Sadler, C., & Washington, A. N., & Daily, S. B. (2024, June), Work in Progress: Understanding Differential Experiences of Identity in
Computing Environments Using a Computing Privilege Inventory  Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--48523

\bibitem{asee_peer_48523}
  Sadler, C., \& Washington, A. N., \& Daily, S. B. (2024, June), \emph{Work in Progress: Understanding Differential Experiences of Identity in
Computing Environments Using a Computing Privilege Inventory}
  Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Portland, Oregon.
  10.18260/1-2--48523

Cecilé Sadler, Alicia Nicki Washington, and Shaundra Bryant Daily.  "Work in Progress: Understanding Differential Experiences of Identity in
Computing Environments Using a Computing Privilege Inventory".  2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon, 2024, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2024.  https://peer.asee.org/48523 Internet.  26 Dec, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_48523}
  Cecilé Sadler, Alicia Nicki Washington, and Shaundra Bryant Daily.
  "Work in Progress: Understanding Differential Experiences of Identity in
Computing Environments Using a Computing Privilege Inventory".
  \emph{2024 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Portland, Oregon, 2024, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2024.
  https://peer.asee.org/48523 Internet.  26 Dec, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_48523
author = "Cecilé Sadler, Alicia Nicki Washington, and Shaundra Bryant Daily"
title = "Work in Progress: Understanding Differential Experiences of Identity in
Computing Environments Using a Computing Privilege Inventory"
booktitle = "2024 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2024"
month = "June"
address = "Portland, Oregon"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/48523}
number = {10.18260/1-2--48523}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The purpose of this work-in-progress paper is to describe the development and preliminary evaluation of an instrument targeting computing students and professionals that measures privilege in the context of academic and professional computing environments. As concepts of privilege, equity, and inclusion gain more prominence in computing fields, there is a growing need for research instruments that can quantify and elucidate disparities along lines of gender, race, class, and other aspects of identity.   

The tool under development expands McIntosh's [1], [2] concept of the "Invisible Knapsack," a metaphor describing the “weightless” collection of unearned advantages that people racialized as white experience in their daily lives. As part of this concept, McIntosh developed a list of examples that demonstrate these privileges. This list is often reviewed as an activity in classes and professional development workshops where the amount of privilege held by an individual is evidenced by the number of statements they agree with. As noted by McIntosh, absent from this work are other factors influencing one’s experience beyond race.  

Motivated by this work, we developed a 30-item “Computing Knapsack,” seeking to account for intersectional experiences [3] of privilege (or the lack thereof) within computing spaces. This instrument included four identity constructs: race, gender, socioeconomic status, and ability. Within each construct, statements (i.e., items) were developed to capture potential privileges in computing. Ten related to class and socioeconomic status (e.g., "I am not the first person in my family to pursue a computing/engineering degree"), eight to race (e.g., "Growing up, I could identify professionals in computing who shared my ethnoracial identity"), seven to gender (e.g., "At least 50% of the faculty in my department share my gender identity"), and five to ability (e.g., "I have never missed an assignment or class due to a disability or chronic condition"). As with the original Invisible Knapsack, scoring was determined by the number of items a person agrees with. 

The instrument was distributed across two academic years to computing faculty (N=93) and undergraduates (N=161). Preliminary results show that, within each construct (identity), those with the most dominant identities within computing (e.g., white, men, or able-bodied) scored the highest (indicating the most privilege). Further disaggregation revealed that that those holding multiple marginalized identities tended to report lower levels of privilege. Preliminary results also helped to identify potential limitations in the current version (e.g., differences in responses within the same construct between postsecondary students and professionals) as well as potentially unclear items. Future work includes improving collection of participant demographic information as well as item refinement.  

Previous work in the computing field has identified ways that privilege manifests; however, little work has been done to quantitatively assess privileges impacting experiences at the postsecondary level [4]–[6].  This research makes an important contribution to work on equity and inclusion in computing by identifying how unexamined privileges manifest across multiple axes of identity. We envision this work catalyzing critical reflections and dialogue that lead to changes in curricula, pedagogical practices, and policies.   
AU  - Cecilé Sadler
AU  - Alicia Nicki Washington
AU  - Shaundra Bryant Daily
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Work in Progress: Understanding Differential Experiences of Identity in
Computing Environments Using a Computing Privilege Inventory
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/48523
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--48523
ER  -