Gender biases in software for problem solving

The workshop call raises the question of how we can help users problem-solve, especially when the problem to be solved is complex. One answer to this question is to change the way we go about building such systems. Why: most software has extensive biases against certain cognitive problem-solving styles—especially those styles preferred by more women than men. In this position paper, we consider the workshop call’s discussion questions from the perspective of GenderMag, a method to pinpoint gender biases in user-facing software that aims to help people problem-solve.