Girls and Games: The IT Field in a Nutshell

I am fascinated by Justine Cassell's article "Genderizing HCI." In it, she describes how video games have historically been designed and marketed to males, namely young boys. She also describes how video game designers are beginning to see the value of marketing games for females. Evidence of this realization can be seen through the creation of strong female video game characters such as Tomb Raider's Lara Croft, Metroid's Samus Aran, and Uncharted's Elena Fisher. These and are other strong female gaming characters are discussed in an article at Gamersmint.com titled "Case Study: Strong Female Characters in Video Games." Cassell gives a fairly thorough history of the marketing of female-centric video games. That in itself is interesting, but even more interesting to me is the way in which Cassell relates the video game market to the world of IT in general. The video game world, with its marketing, design, and production budgets focused toward the young male demographic is a microcosm for the genderized world of IT. Video game producers think that putting a female lead in a game can be a (pardon the pun) game changer, but it will take a lot more than that to change the way games are viewed after years of marketing toward a specific demographic. It is not only males who are primarily playing video games, although this is changing, but it is also primarily males who design and code the software. As game producers need to focus on bringing female game designers and developers into the field, technology companies also need to entice more females into their ranks. As history shows, it will be challenging to increase the number of women in the technology field. But as women like Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and Jill Puleri of IBM have demonstrated, women are not only able to compete but can be powerful forces in bringing profound changes in what is typically viewed as a male dominated field.      

The Digital and Social Divide

In the MacArthur Foundation supported blog, Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning, blogger Heather Chapin entered a September 17, 2012 post titled "Are Class Differences in Parenting Creating a New Digital Divide?" In the post, Chaplin describes how some aspects of the digital divide cannot be bridged by money alone. The digital divide was once seen as a purely financial issue, where Middle and upper income families had access to technology and internet services that were simply unattainable by lower income families. Streamlined manufacturing processes have drastically lowered the cost of many of today's computers and other web enabled devices, and internet service providers are making more affordable service options. As a result, many lower income families who were unable to buy computers a few years ago can now install one in their homes and have access to high speed internet services. Even with the change in the affordability of computers, a digital divide still exists. As Chapin states in her blog post, the sociological differences between income levels continues to be an imposing wedge contributing to the digital divide. The problem lies in the fact that middle and upper income parents, in many cases, invest more time in their children's educations than lower income families. This is not to say that parents in a lower income bracket do not care about their children's educations. The lack of involvement in education, in many cases, simply comes as a result of parents having to work long hours at low wages to provide for their families. Unlike the financial aspects of the digital divide, the sociological problems will not be as easily remedied. Only through the additional support of individuals outside the home, including teachers, mentors, and librarians will the children of lower income families be given the opportunity to learn to use technology to enhance their educational experiences.          

Frugal Innovation = Inspired Innovation

Bret Ryder, author of the article "First Break all the Rules: The Charms of Frugal Innovation," gives readers several examples of the way in which creative product designers were able to devise lifesaving products for people who are living in areas with struggling economies. The mentality of those inspired individuals stands in stark contrast to other countries, such as the United States, where it seems that most products are designed to be sold at a price point set just a faction below consumer's comfortable spending levels.It was inspirational to read about people like India's Dr. Devi Shetty and Ananth Krishnan, as they truly desired to make products that can be accessible to people who have difficulties providing their families with the basic necessities of life. An article in the July / August 2012 edition of the Ivy Business Journal (http://bit.ly/YLdr54) reiterates the social impact of businesses and individuals who focus on customers residing at the bottom of the financial pyramid. The author of the article, Kaushik Mukerjee, looks at the building blocks vital to frugal innovation. This includes designing affordable products, knowing the customers, and building new value chains. Frugal innovation typically comes as a result of a necessity to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles through adaptation and invention. Many inspired products have come to reality through frugal innovation. As long as areas of the world face financial and social struggles, innovative thinkers will continue to devise ways of providing cost effective products for those to which the items would typically be unattainable.