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Over the past several decades, a fewer number of females have been graduating with a degree in MIS. In 2012 Lucio noted that “in 1985, about 37 percent of those earning computer science degrees in the U.S. were women. In 2010, that number fell to 18 percent.” This might be because, as suggested by Crombie (1999), computers are still perceived as being a male domain by both girls and boys. Byrne and Lyons (2001) make the same observation and conclude that a number of factors which deter females from studying computer science include the image of Computer Science (CS) as a male domain. Carter (2006) agrees and claims the top reason for not choosing a CS major for both male and female is the lack of desire to sit in front of a computer all day. Further, Mykytyn et al., (2008) study why students might not want to take an MIS course. They conclude that students do not want to take an MIS/CS class because they do not see any worth to it.
In addition, some studies such as Clarke and Teague (1996) point out that females are under-represented in computing courses. And, as investigated by Yasuhara (2005), the gender gap in undergraduate CS has widened since the 1980s. This is perhaps, as suggested by Katz et al. (2006), because women might be more cautious than men about pursuing a major that they might not be well-suited for. A study done by Frenkel (1990) conforms to the fact that females choosing careers in computing drop out of academia or elect not to get advanced degrees and enter industry instead. In addition, there are disproportionately small numbers of women in the computer industry and in academic computer science, as females are uncomfortable with the computer culture.