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Gendering ICT
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Workshop
description
The celebration of women in ICT cannot occur without facing the problem of the under-representation of women in Computing. As recently published in ACM Communications, women earned 28.5%, 25.1%, and 18.1% of all bachelor-level computer science degrees in US in 1995, 2004, and 2014, respectively. These low percentages are confirmed by data gathered in all European countries. In particular in Italy, in Academic Year 2017/2018 the presence of women in Bachelors in Computer Engineering is 21,01% and in Computer Science is 12,23% while in Master CE is 14,83% and in Master CS is 16,32%, thus witnessing a strong under-representation of women and a very low access to career progression.
Many studies have dealt with this problem that is common
to the entire area of STEM, by trying to understand
which is the role of stereotypes and of images seen in
the media influencing the young women in the access to
ICT studies. A lot of women’s associations and networks
(e.g. NERD, Women in Technology, ProjectCSGIRLS, etc)
have promoted projects to remove these beliefs and
attract young women into STEM and particularly into CS
and CE, through examples, statistics, focused projects,
and media content analysis.
Gendering ICT does not only imply to
change the numbers of women in CS/CE but also to address
the problem of including the gender dimension in the
contents of CS/CE. How a new gendered Science can be
developed by taking into account the gender dimension?
How can we formulate new scientific questions while
having the awareness that another Science is possible?
In this context it is necessary to analyze if algorithms
and tools are neutral from the gender point of view.
This is particularly important in the fields of
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. Indeed recent
studies in these fields show that, for instance, Machine
Learning algorithms can upload the gender bias diffused
in the society. So we speak of Biased ML. The problem
arises since little attention is paid to how data are
collected, processed and organized.
Intended goals and outcomes:
- Analyzing the most common stereotypes and gender-clichéd images about women in ICT causing the existing gender gap
- Comparing the different approaches to promote the presence of women, and particularly of young women, in ICT education and research and stimulating an effective networking among projects
- Exploring new communication languages for the debate around the gender bias in CS/CE, and the subsequent ethical issues it poses
- Developing gendered innovation in CS/CE, with new general questions to take into account a gender point of view
- Facing the problem of
designing algorithmic methodologies that do not
subsume social bias about sex, gender and race.
Programme
schedule
| 14:00
- 16:00 |
Panel (Chair: Lorenza PERINI) |
| Lorenza PERINI (University of
Padua): Even
with the best intentions |
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| Silvana BADALONI (University of Padua): Gendering
ICT - Data and Innovations |
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| Gunay KAZIMZADE (Technical University of Berlin): Gender and racial bias in AI-based systems | |
| Francesca Alessandra LISI
(University of Bari): New
languages for communicating gender
issues in ICT - An experience with
performing arts |
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| Prado
NIETO and Anna CIAMPI
(UNICC – United Nations International Computing
Centre): UN plan for gender |
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| 16:00 - 16:30 | Closing |
Organising Committee
Silvana
BADALONI
Department of Information Engineering, University of
Padua, Italy
Francesca
A. LISI
Department of Computer Science, University of
Bari “Aldo Moro”, Italy
Lorenza
PERINI
Department of Political
Science, Law, and International Studies,
University of Padua, Italy
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