Gender differences in computing interest: the role of social constructs in early paths

Background and context: Strong academic performance, digital skills and self-assessed ability are often unrelated to computing interest, particularly among middle school girls, when gender is especially salient. Popular misperceptions of computer science may hinder identification with the field, especially if social and creative modalities are framed as irrelevant to authentic interest. Objective: We explore gender differences in computing interest by examining children’s enjoyment of digital activities. Methods: A survey of 3971 middle school students was used to create an intrinsic tech values scale, which was then employed in an analysis of computer class interest. Findings: In factor analysis, the historically conventional computing modalities cohere separately from the others. Logistic regressions show gender differences in computing interest declines substantially with the inclusion of the tech values scale, independent from socio-economic status, skill, and self-assessed abilities. Implications: Enjoyment of conventional tech modalities appear integal to early tech pathways, independent from ability perceptions. Our findings highlight how gendered constructions of technology may create status advantage for masculine identities.