Demography and IT/IS Students: Is This Digital Divide Widening?

At a time when demand for employees with information technology (IT) skills is booming, there is a decline not only in the number of females entering this field of study in most western countries but also in the number of females taking computer courses (Nielsen, von Hellens, Wong, 2000). Moreover, the gap in computer access and training for minorities is not declining (Hoffman and Novak, 2002). However, data from Australia indicate that under-representation of women and minorities is somewhat less pronounced in programs in IT or Software Engineering than in programs in Computer Science (CS) or Computer Engineering (von Hellens and Nielson, 2000). This paper examined whether there are similar differences in the state of Georgia in the U.S. Results indicate that in Georgia there is evidence that the gender gap exists.While 58% of all undergraduates in the state are female,females account for a much smaller percent of those selecting IT, IS, or CS as their major. It appears that there is also a difference among students seeking these degrees when comparing ethnicity of these students versus the undergraduate population as a whole. IT, IS, and CS majors appear to be more diverse than the student population as a whole. This diversity appears to be greater at institutions that are not classified as research institutions. Appended is a list of institutions responding to the survey on undergraduate enrollment data and institutions failing to respond. Includes 10 tables. (Contains 14 references.) (Author/AEF)