A university degree can be seen as an entrance ticket to a well-paid career in the ICT sector. In Germany, surveys of the Computerwoche magazine and Kienbaum consultancy show that the required qualification level for ICT professions is quite high and the majority of employees in the ICT sector graduated either at university or university of applied sciences (Fachhochschule “FH”; see Holzapfel, 2006). However, ICT studies (computer science, informatics, technology) at universities in Germany and Greece show again gender differences with regard to subject choices and graduation.
We consider the situation of gender and ICT at university on the basis of a review of existing surveys on national and European level. However, data of Germany and Greece is rather heterogeneous, with regard to the availability of methodological details and result analysis. Often, data is only available on an aggregated level, or on an exemplary basis, e. g. not differentiated by sex; not specifically for ICT studies but for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in total, with a focus on specific universities only. Below, we will first describe the situation in each country, and then discuss the similarities and differences.
Data Review