Initiatives of Female Empowerment in Computing Implemented at the High School Level: A Systematic Mapping

Abstract

Gender disparities in technology are evident, and affirmative actions are necessary to increase female representation. This article is part of an umbrella project that systematically maps related studies and aims to understand the current literature on initiatives to attract girls to high school through female empowerment projects in computing. Through a systematic literature mapping (SLM), we identified studies published between 2017 and 2022 that were available in databases and search engines, namely ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore Library, Scopus, and SBC Open Lib. Only primary studies returned in an automated search process were considered, without combining them with other search strategies. A priori, 264 articles were returned with the application of a search string and after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 61 articles were selected. Of this number, 41 projects were named in the articles that describe activities involving high school. To answer the established research questions, it was found that the studies discussed projects implemented in secondary education in the Americas, Europe and Africa, indicating the importance of expanding these initiatives to other territories, increasing female participation in information technology and promoting gender equality, which is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

Keywords

• computing
• female empowerment
• high school
• systematic mapping
• STEM