Tech girls are chic, not just geek

Tech girls are chic, not just geek is a fun new book showing that it takes all types of people to work in Information Technology (IT). 16 'tech girls' are women working in a range of technology jobs across Australia. They are a bunch of fun and funky women who find working with technology challenging and interesting, and they are far from fitting the stereotypical 'geek' image portrayed by the media. They use their technical and/or non-technical skills (usually a combination of both) to have a successful career in IT.


So who wouldn't want to work with technology? There are heaps of jobs all over the world, travel to exotic locations, interesting and challenging work, and you often don't have to work in a boring office. Sounds like a great career? We think so! So why do so few people (especially girls) choose this type of career? That's a great question. Researchers have been trying to uncover this mystery for many years, and conclude that the industry has a serious image problem. The stereotype is that working with technology is boring, and that you have to be nerdy and spend all day in front of a computer alone. This is not what Information Technology (IT) is all about. Once you see the book you will see why! You can see a bunch of fabulous gals who work with technology every day; and they love it.


What if you were the person who invented the iPod, or YouTube, or Instant Messaging? Could this be you? Why not? It had to be someone! And it could be you. Imagine what technology would look like if we had more girls creating it? It might be a very different world! And new technology jobs are created every day, so your job of the future might not exist yet. How exciting!


Aimed at girls aged 12-16, the book also has wide appeal to educators and employers. As the number of females studying and working with technology is at an all time low, we hope to inspire girls to think a little deeper about technology, what they like about it, what they are good at, and what are the things that are important to them in their future career. We believe you will be able to relate to us and what we do, and we hope to help you understand that it is ok and even a good choice to have a career working with technology.

ORDER BOOK : www.techgirlsarechic.org

Sex no bar to geekdom

Girls and boys all like their toys

The so-called technology gender gap has slammed shut in the US: university students, whether male or female, report near identical take-up of technology, according to the latest 360 Youth College Explorer Study.

A survey of over 4,000 students found that men and women spend similar amounts of time playing computer games online, are equally likely to own a handheld game system and to send text messages on their phones.

Net use is pervasive: 95 per cent of students are online, and 65 per cent connect via broadband. This may explain why students are four times more likely to download music on the Net than Joe Public is. Even so, the actual numbers are still very small. Just eight per cent of men and five per cent of women claim to be regular downloaders. The RIAA must be pleased.

The survey did flag a few gender differences: men are still far more likely to own a games console, with 15 per cent playing daily, compared to two per cent of women. MP3 players are also more popular among the guys: twice as many men as women like their portable music in its solid state.

Women still lead the field in communication: they are more likely to own mobile phones (82 per cent vs. 74 per cent) and answering machines. ®

By Lucy Sherriff