Here are chronological links to some ACM TechNews articles about "Women and Information Technology" that I found especially amusing.
WARNING: Don't read this all at once. If any of it starts making sense to you, then take a break.

There are "subtle messages girls receive in high school and college that the high-tech field is too difficult for them."

"Members of the Committee on Women in Computing cited the image of computer science as dominated by introverted white males as the main reason for women's growing disinterest in the field."

"A study by the American Association for University Women Educational Foundation found that the traditional routes of interest for young computer users--video games and college computer-science classes--do not interest many young women. Women who do find tech work say they often find themselves the subjects of doubt and derision."

This article states that because of increasing gender inequality in tech industries, women have been leaving companies to start up their own businesses, thus dissuading
other women from entering the industry in the first place. Really. It says that.

"The University of Maryland ... offers a class called 'Cybergrrls and Wired Women' that examines the social and psychological factors that discourage women from entering the high-tech field." I haven't taken the course yet.

Here we learn that "... the image of the IT industry doesn't help attract girls at school level. Many see the sector 'as a world dominated by men and peopled by geeks', declared the study ..."

"Teaching methods that focus on the technical aspects of hardware without focusing on its applications and uses are not effective with female students, the study says."

"Mentoring is a key factor in encouraging women to enter the high-tech field, says Blum, noting that women are often deterred by the stereotype of the male computer geek. Women can help make the IT culture more diverse and improve the way computer projects are handled, says Blum. Hanna agrees ... noting that men often approach a programming task as a competition, while women are more likely to broaden the scope of their research, collaborate with peers, and ask questions."

"Kovac suggests that girls have the same scientific capabilities as boys, but turn away from scientific careers because 'they see it as something somehow inappropriate for who they are and how they want to behave as people.'"

"Sharon Shuster ... says the exclusiveness of tech education alienates and disinterests many girls. She cites the male orientation of computer games, many of which are based on violence, and the relative seclusion of programming classes from other subjects such as music, history, and the various sciences."

"A new survey from GLS Consulting reveals that 41 percent of 265 women surveyed in the IT field are considering leaving their positions because of the stress of balancing their work with their personal life. ... The survey's authors also contend that dissatisfaction with the IT lifestyle likely extends to men as well. ... However, the survey did find that a majority of the women surveyed, 73 percent, find the IT field rewarding for its creative freedom and its opportunity for achievement and satisfaction."

"Columnist Kathleen Melymuka supports the findings of the recent Arthur Andersen study, ... which reveals that the IT field is generally unappealing to girls unless they see how it can be used to improve other fields."

"Professor Debra Myerson, a consultant for the study, believes that tech firms' support of staying long hours to solve problems unfairly punishes those with limited schedules. Usually, women have duties in their personal life that may limit their ability to stay overtime at work."
This is a very common explanation of why there are so many fewer women in IT than in, say, Law, Medicine, and Management.

"IBM has established the Multicultural People in Training (MPIT) project as a way to retain its roster of minority and women workers as the job market for tech workers becomes even more competitive."
Oops, the bubble burst. It's a good thing we weren't more successful at bringing more women into IT. I guess we didn't really need a huge increase in the IT workforce after all.

Under the headline "Survey Highlights Gender Gap on IT Issues" we see that
"However, while 75 percent of men said there is gender equality in the IT industry, only 56 percent of women agreed." The article doesn't tell us what fraction of those people who believe there is gender inequality in the industry believe that the inequality favors women. Certainly the executives who always stress how hard they are trying to hire women must believe this.

"Mars Tech Needs More Women Says IBM Exec" reads the headline. "Perna, general manager of IBM's data management solutions division, told attendees, 'We need each of you to reach one other woman or girl and bring them [sic] along.' She stressed that girls should be encouraged to take math and science courses to relieve the shortage of skilled tech workers in all fields."
I guess no one told Perna about that "competitive job market" which is causing IBM to fire people.

