Abstract:

Gender equality and the visibility of women’s work are essential in today’s society, including within university education. Women have made significant contributions across all fields, yet these achievements are often less publicized than those by men. This disparity is particularly evident in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines, where teaching and research frequently highlight men’s results—especially in Computer Science programs. Degrees in these areas not only have a low proportion of female students but also lack references to women’s contributions, which can negatively affect gender equality and the recognition of women’s achievements.

To address this issue, we present several strategies implemented and envisioned in an Information Systems course offered in the first year of the Degree in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. The course introduces a broad, integrative view of the role of computer science in organizations, covering topics such as fundamental concepts of information systems (e.g., data, information, knowledge, and their management), the role of information systems in enterprises, analysis and modelling of business requirements, management of information systems, and cybersecurity. For each topic, we propose activities that highlight women’s contributions. Students are either asked to identify a woman who has made a significant impact in the corresponding field or provided with a curated list of names to research their achievements. The women can correspond to international, national or regional figures, e.g., Margaret Hamilton (international pioneer in software engineering), Nuria Oliver (leading figure in artificial intelligence in Spain), and Coral Calero (expert in software sustainability that works at University of Castilla-La Mancha), respectively. In addition, we’ve designed a platform-based videogame to review and reinforce fundamental information system concepts in which players select characters based on real individuals, including women such as Grace Hopper (a major contributor to programming) and Mira Murati (former Chief Technology Officer at OpenAI). In this case, a description of their contributions is presented when selecting among the characters.

We argue that these kinds of initiatives promote awareness of women’s achievements among students. In fact, most participants in the Information Systems course were unaware of women’s decisive roles in technologies such as software specification and generative artificial intelligence. Female students, in particular, may feel more empowered and motivated to pursue ambitious goals and contribute to technical fields and society at large. Finally, these strategies can be easily adapted to other subjects and disciplines.

Keywords:

STEM, women, information systems.