Abstract/Summary

Prominent public figures are important representatives of their fields, potentially becoming influential role models, especially for young people. The identities of these famous people can shape and stereotype their respective domains, impacting diversity and inclusion. This paper examines young people’s awareness of the notable people in the computing and technology field, utilising data from a questionnaire with 4,112 entries from 1,788 children aged 11-16 in England. Our study unveils two prominent groups of famous people: the tech entrepreneurs and the historic academics. The top ten famous people identified are: Bill Gates, Alan Turing, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Ada Lovelace, Stephen Hawking (a renowned physicist), Grace Hopper and Charles Babbage. We also analyse how young people’s demographic background, such as gender and enrolment in computer science study, predicts their awareness of famous individuals. We discuss the possible meanings and implications of these famous individuals as the leading figures in young people’s available discourses, especially the dominance of entrepreneurial White men and the fascination of wealth through technology. We consider famous individuals as potential role models for young people and discuss the challenges we face to broaden dominant discourses of who represents the computing and technology sector.