"The number of female students graduating with degrees in computer science fell 28 percent between 1984 and 1998. Universities and their faculty must reverse this trend by attracting both females and educators to this field. One way to go about it is for schools to recommend, through scholarships and academic advice, that female students enter into a graduate school that specializes in computer science. ... There should also be an emphasis on high grades, because most female computing graduates rarely attain degrees on average grades."
I can't make much sense of this, and I find it scary that an organization with the prestige of the ACM found it necessary to tell us about it.

"Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt declared that the British computing industry needs more female IT professionals and fewer techno-geeks."
Women aren't less qualified, they're "differently" qualified in a way that actually makes them better than men. Whenever these articles aren't complaining about male "stereotypes" about women's IT abilities, they're telling us about how special women really are.

"The slump in the tech sector has hit male and female professionals hard, but women seem to be losing more, according to a Catalyst study. ... Women have the added disadvantage of losing online communities, such as Girlgeeks and Women.com, as a result of the downturn."

"Increasing the number of women with technical careers requires changing young women's attitudes toward technical fields during their education, says Cisco's Mike Couzens. In Great Britain, British Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt has announced a project to bolster the female IT workforce by rehabilitating IT's image."
I really don't know what the hell these people are talking about, but isn't there a problem that if we succeed in "rehabilitating IT's image" (whatever that means), we will lose more men than we will gain women, for a net loss (causing an even worse "networking skills shortage" than the one the article complains about)?

"Research indicates that the reticence that women often have toward computing careers begins at an early educational level... Margolis found that technology does not hold the same 'magnetic attraction' for girls as it does for boys. Fisher says that differences in background and objectives between men and women resulted in different approaches to computing. 'The men were motivated primarily by their interest in and enjoyment of technology; the women tended to be motivated by what it was good for, how it could be used to help people,' he notes. Several Silicon Valley organizations are seeking to infuse more women in the computing workforce."

"Despite gains in scientific fields such as medicine and biology, women still lag or are falling even further behind in hard science sectors, such as engineering, computer science, and physics. A recent gathering of the National Council for Research on Women ... found that fewer women go on to establish themselves in hard science academic circles because of an inhospitable and competitive culture. ... Although girls' achievement in high school has equaled that of boys in biology and math, they still fall behind in advanced placement tests for computer science and physics. One of the hindrances for women looking to make the highest levels of academia is the pace of applying for grants and publishing research, which often conflicts with family interests and disconnects them from teaching. Also, because there are more male colleagues in the higher levels of science fields, the social interaction and quality of life for women is not as good, says Stanford University electrical engineering professor Teresa Meng."
Unbelievable! Do these people read what they are writing? Do they think there are no grants or publishing in Biology? No male colleagues in medicine?

"The gains that women have won in the IT industry may have been lost as a result of the downturn in the economy. ... 'It will be a long time before we get back to the point where we were in past years,' says Liz Ryan."
Damn! And things had been going so well!

"There is a noticeable decline in the number of women pursuing careers in science and technology ... Research shows that women are being discouraged from science and technology at a young age. Boys aged 12 through 17 often nurture technical interests that later lead to engineering careers, whereas their female counterparts are drawn toward biology and language that are usually leveraged into medical, law, and artistic career choices."
One explanation given for this truly horrible situation is that "... communities and clubs that serve kids with technical interests are largely male-dominated."

"A decline in the number of Canadian female IT graduates could spell trouble for Canada's tech industry ... Karen Lopez notes that boys are exposed to computer science much earlier in their education than girls, which gives them an advantage in refining their skills by the time they get to a university; she also says that a math and science background is especially important for IT careers. ... One of the keys to arousing interest in women may be demonstrating that IT careers have a social value, according to research from Carnegie Mellon University."
The article implies that boys choose to be exposed to different things than girls, and state that the solution is -- of course -- "mentoring" grade 9 girls who apparently, unlike boys, are too stupid to know what they are interested in.

