Abstract
Despite over 20 years of Information Technology (IT) intervention programs, the proportion of females in the
discipline has decreased this century. The depiction of the IT profession on television is a significant source of
information about IT careers and may influence student career decisions. In this study, the ways in which male
and female IT expert characters were portrayed in five television shows were examined and compared. While
many existing stereotypes were challenged, all IT expert characters displayed some stereotypical characteristics,
with IT technicians portrayed in the most stereotypical way. Female characters were not as stereotypical as
males; but also not well recognised. We posit that the male geek technician stereotype overshadows any
alternative depictions of IT professionals and reinforces masculinization of the discipline. We suggest that
parents and influential adults, the primary audience of these shows, should be included in any future discussions
to break down IT media stereotypes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Information Systems: Transforming the Future, 24th Australasian Conference on Information Systems |
| Editors | Hepu Deng, Craig Standing |
| Place of Publication | Melbourne Vic Australia |
| Publisher | RMIT University |
| Pages | 1 - 10 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780992449506 |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
| Event | Australasian Conference on Information Systems 2013 - RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia Duration: 4 Dec 2013 → 6 Dec 2013 Conference number: 24th http://www1.rmit.edu.au/acis2013 http://acis.aaisnet.org/proceedings/2013.zip (Proceedings) |
Conference
| Conference | Australasian Conference on Information Systems 2013 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | ACIS 2013 |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Melbourne |
| Period | 4/12/13 → 6/12/13 |
| Other | Hosted by the School of Business IT and Logistics. The Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS) is the premier conference in Australasia for Information Systems academics. The conference covers technical, organisational, business, and social issues in the application of Information Technology (IT). |
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