A Chatbot Tutor Can Lessen the Gender Confidence Gap in Information Systems Learning

Abstract

Women are underrepresented in the information systems discipline as well as other STEM fields. A common explanation for the significant gender gap is the difference in women’s and men’s self-efficacy concerning information systems (IS) tasks and roles during their secondary education. As a potential solution, this study explores how chatbot tutors impact confidence differently between 136 women and men in an introductory programming course. Our findings confirmed prior research showing that while men have greater confidence in information systems tasks, there is no difference in performance in those tasks between women and men. Next, we found that a chatbot used during learning can improve confidence of all students. Finally, and most importantly, we found that the effect of a chatbot tutor is stronger for women than for men. Therefore, chatbot may be a valid tool to lessen the gender gap in the information systems discipline.