ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses upon the new computing curriculum and its influence in girls' decision-making. It discusses the history of female participation in computing, move on to discussing the statistics and then looks at other factors impacting gender disparity in computing. Computing in schools has had an unfavourable reputation and is said to be a factor in discouraging female learners from studying or working in the computing sector. The addition of computing to the national curriculum has been a significant development. Teachers often selected enthusiastic boys to be part of computer clubs and to learn more about the computer. As computers became easier to use, there was less need to understand how they worked. This gave the impression that the computer was 'just' a tool necessary to perform certain tasks in Microsoft Office. Typically, computer games are aimed at boys, as they involve competition, violent graphics and male characters.
