How the Perceived Masculinity and/or Femininity of Software Applications Influences Students' Software Preferences

Increasingly, technology skills are becoming central to academic and economic success. More and more technological tools are becoming a vehicle for teaching and learning and a vehicle for buying and selling goods. However, research continues to show that women lag behind men in PC-ownership regardless of social economic status (SES) or education level (Lenhart, 2003; McConnaughey & Lader, 1998); girls take fewer computer science and computer design courses and consistently rate themselves significantly lower than boys in terms of computer skills (AAUW, 1998); men outnumber women 6 to 1 in computer science Ph.D. programs (AAUW, 2000; Furger, 1998); and girls and boys are more likely to perceive computers as a male domain (Clewell, 2002; Eastman & Krendl, 1987). Due to our society's increasing dependence on technological skills, the continued existence of the technological gender and cultural gap is a problem that must be explored with vigor in order to ensure that the technological tools we use provide equitable 1 access to and experiences for women and children of color.