What girls say about. digital technology. Girlguiding briefing

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1 Registered charity number What girls say about Registered charity number digital technology Girlguiding briefing This briefing outlines the findings of a series of focus groups, supported by Microsoft, that were conducted with Girlguiding members aged 7 to 14 exploring their attitudes to digital technology. This partnership of Girlguiding and Microsoft will help inform Microsoft s approach to engaging girls with digital skills and future careers in this industry. COMMUNICATOR INTRODUCTION Girlguiding is the leading charity for girls and young women and is proud to have over half a million members across the UK. You ll find us in communities in every region helping to give girls from all backgrounds a head start in life and encouraging them to be happy, self-confident and curious about the world around them. We know our young members, who are aged five to twenty-five, are digital natives and the guiding offer looks to reflect this. Last year, our programme enabled 2,600 Brownies - girls aged 7 to 10 - to gain their Computer badge, developing their IT skills. Over 10,000 Brownies and Guides - girls aged up to 14 - completed their Communicator badge, learning new and exciting ways to use technology to communicate with others. However, the research we do at Girlguiding has led us to be concerned that girls could potentially miss out on some of the amazing opportunities that both developing their digital skills and future careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), including digital technology, can offer because of outdated gender stereotypes still holding sway over young people s choices. Giving girls a voice We believe passionately that girls of all ages have ideas and opinions that deserve to be heard. And it is for this reason that for the past eight years, Girlguiding has conducted its Girls Attitudes Survey: the UK s largest annual study into girls views and opinions. Each year we speak to a representative sample of over 1,500 girls and young women from across the UK aged between 7 and 21, from outside and within our membership, about their views and issues affecting their lives. Communicator Computer Sadly, our evidence shows that the world outside Guiding is still not a fair place for girls. Our surveys give a stark insight into the many pressures girls face today including gender stereotyping, everyday sexism, a deficit of diverse female role models and low body confidence. Girls tell us gender stereotypes are impacting girls confidence in what they can achieve. Worryingly, these engrained stereotypes seem to be influencing girls career aspirations from a young age. Many more girls than boys drop STEM subjects as they move through education and higher education, despite being as competent in such subjects as their male counterparts. We have explored girls views on this over several years in the Girls Attitudes Survey. Girls Attitudes Survey 2015 What girls say about... digital technology 1

2 To investigate our findings further and specifically relating to digital technology, Girlguiding, with support from Microsoft, canvassed the views of girls in guiding aged 7 to 14 through a number of focus groups exploring girls attitudes to, interests in and concerns regarding digital skills. The focus groups also sought to help us both understand girls perceptions of future careers with technology and how we can engage and inspire more girls and young women in the future. Why girls think more girls than boys drop STEM subjects at school Girlguiding research in 2014 found that: Of girls aged 11 to 21, over half say STEM subjects have the image of being more for boys Two in five think that girls do not enjoy such subjects as much Two in five think that there are too few women role models teaching STEM subjects Two in five think that there are too few women working in related careers One in three say girls who are interested in STEM subjects are teased One in five think that teachers or careers advisers often encourage girls and boys who may have similar interests to choose different subjects 22% 33% 42% 42% 40% 56% What girls said The focus groups reveal a tech savvy generation of girls - who count digital gadgets among their favourite toys and are unanimous and strong in their opinions that technology is for both boys and girls. They are inspired by exciting possibilities of technology calling it fun, cool and creative. However, from an early age, some girls in the focus groups struggled to relate to digital skills and careers. This snapshot of girls views highlights the need to capture and harness girls enthusiasm for the hands on technology in their day-to-day lives if we are to convey the opportunities developing digital skills can bring and ensure that careers in digital technology are accessible to all girls. Girls say they want to see variety and creativity in the careers on offer in digital. Technology is For the girls in the focus groups, their understanding of technology is primarily related to how they use digital technology in their everyday lives. When asked what first came to mind at the mention of the word technology the girls made associations with specific devices or gadgets and how they use them - such as mobile phones, ipads, computers, Kindles, xbox or laptops and using them for social media, gaming and talking to friends; accessories that enable their devices such as batteries, chargers, wires, bluetooth or WIFI; and electronics there was some confusion about the boundary between electricity and technology amongst the younger girls. When prompted with a list of words, the girls describe technology in very positive ways - associating technology with the words fun, cool, creative, modern, exciting, important and interesting. It s clear these words came to mind because this is the way in which they use their devices for playing fun, exciting and creative games. COOL FUN CREATIVE 56% of girls aged say STEM subjects have the image of being more for boys What girls say about... digital technology 2

