OCLC Distinguished Seminar Series: “Why so Few? The Underrepresentation of Woman in Technology and Software Development”

While women were central to the history of computer programming, there are now very low percentages of women in key technical positions and leadership roles across multiple sectors. Computer science is the only STEM discipline (i.e., science, technology, engineering, math) to experience a multi-decade downward trend in the percentage of women receiving degrees and entering technical computing jobs in the workplace.

The underrepresentation of women in computing exists in Silicon Valley as well as cultural and educational institutions including universities, libraries, and not-for-profits. From a social perspective, the open source disparity is paradoxical given the pro-social ethos of open source software, one that promotes openness, collaboration, sharing, and transparency.

Grounded in theories of gender and power, discourse and practice, Payette will reflect on the key question that led her to pursue a PhD after having been a female leader in technology since the 1980s—among her many accomplishments, she was the system architect and lead developer of Fedora and the founding CEO of DuraSpace. Her initial question of “where are the women and why so few” led her to research that revealed discourses and dilemmas that influenced the underrepresentation of women in computing. Payette will also discuss the prospects for change and her views on the role of not-for-profit organizations and change agents in the attempt to move toward gender parity in the design and development of the socio-technical systems we build.