'Citizen Jane': Rethinking design principles for closing the gender gap in computing

Abstract

This paper identifies three rationales for closing the gender gap in computing – economic, cultural and political – in the relevant literature. Each rationale implies a different set of indicators of present inequalities, disparate goals for creating equality, and distinct principles for software and web site design that aims to help girls overcome the gap by increasing their interest and knowledge about computing. It is argued that designers should pay greater attention to the political rationale for equity, conceiving software and web sites that cultivate girls' civic uses of computers, so that women can exercise equal control over the architecture and policy of the information age.