Currently, women make up more than half of the workforce, but this is not the case for women in IT careers. Women only obtain 28% of undergraduate computer science (Cech) degrees. Even a half-century after the Civil Rights Act, women and minorities continue to earn less than white men in the workforce. Adding more women to the field of computer science would add creativity and new ideas to the field, but the percentage of entering and current women in the field is extremely low compared to men. The factors that turn women away from computing begin in the early years of study and continue throughout their adult and professional lives. Women don't study computer science because they don't receive enough encouragement from their teachers, schools, and jobs, and there are strong gender biases in these contexts. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The biggest question now is how to attract more women into the IT field. Women need more encouragement, especially from teachers of both sexes and their peers. Mentoring is a sure way to attract and maintain the interest of women in the field. Even simple support from other women in a classroom can help build mutual trust. Many studies have shown that the lack of women in computer science will most likely start before college (Cohoon). They need this encouragement not only when they take college courses, but also from the beginning of their studies. Women tend to be just as interested in science as men when they are young, but their teachers and schools, who would have the most influence on them, are not doing their job to nurture and identify these women ( Gurian). A possible solution to improve their confidence would be to have more mentors who can help attract and maintain women's interest in the field. The shortage of women in the IT field makes it more difficult for women to reach senior positions. It is therefore important that women in high positions are mentors to all interested women. According to Joanne Cohoon, a professor at the University of Virginia, “computer science departments generally retained women at rates comparable to men when the faculty included at least one woman; mentored and supervised female students; loved teaching; and shares responsibility for success with their students.” It was also found that departments without female faculty lost female students at higher rates than male ones (Cohoon). Seeing other women in computing can certainly boost women's confidence to continue or begin studying the subject. “In a new survey, 40% of women working in STEM fields…report having been discouraged in their career choices, usually in college and often by their professors” (Downey). This data shows how we need more mentors willing to support women and that we lack teachers to inspire young women to enter this field. Since the beginning of computing, most software and programs have been aimed at men. Video games were originally aimed at men with sporting and violent themes withmostly male main characters and limited female roles like the women who need to be rescued (Lynn). Early experiences with computers are important in shaping a person's willingness to explore technology. “Playing computer games, console games, arcade games, and educational tools can provide an introduction to computer literacy, creating familiarity and building confidence in skills” (Lynn, 145). Because computing is largely male-dominated, software tends to be more geared toward men. To make software more attractive to girls, it should be low-frustration, engaging and interactive (Lynn). By having more women in this field, women can create software that is much more female-friendly. Girls tend to prefer games where they can make things rather than destroy them (Lynn). Recently, more and more games have been produced that are more suitable for girls, such as simulation games. The Sims is a video game where you create humans, animals and houses and has proven to be a big hit with female audiences. One strategy to encourage more women to break out of the stereotype that women are less competitive than men would be to take games designed for boys and require comparable female characters to allow them to be more competitive and assertive. Video games are often associated with computing as a byproduct of the desire to master the game (Lynn). Many boys tend to have more experience with computers at a younger age through video games, when boys and girls are brought together in a classroom to learn about them. With computers, boys are already at a higher level, which is not encouraging for women who start at a lower level in the same class. Mandating more computer science courses in high school and college will not only help women because of the growing number of other female classmates, but it may also spark women's interest early on, by helping teachers identify students with abilities. Another way to help keep women in the field would be to have varying levels of computer science courses so that women, or anyone without much experience in the field, do not feel intimidated in a class full of people who already have experience with computers. . At Gonzaga University, there is a course called “Information to Technology.” This course is not considered a computer science course but rather an introduction to technology. You learn the basics; parts of a computer, to understanding programs like Excel to understanding and reading binary code. If courses like this were encouraged in both high school and college, all students would gain a basic understanding of technology and might even encourage them to pursue careers in technology. There is a specific stereotype that the hacker or gamer is male. The existence of this stereotype can make women less comfortable with computers. From primary school onwards, there was a lot of emphasis on the fact that boys were better at mathematics and science than girls. This leads to women being excluded from mathematics and science at an early age and not being encouraged to attend classes with men at a higher level (Marder). “Women could certainly study the art of healing and become doctors as well as nurses” (Wollstonecraft, 664). Women stereotypically follow certain professional paths,..