Design Recommendations for Web-based Career Guidance Platforms - Let Young Women Experience IT Careers!

Abstract

Despite a variety of intervention programs in the western society over the last decades, still too few young women are interested in an information technology (IT) career. While looking for career information and guidance, young women consult family and friends but also the internet. Although there is already a plethora of career information websites, those are seldom tailored to the interests of young women. To address the IT-gender gap with the design of a platform that appeals to the needs of the target group, we firstly analyzed existing German websites for career information and guidance. The analysis was framed by literature on women’s IT career choice barriers. Secondly, we evaluated selected websites with focus groups of female students. Finally, we present design recommendations to enhance web-based career information and guidance platforms for young women to raise their interest in IT-related careers.