Year: 2017
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This concurrent mixed methods study examined how the experiences of being a woman in computing affects her self-esteem over the course of her undergraduate career and into professional employment.Self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale that applies both competence and worthiness constructs.General (global) self-esteem was compared to self-esteem within the context of computing (computing-based self-esteem).Female attendees (N=546) of ACM-W celebrations of women in computing were invited to complete a Computing Experience Survey (CES).Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed separately then mixed to validate findings.Quantitative results indicated that women reported significantly lower computing-based self-esteem than global self-esteem.Additionally, competence and worthiness significantly differed within computing-based self-esteem throughout one's college progression and into the profession.All measures of self-esteem (global, computing-based, competence, and worthiness) improve for professionals.Analysis of open-ended questions illustrated that competence and worthiness are intertwined in computing experiences, and positive and negative experiences often contained a social component.The following conclusions were presented: (1) context matters when measuring self-esteem; (2) competence and worthiness are separate but related dimensions of self-esteem; (3) computingbased self-esteem changes throughout a student's college career and into the profession; (4) experiences in computing provide explanations for these changes in computing-based selfesteem and shed light on persistence, career faithfulness, and leadership; and, (5) when worthiness is present, it is strongly tied to competence for women in computing.
Author: Rachelle Kristof Hippler
Institution: Bowling Green State University
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2727065296