Adult Perception of Gender-Based Toys and Their Influence on Girls' Careers in STEM

摘要

STEM and Computer Science (CS) in general, are perceived as masculine disciplines; a dangerous fallacy that discourages girls to show interest in the domain. However, companies are moving towards designing toys to attract and educate girls about science. Consequently, this study tries to explore adults perception of gender packaged toys (e.g. Barbie) and their intervention potential for engaging more girls in CS. Results show that old Barbie used to convey shallow ideals to young girls, placing emphasis on fashion and appearance. On the other hand, the new Barbie themed programming course has the power to attract more girls into CS.