textiles.
- Making can help girls and women learn
new content and technologies and provide an avenue for them to
engage in scientific and engineering problems that align with their
interests.
Girls and Women Face Constraints to Participating in
Making
- Female and male makers face similar
challenges to making, such as lack of money, information and access
to tools and materials. However, female makers experience
additional challenges:
- 1 in 3 female makers say lack of
mentorship is a challenge.
- 1 in 6 have been excluded from making
because of their gender.
- 1 in 6 face cultural biases about the
appropriateness of women in making.
- 1 in 14 don’t feel safe going to the
places where maker activities are held.
Key Recommendations to Engage Girls and Women in
Making
- Build more girls- and
women-inclusive maker environments in public places, such as
libraries and schools.
- Design makerspaces that enable
open-ended investigation of projects meaningful to girls and
women.
- Develop initiatives that give
girls more access to makers their own age and female mentors.
- Encourage parents to “embrace
the mess” and engage in making with their children.
- Align making activities, such as
coding and making hardware, with current trends and personal
interests to attract girls.
- Include facilitators in
makerspaces to create a safe, supportive and inclusive environment
for girls and women.
The report’s findings were drawn from three online surveys2
conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Intel. Intel also conducted
interviews with leading U.S. experts on STEM, girls and STEM, and
the maker movement, as well as interviews and participant
observation in makerspaces in the United States.
Intel supports the maker movement to encourage innovation and
introduce young makers to computer science and engineering beyond
the traditional classroom setting. In October 2013, Intel announced
a large-scale donation of 50,000 Intel® Galileo development boards
to universities worldwide. Intel is also a founding sponsor of the
Maker Education Initiative along with Maker Media*, Pixar* and
Cognizant*, and its Start Making!* program, which aims to build
creative confidence and excitement with children for STEM
education.
Intel also sponsors several global initiatives focused on
education and women, such as the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network
and the Intel Global Girls and Women Initiative. More information
about the report findings and Intel's work with the maker community
can be found at www.intel.com/newsroom/makers and
on Twitter.
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation.
The company designs and builds the essential technologies that
serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. As a
leader in corporate responsibility and sustainability, Intel also
manufactures the world’s first commercially available
“conflict-free” microprocessors. Additional information about Intel
is available at www.intel.com/newsroom and blogs.intel.com, and
about Intel’s conflict-free efforts at conflictfree.intel.com.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in
the United States and other countries.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of
others.
1Data derived from three online surveys conducted online by
Harris Poll on behalf of Intel. Refer to the methodology statement
near the end of this release for more details.
2Included a survey of 1,213 U.S. youths between 8-18-years-old –
627 girls and 586 boys – conducted from April 14-24, 2014 via
Harris Poll’s Youth Query omnibus project; a survey of 2,051 U.S.
adults aged 18 and up, including 440 parents/legal guardians of
children under the age of 18 who live in their household, conducted
from April 15-17, 2014; and a survey of 963 adult makers in the
United States, China and Mexico comprised of 347 residents of the
United States, including 106 women; 306 residents of China,
including 152 women; and 310 residents of Mexico, including 137
women – conducted from April 10- May 5, 2014. Survey participants
were recruited from a variety of sources, including the Harris Poll
Online Panel, banner ads on websites frequented by those who use
electronic tools to create things, referrals from leaders of
various maker online communities and forums, and subscribers to
MAKE Magazine.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20141113005174/en/
Intel CorporationGail Dundas,
503-816-2382Gail.Dundas@intel.comorNorth of Nine Communications,
for IntelOlivia Campbell, 646-384-2095Olivia.Campbell@nof9.com
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