We've come a long way, baby!: but where women and technology are concerned, have we really?

Women have been making an impact on computing since the days of the Electronic Numerical Integrator Analyzer and Computer (ENIAC). Yet, the contributions of women in information technology (IT) have been largely down-played or ignored. Two of the greatest challenges facing early women IT pioneers were the lack of feminine role models and gender bias. Unfortunately, those challenges have yet to be entirely overcome today and more significantly, there are still few role models for women in IT fields.The disinterest and decline of women in computer-related degrees and consequently, in IT careers, has its roots embedded in a society that typically still pays its female workers far less than their male counterparts. More significantly, gender-related bias has found fertile ground to flourish in our nation's secondary and higher education institutions, where genetics, as recently as January 2005, was held up as a determining factor in women's IT aptitude and success.In this paper, the authors will focus on the historic and current challenges faced by women who pursue IT careers and the reasons for the growing decline of women in these fields. In addition, the authors will discuss the methods that educational institutions can implement to recruit and retain women in IT degrees such as gender myth debunking and mentoring programs, female-centric professional development opportunities and the establishment of role models.