"Why So Few Women? ... Wright and McKeown argue that a subtle form of job discrimination is taking place, one based on clashing communication styles: Wright says that in the male-dominated computing culture, extroversion and unabashed promotion of one's own accomplishments is a sign of intelligence, whereas the low-key, self-effacing approach that women may use indicates a lack of same. To improve this situation, certain gender markers should be exposed, such as the male perception that success only comes from a singular obsession with computing, a viewpoint that contrasts with women's need to have a balanced home and work life, according to authors Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher."
Another valiant effort to smash stereotypes! The solution, of course, involves not only mentoring women, but explaining to them that computing has "multiple applications".

"For example, female psychology experts could design computer interfaces by understanding human computer interaction; female historians could accelerate the emergence of interactive museums; teachers could ..."
Once again, women are apparently too stupid to understand that computers have applications.

"Jane Margolis ... studied male and female computer science students at Carnegie Mellon University, and her findings indicate that men and women experience computers differently: Boys often feel a 'gravitational pull' toward computers early on, which is fostered by hands-on encouragement, often from their fathers, while girls receive less encouragement. Another discouraging factor Margolis notes is sexism ... Meanwhile, Margolis advocates recruitment policies that give more consideration to students that show a desire to be computer scientists, have high grades, and want to contribute to the community, rather than focus on 'kids that have been hacking away their entire lives'."
A blast from the past! We're back to blaming sexist parents and teachers. If Margolis is advocating giving preference in undergraduate admission to people with high math grades and little computer experience rather than the other way around, I don't think this would be controversial, but then she wouldn't have mentioned that stuff about "contributing to the community." The article also contains numerous examples of how girls must be treated differently from boys because girls need "real world" examples, preferably involving "pleasure" and "communicating". So maybe the sexists are right after all?

"The belief that girls are more inclined to social interaction and that to have an interest in computers makes one a geek is curbing girls' interest in technology, says Eileen Ellsworth ... 'These are stereotypes we need to disabuse girls of by making computers social and interesting to them,' says Ellsworth."

Under the heading "Minority Women Perceive IT as Way to Promised Land" we learn that "IT skills could do more for minority women than allow them to earn higher salaries; ... They could, for instance, enable them to lobby for neighborhood bus stops, take legal action against delinquent landlords, or learn how to file for child support.".

"Earlier research from the foundation demonstrates that women tend to start lagging behind men in their technology education as early as elementary school, mainly because courses are more male-oriented ..."
This is a bad thing, we are told, because women then can't take advantage of all those IT jobs with "family-friendly benefits". Of course, one of the main reasons usually given in these articles for women leaving IT is the lack of family-friendly benefits.

"Many young women do not think they can qualify for a technology career without a heavy emphasis in math and science, but Jeanne Douglas ... argues that other skills, such as communication, can be leveraged into technology-related professions. ... [A] pilot program launched last summer [at Ryerson University] does not feature a heavy math skills requirement."
The article also advocates female-only computer classes so that women can become "more comfortable with the technology". The fact is that creating technology is very different from merely using it. Although old people seem to have difficulty being comfortable with computers and using the internet, young people of both sexes have very little trouble. They use word processing programs to write essays, and they use the internet to plagiarize essays, without any women-friendly classes teaching them how.

"Despite studies indicating that more women than men are going online and assertions from female tech professionals that gender has little to do with their struggle to rise in the industry, IN CONTEXT Managing Partner Marcie Sayiner foresees a shortage of IT women."
The solution is summer programs for girls with the "focus ... on creativity, teamwork, and above all, having fun." The programs feature "an emphasis on safe Web surfing and technology careers" rather than any actual technology.

"ExecProducer CTO Lynne Greer Jolitz notes a profound lack of high-tech female professionals of her 1980s generation, and she attributes this deficit to the dot-com downturn. She observes that many of these women have moved away from technology, been laid off, or are refocusing on technology marketing and sales, which leaves a critical absence of mentors for the younger generation of female tech workers. 'Unlike the aspirations of the older systers for academic recognition, my generation's challenge was to build products and companies from...new technologies,' she writes. 'Perhaps these more applied pursuits left women more vulnerable when the crash hit than if they'd stayed in academia writing papers.' "
Earlier we were told that the dot-com culture was hostile to women, and now we learn that its collapse is as well. I guess we were wrong to push women into "applied pursuits".