3 You can do all sorts of really fun stuff that you can t do on anything else You can learn all sorts of new things with it so it could change the world You get to do loads of cool stuff Older girls (age 13-14) were quick to describe technology as messy in the sense of the emotional or relationship dramas that can be caused by social media. Sometimes you will put something up but it won t be for a certain person or something but they will take it as if it s for them but it s not Social media can be very messy Gender stereotypes The girls in the groups unanimously felt that technology is equally for boys and for girls, yet they nonetheless report perceptions of gender differences relating to digital technology. Some of the young girls (aged 7-10) felt there can be differences in the ways in which boys and girls use technology. For example, boys and girls can play different types of games, text differently and some thought that boys are more likely to play on consoles such as PlayStation and xbox than girls. Whilst some perceived gender differences and attitudes are already evident at these young ages, on discussion the girls quickly suggested that this was probably just a stereotype. With regards to working in technology, the girls were not particularly concerned that more men than women currently work in technology provided that girls can do so if they want to. Some were concerned it might be awkward to be in the minority in such a male industry. There s always drama A girl can choose a boy game and a boy can choose a girl game it doesn t really matter Anybody can be anything. A girl can be a famous footballer if they wanted to. A boy could be a ballerina If it s completely guys doing it and girls want to do it they may feel like they can t Girls should be able to feel like they can do it if they want to and it s not just a man s job What girls say about... digital technology 3

4 The pros and cons of digital tech The freedom technology enables along with the entertainment and communication value of digital technologies were most appealing to girls. The main downsides were being told by parents to come off devices and the risks linked to security and social media. Gaming, social media, watching TV and messaging via apps were named as some of the most appealing elements of technology across the ages. For some, the appeal of technology lies in the freedom it facilitates and the enjoyment that comes from the relaxation it provides. You get to choose You can use it what you want to to talk do on it to people You can literally do everything on it Freedom The most often cited negative of technology is simply being told to come off it. However, some girls in the groups also talked about risks, for example security issues and internet safety, and this was a definitive down side to digital technologies. people will put stuff up about you There are some things that you really don t want to see Career aspirations The girls in the groups had a wide range of career aspirations, although none of these were in the digital technology industry. The groups had a more developed understanding of professions such as doctors and teachers, compared to office based jobs or jobs in technology. The girls had a range of career aspirations including Teacher, Doctor, Vet, Brain Surgeon, Space Doctor and Astronaut and jobs in sports (Dancer, Gymnast, Footballer and Lacrosse Player). None of them specifically said a form of digital technology career. You get to get new games Sometimes it s a bit scary because people can take your ipad and look in to all your things When asked if there are any people who come to mind when they think of technology, the younger girls (aged 7 to 10) didn t make any associations with digital technology and famous people apart from one mention of Steve Jobs. Older girls (11 to 14) related digital technology with the celebrities they follow on social media as well as mentioning Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Ada Lovelace. (Those aware of Ada Lovelace had a poster featuring her in their ICT room at school.) As part of our Girls Attitudes Survey 2014, we asked girls why they thought many more girls than boys drop STEM subjects as they move through education and higher education despite being as competent in such subjects as their male peers, (see the data box on page 2). When asked what might help girls carry on with such subjects in school, girls came up with a number of suggestions, including making lessons more interesting to girls, providing more information about the job possibilities that such subjects open up and increasing the number of women who teach and work in such subjects and can act as role models. Some felt that nothing could be done in practice, and others that girls who had a real interest would carry on regardless. 40% of girls aged think that there are too few women working in STEM related careers Making the career paths that continue from these subjects clearer and also promoting more female role models in these subjects particularly female teachers. It would help if we weren t teased if we enjoyed the subject. Provide more information to girls about these types of jobs and how they can get into them. What girls say about... digital technology 4

