Registered charity number 306016.
What girls say about…
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.
MMUNICATOR
CO
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.
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uni tor
m
Compute
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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offer because of outdated gender stereotypes still holding sway over young people’s choices.
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INTRODUCTION
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.
Registered charity number 306016.
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.
What girls say about... digital technology
1
Girls’
Attitudes
Survey
2015
© Girlguiding 2016
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
56%
Two in five think that girls do not enjoy such subjects as much
42%
Two in five think that there are too few women role models teaching STEM subjects
42%
Two in five think that there are too few women working in related careers
40%
One in three say girls who are interested in STEM subjects are teased
33%
One in five think that teachers or careers advisers often encourage girls and boys who may have similar
interests to choose different subjects
22%
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…
COOL
FUN
E
CREATIV
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.
What girls say about... digital technology
2
56%
of girls aged
11-21 say STEM
subjects have
the image
of being more
for boys
© Girlguiding 2016
‘
‘
‘
You can do all sorts of really
fun stuff that you can’t do on
anything else
You get to do loads
of cool stuff
‘
You can learn all sorts of
new things with it so it
could change the world
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
‘
Gender stereotypes
‘
‘
There’s
always drama
Social media
can be very
messy
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.
‘
Girls should be able to feel
like they can do it if they
want to and it’s not just a
man’s job
Anybody can be anything. A girl can be
a famous footballer if they wanted to.
A boy could be a ballerina
What girls say about... digital technology
‘
‘
A girl can choose a
boy game and a boy can
choose a girl game it
doesn’t really matter
‘
3
If it’s completely guys
doing it and girls want to
do it they may feel like
they can’t
© Girlguiding 2016
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
what you want to
do on it
You can use it
to talk
to people
You can
literally do
everything on it
You get to get
new games
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
Sometimes it’s a bit scary
because people can take your
iPad and look in to all your
things
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.
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.
‘
Making the career paths that
continue from these subjects
clearer and also promoting
more female role models in
these subjects particularly
female teachers.
What girls say about... digital technology
‘ ‘
It would help if we
weren’t teased if we
enjoyed the subject.
4
40%
of girls aged
11-21 think
that there
are too
few women
working in
STEM related
careers
Provide more information
to girls about these types
of jobs and how they
can get into them.
© Girlguiding 2016
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.
I like it all – arty
stuff and maths
is OK
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
that
I’m not good at problem
solving so I would not
want to do that job at all
It’s something you
wouldn’t expect. I mean
working in technology seems
very deadball but actually
this seems kind of fun.
I’m going to be bad at that because
it says good at maths and I’m not
good at maths
They would be
quite good for boys
because they are
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.
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 30-45 minutes.
The discussions were audio recorded and transcribed. The focus groups were
conducted in December 2015 through to March 2016.
What girls say about... digital technology
5
© Girlguiding 2016
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 change as
the lives of
girls change
We give girls
their own space
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 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
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.
© Girlguiding 2016
Incorporated by Royal Charter
Registered charity number 306016