Running Head: INVOLVING WOMEN IN COMPUTER SCIENCE !

Involving Women in Computer Science

Kevin Apodaca

University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1302
Running Head: INVOLVING WOMEN IN COMPUTER SCIENCE !2

Involving Women in Computer Science

It is no secret that women are the minority when it comes the Computer Science field of

study. All one needs to do is look at the numbers, to analyze the data and the numbers will speak

for themselves. Men outnumber their female counterparts to a 4:1 ratio in this field, why is this

the case and what are we, as a community, doing to try to get more women interested in this

field. The field itself is highly profitable, annual wages can start at around $85,000 and increase

past the $100,000. So why is it that there are so few women interested in this opportunity. This

issue will be addressed through the analysis of two different genres and how they each are

promoting and actively trying to make the Computer Science field be more inclusive for women.

The first genre will be a flyer, created by students at Otago University that aim to get

women involved in a community that wants to reach out to women and get them interested in the

field. The second genre will be an interview with Lea Coligado conducted by Fortune magazine,

about a female computer science major studying at Stanford university and her experiences in the

field. These two genres and how they are both talking about the same topic in different ways will

be discussed further in this analysis.

Structure and Delivery

In the first genre, the structure is very condensed and to the point, the organization has a

goal and it quickly communicated that goal to the reader. There is not an abundance of text and

only contains the necessary information which is important considering this is a flyer that is

mean to be glanced at quickly and have only the most important details presented. The layout of

it is simplistic and not too creative but it does what it sets out to do which is inform. The second
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genre is structured as a persons testimony throughout their career, it is able to deliver much

more detail and more experiences about an individual involved in computer science than the

flyer.

Audience and Purpose

The first genre, is a flyer titled Otago Computer Science Women/Girls Association

(OCSWA) and is meant as a handout with what their organization is and how to get involved.

This flyers target audience is mostly females that are attending this specific college who are

interested in the world of computing and computer science or who might already be taking

classes in this specific field. The purpose is to inform students at this campus that there is an

organization present for those who might feel in need of or want a community where they can be

represented and express themselves with others who share similar interests.

For the interview, the audience is to both women and men in the computer science field

who may have seen or experience the sexism discussed in said article. The purpose is to inform

readers that being a woman in Computer Science can potentially bring up some conflict and

some unwanted treatment. The interview serves to inform us, the read, about one individuals

personal experiences being a women in the Computer Science field and how she dealt with some

of the adversities that presented themselves to her.

Both of these genres hit on the topic of trying to involve women in computer science yet

they are vastly different in how they decide to cover this topic. In the flyer we are presented with

a very short and direct approach, tell women what the organization offers and provide

information on how to take part in, and participate in this club. This form of presentation has the
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advantage of facilitating the spread of information and providing eye-catching elements in the

flyer. The other genre, the review, presents us with personal testimony of someone who is

already in Computer Science, some of her negative experience, and how other females can

overcome these obstacles.

Rhetorical Issues

Though both of these genres give the reader an understanding of the topic, the way they

use the three rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos) are quite different between them.

Ethos

Taking a look at the first of these genres, the flyer, there is not much use of this rhetorical

appeal, as it does not make much of an effort to establish much credibility. We are not presented

with any names of members, amount of members, pictures of members, or even of the head of

this organization and what their title is. There is not much character to be found in this flyer and

no one entity that can convince us to carry on reading.

On the other hand, with the interview we are seeing this being conducted by a reputable

business magazine with over 2.26 million followers on the popular social media site, Twitter.

With this, the interview gains more credibility and readers know that what theyre reading is legit

and has gone through a process of revision and edits to finally make it to their screen.

Additionally, the interviewee, Lea Coligado, has done multiple internships at reputable

companies like Facebook, Google, and Apple, is currently a software engineer at Google, and is

also the founder of the Women in Silicon Valley organization. So this lets the reader know that
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this isnt just any person being interviewed, it is a person with lots of experience in the Computer

Science field.

Pathos

What the flyer was lacking in credibility is made up for in emotional appeal to the reader.

When viewing the flyer one of the first things that will catch the viewers eye is the picture in the

bottom left corner with the green background. It is of Rosie the Riveter, while originally this

picture was used during World War II to represent the women that worked hard in factories and

shipyards manufacturing many items to be used in combat, here it presents a much more simple

but powerful message. The empowerment of women. This picture is used to show the reader the

power of women, in laymans terms girl power and promoting the idea that if men can do it,

women can do it too. Just with this picture women can feel their confidence level rise at the

thought of this cultural icon being used to promote women in a mostly male - dominated field.

Secondly, in the profile picture of the Facebook group presented in the flyer we see a girl

with her back to the viewer but clearly working on something on the computer, know while this,

in itself, doesnt help convey much emotion, the young man sitting next to her certainly does. He

is smiling, clearly excited to be there, so these two people both provide a sense of excitement

about learning, they give the reader the feeling that they are enjoying what they are learning.

Lastly, the header of the Facebook profile in this flyer is one of the outdoor campus.

Using beautiful trees, clean cut grass and flowers, this provides the reader with a feeling of

comfort and relaxation, you feel like you would like to go to this place as it has a very warm

inviting feeling.
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Comparatively, the interview plays to our emotions through Leas experience. When she

states that she could count 20 girls in a 100 -person class we get a sense of how alone someone

in this position would feel since we normally look for safety in numbers and in this case, the

numbers were against her. When she is describing her choice of clothes and the reasons she

eventually stopped expressing herself through her outfit, the reader can definitely connect with

this feeling of being robbed of something that makes them unique and stand out. When she talks

about how she was treated and disregarded at meetings and group projects, the reader can feel

this frustration of not being taken seriously.

Logos

Analyzing the logical flow of these two genres is difficult. The flyer doesnt provide any

logical reason why people should get involved in this organization, it doesnt provide any data on

how many women are in the CS field. The interview doesnt do much in the way of a logical

appeal either, as it is mostly testimonial and personal experience.

Conclusion

Each genre discussed the topic of women in computer science through different

perspectives and with very different limitations. The first was very simplistic and quick to read

and get its message across while the second really delved deep into what some women face in

this field and how they can get over these obstacles.
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References

Coligado, L. (2015). A female computer science major at Stanford: Floored by the sexism.

Otago University. (2013). Share experience of girls working in Computer Science. Retrieved

from http://www.cs.otago.ac.nz/staffpriv/yawen/teaching.html