Title: Narratives on platform: stories for women in computer science

Authors: Michela Cozza

Addresses: Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento, Via Verdi 26, 38100 Trento, Italy

Abstract: The development of information technologies is changing work and employment. Society now demands that the people must be able to use technology. While technological skills and familiarity with the computer are ever more crucial, from the gender perspective we observe a considerable divide between those who have frequent and |friendly| access to electronic devices – above all men – and those who do not, generally women. This gender divide is caused by social, structural factors, and individual differences. It is important to understand how this gap can be closed and how feminine participation in Information Technology (IT) be improved. Telementoring or distance learning may be ad hoc solutions to these problems. The article explores how computer technology can be used to develop and sustain relationships between expert and novice women in the IT field by having them to share experimental narratives about their work.

Keywords: empowerment; gender divide; distance learning; mentoring; narratives; telementoring; women; computer science; information technology; female participation; experts; novices.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCEELL.2008.017376

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 2008 Vol.18 No.2, pp.197 - 213

Published online: 02 Mar 2008 *

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