| This study investigated the presence of specific personal characteristics of women who have chosen computing-related occupations (N = 108) that are common to women who have chosen other, non-computing related, "non-traditional female" occupations to those attributes found in women who have chosen the more "traditional female" occupation of elementary school teaching (N = 118). Such attributes as birth-order, familial structure, parental guidance, role model effect, gender-role type, and self-efficacy were compared.;Results indicate that although some of the characteristics of "non-traditionally employed women" applied to the woman in computing, certain other characteristics did not. For example, the women in computing scored higher on Bern's scale for masculinity (1974) as well as on Terlau's occupational activity self-efficacy scale (1991) for traditional male jobs. Counter to the literature, the teachers and computing women did not differ on birth order or socio-economic backgrounds. Additionally, the level of adaptability and cohesion of the families of the women employed in computing were significantly lower than that of women employed as elementary school teachers.;The mothers of the teachers had significantly more influence on their daughters than did the mothers of women in computing for both choice of level of education and choice of careers. The teachers' fathers also had a greater influence on their daughters regarding the daughters' selection of career than did the fathers of women in computing.;More research needs to be conducted on the women in computing to determine why they enter the field. If little changes, a profession that has high pay and quick advancement may continue to suffer from a draught of women in its ranks. As technology gains more and more of a stronghold on societal values, processes, and beliefs, women may have less input if they are not part of the group that defines these technologies. |
