Closing the gender gap in the technology major

Technology makes up our daily lives and is a part of everything we do. The tech job market is expanding with more and more jobs needing to be filled by those with the necessary qualifications. Students are realizing the vast opportunities a career in technology can offer them and many are making the conscience decision to major in a technical field, such as computer science, management information systems, or information technology. However, women only make up a small percentage of those students who major in technical fields. With the job market in technology expanding and opportunities widely available, why is it that women hold only a small percentage of those students majoring in those fields? The purpose of this thesis is to show the influences that impact the choice of a woman’s selection in a degree of study related to technology. This research is the result of survey prepared to explore the influences behind the gender gap. Survey questions were sent to and conducted on undergraduate students registered in Computer Science, Computer Information Technology, and Management Information System courses at the local university.