I'm so glad to see so many responses! I was waiting a bit to reply to everyone, so this might be kind of long:
MonkeyGirl18 wrote:It was interesting. I'm thinking about even going into computer science (you can probably guess which one I chose, lol) because I don't think the major I'm in right now is even for me.
Though I find a few scenarios kind of silly like the "haven't you taken math in high school?" thing because usually, college students know that college math is more difficult than high school math. But I haven't experienced anything like that, so I can't be too certain.
Computer Science is awesome! I very much recommend it! If you need anyone to talk to about it, I'd be glad to. C:
I think the math scenario was really spot on. Although one might know college math is supposed to be more difficult, it's that sort of "in the back of your mind" type thing, where you have to think about it a bit to come to that conclusion (if that makes sense); in college you still take calculus, and a good chunk of each class ends up being a review of the previous class, so classes do feel like (even if they're not) they're full of information you should already know.
Kitalpha Hart wrote:I would have done a few things differently (worn dress pants, not a dress, for one thing)
I very much agree! I'm a dresspants person in general (would wear dress-shorts if they didn't make me look like I go to boarding school, haha) so I was a little put off by the dress scenario. However, I know the struggle of finding dressy tops and other clothes that are modest, so it wasn't too far off the mark.
Ryvvi wrote:Well for starters it didnt let me choose english as a major T_T
But it was super interesting to see like because i was doing english when i was at college, which has a high female population, i never had to deal with behaviour like this at all.
Very depressing to see that despite all our advances in gender equality things like this are still prevalent :/
If I recall correctly, the game was created as a mini-hackathon project (basically coded really quickly at a day/overnight convention, for the non-programmers out there), so I am not sure if there was intention to add in English (and other options) as actual choices later, or if they had a reason for putting them in.
You had the opposite experience in college, it sounds like. Was there anything particular you noticed coming from that? (Like did it seem like the boys were at a disadvantage or anything?)
Maro wrote:If I still had a working laptop I would definitely try it
It's a javascript game, so you should be able to run it on any device. I do suggest you giving it a try if you get a chance though!
Axiom wrote:I realized pretty quickly that this wasn't so much a game as an educational tool to show others what it is like to be a woman in a STEM field. I thought it did a great job of simulating the experience. A lot of men (like the boys in your class and lab group, your teachers and potential employers, and your family members) can be overly critical of women in STEM fields for having a more limited background in the subject matter, give them little to no encouragement, and often assume they don't belong in their major. It's difficult to be successful in STEM fields as a woman because a lot of the system is working against you.
In most of my computer science classes in college, there were 40 students and maybe 3 or 4 of them were women. And most of time, they didn't have the prior experience with programming and familiarization with computers that a lot of boys get. There are a plethora of reasons this happens, but the results are staggering. The women end up feeling uncomfortable in the class, not just because there are so few of them, but because they are confused by the material and they think they are the only ones because so many of the men are confident and even cocky about how much they know. Male teachers are even worse because they will expect students to be familiar with certain things, even in an introductory class, and a lot of the women won't be, so the male teachers will disregard them and suggest they try a new major, and so the cycle continues.
To fix this divide, we have to actively start getting girls interested in STEM fields at a young age, and give them the introductory knowledge they will need so when they start college, they will be on the same level as the men in their classes.
Exactly! I could not have put it better.
You've led me up to my next discussion topic!
Recently my department head contacted me about trying to come up with ways to convince more girls (aiming at highschool juniors/seniors) to pick Computer Science (and related computer engineering divisions) as their major in college.
So, to people with non-STEM majors:
What made you choose your major?
Would you consider a computing major? If not, why?
And to everyone:
Why do you think girls don't choose STEM majors?
What do you think is the number one thing to do to help get more girls into STEM fields?
I have my own ideas, and I'll post them after a few responses, but I'd really appreciate any information or insight you guys could share with me!
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