Despite the general trend of women being discouraged from learning computer science, recent years have indicated a growing interest for women in the IT field, as indicated by the fact that more women than men are involved in "doing an online course". The current pandemic would also necessitate a need to be technologically informed. The fact that women indicate interest in the IT field because of the possibilities of communicating with others and accessing information available online suggests that it is possible that more women will continue to join the computer science field. This study was done in part to investigate the gender gap in the IT field to see how male and female students approach their studies in this field, especially during the pandemic. 

Gender Gap Change in IT Field for Women

There has been many research studies that took note of the gender gap in the IT field in which women felt unsuited and uninterested in this career path, influenced by the general opinion that women were not suited toward computer sciences. 
- women felt driven away by the apparent study difficulty, negative opinion of women in computer science leading to low self-esteem, not being prepared for the IT field (lack of opportunity and family influence driving them away)
- current level of computer skills for women tend to be lower than men (less women reach expert level of computer skills compared to men)

University of California, Berkeley

This article, published recently (12/28/20), discusses a study that compared students of different genders for a class of business informatics, especially with regards to gender differences in the class during the time of the coronavirus pandemic. The research study took note of how male and female students approached the new online approach in education for their classes. This study was performed as part of Slovakia's goal of getting more women involved in the ICT field by seeing how female students performed in this field. 

Gender Gap in Informatics During Pandemic (Summary)

Palova, D., Nyulasziova, M., &amp; Vejacka, M. (2020). Analysis of Students' Approach to the Study of Informatics During Pandemic Quarantine. Journal of Woman's Entrepreneurship and Education, (3-4). DOI:10.28934/jwee20.34.pp79-98  

Analysis of Students' Approach to the Study of Informatics During Pandemic Quarantine

Background of Gender Gap in IT Field

This study was structured around the change in educational policy that took place during the time of the pandemic. For this business informatics class, before the pandemic, the class curriculum involved in-person lectures and the computer lab in order to learn how to manipulate data, as well as an optional series of tasks (the "Joker") that could take the place of the final exam. The pandemic led to a change to a fully online curriculum, including lectures and exercises as well as the use of MS Excel, Word, as well as the access of study materials through the LMS Moodle. Random tasks were also implemented for students to solve through the use of the available online apps, as a supplement for the lectures and exercises. 

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