Role Models as an Intervention for Gender Diversity in Computing Education

Abstract

Context: The lack of gender diversity has been a persistent challenge for computing fields for decades now. Both in education and in the workforce, men are in a significant majority, which poses a threat not only to social fairness and gender equality, but also to the quality and inclusiveness of new technology produced by computing teams. Efforts have been made to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the computing field, especially in computing education. Studies suggest that role models would be a helpful intervention for improved gender diversity and equality, but little research has been done to explore the concept more in-depth and specifically within the computing education context.
Objective: The research objective of this paper is to explore the impact of role models on gender inclusion in computing education. The lack of thorough research on role models in the field has motivated the following research questions (RQs):
RQ1: What recent research exists that explores the impact of role models on computing students?
RQ2: Who functions as role models in computing education?
Method: The method used to answer the RQs is a systematic literature review (SLR).
Results: The SLR included 16 primary papers published between 2015 and 2023. The results, presenting what current literature exists regarding the impact of role models on computing students, reveal a lack of focus on non-US-based contexts and on the retention, not only the recruitment, of non-male identifying students to computing. The paper also provides insight into who are considered to be role models in the context of computing education, what attributes appear important, and why they are considered role models.
Conclusion: The results indicated a scarcity of global research on the usefulness of role models for gender diversity within computing education, which calls for further explorations. Teachers and older students are the most commonly identified role models, and they work as role models by breaking down stereotypes and other barriers faced by girls in computing, but certain features must be present in order for them to fulfill such roles. Relatability in gender, age, and passion was identified as significant attributes of role models.