"Between 1997 and 2002, female private business owners rose 14 percent to total 6.2 million. National Association for Female Executives President Betty Spence attributes this elevation to women's dissatisfaction in having few opportunities for promotion in male-dominated tech businesses."
It's not just women. Bill Gates is also still seething at the lack of opportunity offered him.

"Alta Associates CEO Joyce Brocaglia thinks women are excellent candidates for information security management because 'They're good at communication, relationship management, team-building and multitasking--all of which are essential traits for executive-level positions.' ... Attendees agreed that there should be no male panelists at next year's forum [on Women in Information Security] --AOL's Patty Edfors remarked that an all-female conference allows women to more deeply discuss their work and related subjects."
It is actually considered respectable for academics and businessmen to talk like this.

"Elizabeth Cannon at the University of Calgary contends that the lack of women pursuing science careers stems from a paucity of exposure to role models and the creative aspects of science."
The solution involves mentors and flexible work hours.

"Soft skills, such as interacting with clients and customers, have been an advantage for women as IT testers."

"Maria Klawe, dean of Princeton University's School of Engineering & Applied Science ..., challenges stereotypical perceptions of mathematicians, not least by being a woman."
She certainly challenges my perceptions. Based on the above articles, I thought that women were good at soft skills such as "communication, relationship management, team-building and multitasking".

"Hughey says that this summer's SURF-IT program will bring in 12 students, 10 of them female. He says the availability of female role models and mentors is critical to recruiting and retaining women in science and engineering, which is why he is attempting to have more freshman- and sophomore-level courses in his department taught by female faculty members. Other initiatives to make engineering studies more amenable to women include the addition of a unit on gender issues to an engineering ethics course that all computer and electrical engineering majors are required to take, and deeply entrenched policies for dealing with sexual harassment and discrimination."
It seems that Professor Hughey should take his own ethics course before he forces other people to do so.

Under the heading "Make Computers More Fun Say Women" we read that "The SIGIS report finds that females no longer regard technology as complex or technical when they are exposed to entertaining offerings such as email and the Web."
If we only work a little bit harder at mentoring girls in communication skills, I predict that they will soon be able to use cell phones.

"Key to luring more women to IT positions is taking a more creative approach to the formation of career paths, and coming up with entry points that are more attractive to women. ... 'I think women do a better job in a lot of the technology management roles because those roles require good communication, mediation and facilitation skills, and lots of women do all of these things all of their lives in their families,' she posits."
Some people have the right to "posit", while others are forced to take courses on "gender issues" and better watch what they say.

"Little attention has been paid to the decline of women pursuing degrees in computer science and engineering. ... Women are discouraged from earning computer science degrees because they feel alienated and too inadequate to effectively compete in a male-dominated field."

" 'The lack of women isn't due to the biological traits of the sexes, and it isn't just because IT is a male domain,' said Penn State professor Eileen Trauth. ... Trauth says some women enjoy interacting with men and prefer to do so. Other women respond to old boys' networks by developing interests that will lead to acceptance, or by creating alternative networks or choosing not to participate. The multiyear study ... included 45 women ... representing a range of racial backgrounds, who were in and not in committed relationships, and had different educational levels. Managers would do well to create more social networking opportunities, and help develop skills for creating social networks. 'Our research is showing that the gender gap in the IT workforce results from the complex interactions of a number of factors that includes what one obtains from a social network--namely, access to information, resources, and opportunities,' Trauth says."
Now I haven't done any studies on these matters, let alone serious multiyear studies, but I strongly suspect that the "old boys' network" contains many young and middle-aged people of both sexes, and that men also respond to it by developing interests, etc.  ¶ 10:41 PM