5 Digital tech jobs and skills Changing girls perceptions of what digital tech jobs involve, from a young age, is important in increasing their appeal to girls. Once girls could relate different jobs to some of their own interests and perceived skills they were positive and interested in those jobs. Girls in the groups responded in a mixed way in discussions about a range of jobs available in the digital technology sector, as they were shown a range of infographic cards with some example job descriptions. The Developer role had broad appeal particularly among the older girls (10-11) largely on account of the mention of creativity. The Digital Designer role strongly communicated creativity, art and drawing. This type of role surprised the girls and slightly changed their perception of a technology job. The least appealing job was the Technical Engineer. One of the girls said this sounded more like a job for boys. Others were put off by the need for maths or by the technical nature of this role. That said, it was the most appealing to one girl who enjoys computer science. I d probably be able to do I m going to be bad at that because that it says good at maths and I m not good at maths They would be I m not good at problem quite good for boys solving so I would not because they are want to do that job at all good engineers Girls perceptions of their own skills came into play when they expressed views about the range of jobs. Many of the girls in the groups were quick to assess job descriptions in terms of their own perceived skills and characteristics and are already making judgements about what they can and can t do in the future based on this. When asked why this might be, one group of girls aged 10 to 14 said it was because they were starting to think about GCSE options and so were having to make judgements about what they were good at. Where next? Girlguiding will be using the findings from these focus groups, alongside a review of the Girlguiding programme in the STEM area and more widely, to inform the next steps in this exciting project with Microsoft. Our research programme will continue to explore the impact of gender stereotyping on girls aspirations. I like it all arty stuff and maths is OK It s something you wouldn t expect. I mean working in technology seems very deadball but actually this seems kind of fun. Our focus groups Supported by Microsoft, Girlguiding commissioned expert child research agency ChildWise to hold focus groups with some of Girlguiding s young members in Brownies (aged 7 to 10) and Guides (aged 11-14). Nine groups were carried out among girls aged 7-15 from Girlguiding. A total of 43 girls took part, with between 3-7 girls in each group. Groups were moderated by a ChildWise researcher and each lasted approximately minutes. The discussions were audio recorded and transcribed. The focus groups were conducted in December 2015 through to March What girls say about... digital technology 5

6 About us Girlguiding is the leading charity for girls and young women in the UK. Thanks to the dedication and support of 100,000 amazing volunteers, we are active in every part of the UK, giving girls and young women a space where they can be themselves, have fun, build brilliant friendships, gain valuable life skills and make a positive difference to their lives and their communities. We build girls confidence and raise their aspirations. We give them the chance to discover their full potential and encourage them to be a powerful force for good. We give them a space to have fun. We run Rainbows (5 7 years), Brownies (7 10 years), Guides (10 14 years) and The Senior Section (14 25 years). We are for all girls We are for all girls and young women, whatever their background and circumstances. We offer them fun, exciting activities and the chance to make lifelong friends. You ll find us in many communities, helping to give girls a head start in life and encouraging them to be happy, self-confident and curious about the world they live in and the difference they can make. We give girls their own space We change as the lives of girls change We give girls a place where they can really be themselves with other girls and share the experience of growing up as a girl in today s world. We provide a safe, non-judgemental environment where girls can explore the issues they care about while having lots of fun, enjoying new experiences and learning vital skills. We give girls a voice We are relevant to today s girls because we listen to them and constantly evolve and adapt what we offer them without losing what makes us uniquely us. We provide support, comfort and friendship in what can often seem a complex world for girls as they grow up. We give girls the confidence, skills and information to make informed decisions. We offer a supportive, inclusive and exciting environment where they can reach their own conclusions about the world. We show them how they can speak out and take positive action to improve their lives and the lives of others. We passionately believe that girls and young women can be a powerful force for good. What girls say about... digital technology 6 Incorporated by Royal Charter Registered charity number