Computer Science: Why Aren't Women Pursuing IT Jobs? Part I

I was reading an article today by the New York Times that says women are staying away from computer science degrees. According to the article, in 1985 the number of women pursuing CS degrees stood at 38%, but in 2003 that number had dwindled to 28%. Lenore Blum, a computer scientist from Carnegie Mellon University told a Harvard University audience that she feels that “women are the canaries in the coal mine”. She feels that what’s driving women away from computer science degrees will eventually drive men away from the field, as well.

Two of the reasons why men and women may be moving away the computer science field involve the offshoring of IT services and the dot-com bust. Jan Cuny, a computer scientist from the University of Oregon, who also directs a National Science Foundation program to increase participation in computer science feels that students don’t know the real truth. She says, “people think that there are no jobs, but that’s not true. There are more people involved in computer science now than at the height of the dot-com boom.”

“High-tech employment was up by 146,600 out of 5.8 million workers in 2006, the second year in a row that the U.S. tech industry has added jobs. ” - http://www.citizen-times.com, “North Carolina gains in high tech jobs” by Dale Neal, 4/24/2007

Another reason for the decline of women in computer science revolves around how high school girls perceive the computer science field. According to a 2005 report by the National Center for Women & Technology, the “nerd factor” plays a dominant role. High school girls said that when they think of computer scientists, they think of “geeks wearing pocket protectors who sit in little cubicles in front of their computers writing code all day”. Hmmm…I don’t own a pocket protector and I don’t sit in a cubicle or write programming code all day and I’ve been involved in technology for 15 years. Jeeez… if you know of a grant whose focus is changing the mindset of students about IT and gender, please let me know! I’d love nothing more than to go on a recruiting tour to get girls interested in IT careers!

Why do girls think it’s uncool to be smart and paid well? I don’t get it. Well, maybe I do. The media has drilled in to their psyche that beauty is higher on the priority list than brains. Every woman who is glorified in the media is thin, beautiful, rich, and talented. That is not what the average American woman is, but advertising and the media have been very effective at driving that message home to them. We think that we’ve come a long way in equalizing men and women in the workplace, but I think we’ve got a long way to go, if we want women to stay interested in math and science careers.

In Part II -  My personal experience about students and stereotypes and IT jobs. Stay tuned to this channel.

Comments

[J Moore]

One issue driving my friends (male and female) from IT is the increasing number of Indian and Pakistani developers changing the culture. This sounds a bit xenophobic, and for the most part these group has a phenomenal work ethic, but the breakrooms can come to seem like a New Delhi coffee house with foreign language and spices filling the air. As a Westerner, I feel awkward just entering 'their' space...and the conversations around work are also often in Hindi or Punjabi.

My dim memories of college recall similar scenes in the computer lab.

As a manager, I think encouraging English language for all conversations in the workplace, including breakrooms, is one way to make this a more welcoming environment

[Dawn Turner]

Thanks for bringing up some important issues about what many of today's IT workers are facing. I think that your suggestion is a good one, as it would help to open up communication for every member of an organization. When workers choose to exclude others from their conversation(s),I think that they create barriers which work against the strength of the organization rather than for it.