• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Gamification Nation logo

Gamification Nation

Gamification and game design for business results

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Solutions
    • Gamification strategy and design
    • Serious games design & development
    • Tools
    • FREE RESOURCES for COVID-19 – Serious Fun
      • A Planet called Hope
      • Covid-19: Guess what – Poll
  • Speaking
  • Store
  • About us
    • About Gamification Nation
    • Awards
    • What our followers and clients say…
    • In the media
    • Contact Us
(+44) 0845 056 9828
Is gamification right for your project?

Feminine gamification viewpoint: Stack Overflow and ladies

An Coppens | 30th September, 2019

share:

Feminine gamification viewpoint: Stack Overflow and ladies

Stack Overflow, the developer question and answer site, in both 2015 and 2016 developers survey showed that only 5.8% users identified as females. I would think there are probably a few more female developers in the world, than just 5.8%. However is it indicative of a problem that goes deeper into the acceptance of women in this world or is usability the issue for the site.

Personally I have used it to find answers, although I searched and found the answers rather than posed new questions. so maybe that is how other ladies may go about their search. A number of researchers Denea Ford, Justin Smith, Philip Guo and Chris Parnin wrote a formal research paper called ‘Paradise Unplugged: Identifying Barriers for Female Participation on Stack Overflow‘. The researchers used interviews to establish if barriers existed that prevented women from contributing more.

The picture they established is as follows:

openrating_ranked_starred

 

 

As with all statistics around gender and usability the differences are relatively small. The differences ranked with a start indicate statistically significant differences.

The researchers also came up with some suggestions to improve on these perceived barriers and differences, which ultimately would benefit all users and not just female users:

  • A better algorithm to rank answers that took only 5 minutes and higher weighting for those that take 30 minutes to answer. So time spend answering a complex issue, receives more value add then an easy quick answerable question.
  • Automated feedback on the quality of the questions, so that they can be answered better and quicker.
  • Sub-communities to create a more approachable group
  • Mentorship for new contributors

I would add in there is to go back to the model where voting answers as the best and most appropriate is measured but get rid of the skills leaderboard, because this is driving some of the dysfunctional behaviour in my opinion.

So what other changes would you make to make Stack Overflow more female friendly?

Categories: Feminine Gamification Viewpoint, Friday Feminine Angle Tags: Feminine Gamification Viewpoint, Gamification, gender inclusion, inclusive design, stack overflow

share:

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Book a Strategy Consultation

Strategy consultation

Book a strategy session now and find out what is possible for your company.

BOOK NOW

Buy your game deck

Buy your game deck

Build your own gamified experiences with our game deck

Buy Game Deck

Must Buy Book: Tapping into the Crowd by An Coppens

Must Buy Book: Tapping into the Crowd by An Coppens

Buy Book

Featured Post

What is the impact for corporate sector initiatives when the games market valuation numbers soar to record heights?

UKIE, the UK interactive entertainment association published figures today to show that the consumer game market valuation has grown to over £7 … Read More about What is the impact for corporate sector initiatives when the games market valuation numbers soar to record heights?

Related Posts

default featured image

Feminine Gamification Viewpoint: social sales

Feminine Gamification Viewpoint: Social sales It seems appropriate on what...

default featured image

Feminine gamification viewpoint: sites appealing to both genders

Feminine gamification viewpoint: Websites appealing to both genders...

default featured image

Friday Feminine Gamification Viewpoint: Subtle difference

Friday Feminine Gamification Viewpoint: Subtle difference When addressing...

Footer

Our UK Office

Gamification Nation Ltd,
Kemp House,
152 City Road,
London, EC1V 2NX,
UK
Companies House Registration: 08145023
VAT number:
GB304326932
Tel: (+44) 0845 056 9828
Email: [email protected]

Our EU office

Gamification Nation Europe AB,
Ronnebyvagen 22
12152 Johanneshov
Stockholm
Sweden
Organisations number: 559300-2339
VAT number:

Are you ready to start your project?

GET IN TOUCH
© Copyright 2013 – 2021 Gamification Nation. All rights reserved.
  • Anti-spam Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Linking policy
  • Terms
This site uses cookies: Find out more.