Student Perceptions of Diversity Issues in IT

This study examines student perceptions regarding the desirability of diversity in the IT workplace. Several diversity variables were included: age, disability status, ethnicity, and gender. Participants included upper division students with declared majors in IT fields, as well as upper division students enrolled in an Accounting Information Systems course. We analyzed their perceptions in relation to diversity, along with distinguishing factors influencing the choice of IT as a career. We administered the Diversity Perceptions Inventory (DPI) to 162 undergraduate students from three institutions. Using multivariate analysis of variance, we found no significant differences in a number of areas: gender, age, work experience, disability status. We did find significant differences in perceptions based on ethnicity (p<0.05), as well as differences based on college major (p<0.05). The paper concludes with recommendations and implications.