Email: dllargent@bsu.edu
Ball State University Computer Science
Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing by Jane Margolis
- (Available in the BSU library to the first person that gets there.)
"The information technology revolution is transforming almost every aspect of society, but girls and women are largely out of the loop.
Although women surf the Web in equal numbers to men and make a majority of online purchases, few are involved in the design and creation
of new technology. It is mostly men whose perspectives and priorities inform the development of computing innovations and who reap the
lion's share of the financial rewards. As only a small fraction of high school and college computer science students are female, the field
is likely to remain a "male clubhouse," absent major changes.In Unlocking the Clubhouse, social scientist Jane Margolis and computer
scientist and educator Allan Fisher examine the many influences contributing to the gender gap in computing. The book is based on interviews
with more than 100 computer science students of both sexes from Carnegie Mellon University, a major center of computer science research,
over a period of four years, as well as classroom observations and conversations with hundreds of college and high school faculty. The
interviews capture the dynamic details of the female computing experience, from the family computer kept in a brother's bedroom to women's
feelings of alienation in college computing classes. The authors investigate the familial, educational, and institutional origins of the
computing gender gap. They also describe educational reforms that have made a dramatic difference at Carnegie Mellon -- where the percentage
of women entering the School of Computer Science rose from 7% in 1995 to 42% in 2000 -- and at high schools around the country."
Stuck in the Shallow End: Education, Race, and Computing by Jane Margolis, et. al.
- (Available in the BSU
library to the first person that gets there.)
"The number of African Americans and Latino/as receiving undergraduate and advanced degrees in computer science is disproportionately low,
according to recent surveys. And relatively few African American and Latino/a high school students receive the kind of institutional
encouragement, educational opportunities, and preparation needed for them to choose computer science as a field of study and profession.
In Stuck in the Shallow End, Jane Margolis looks at the daily experiences of students and teachers in three Los Angeles public high schools:
an overcrowded urban high school, a math and science magnet school, and a well-funded school in an affluent neighborhood. She finds an
insidious "virtual segregation" that maintains inequality. Two of the three schools studied offer only low-level, how-to (keyboarding,
cutting and pasting) introductory computing classes. The third and wealthiest school offers advanced courses, but very few students of
color enroll in them. The race gap in computer science, Margolis finds, is one example of the way students of color are denied a wide range
of occupational and educational futures. Margolis traces the interplay of school structures (such factors as course offerings and
student-to-counselor ratios) and belief systems -- including teachers' assumptions about their students and students' assumptions about
themselves. Stuck in the Shallow End is a story of how inequality is reproduced in America -- and how students and teachers, given the
necessary tools, can change the system."
The MicroAggressions Project
"This project is a response to 'it’s not a big deal' – 'it' is a big deal. 'It' is in the everyday. 'It' is shoved in your face when you
are least expecting it. 'It' happens when you expect it the most. 'It' is a reminder of your difference. 'It' enforces difference. 'It'
can be painful. 'It' can be laughed off. 'It' can slide unnoticed by either the speaker, listener or both. 'It' can silence people. 'It'
reminds us of the ways in which we and people like us continue to be excluded and oppressed. 'It' matters because these relate to a
bigger 'it': a society where social difference has systematic consequences for the 'others'."
How Diversity Makes Us Smarter by Katherine W. Phillips
, Scientific American
"Being around people who are different from us makes us more creative, more diligent and harder-working."
When Women Stopped Coding by Steve Henn
, NPR - Planet Money
"Modern computer science is dominated by men. But it hasn't always been this way. A lot of computing pioneers — the people who
programmed the first digital computers — were women. And for decades, the number of women studying computer science was growing
faster than the number of men. But in 1984, something changed. The percentage of women in computer science flattened, and then
plunged, even as the
share of
women in other technical and professional fields
kept rising."
Innovation By Design: The Case for Investing in Women by Anita Borg Institute
"A wealth of research over the last decade has proven that companies benefit when they actively recruit, develop, and advance women.
Study after study demonstrates that innovation-driven enterprises that strive for inclusion are better positioned to capture exceptional
talent, reduce turnover costs, enhance organizational performance, and build a robust pipeline for developing leaders. In this paper,
we summarize these research findings and insights, presenting the key advantages organizations can expect to gain by improving the
balance of women in the workforce."
Let me tell you what I know about gender and CS by Katie Cunningham
An overview of women in CS, with lots of good links. Also, don't miss the slides towards the end of her post.
Computer Programming Used To Be Women’s Work by Rose Eveleth
, Smithsonian
"Today, computer programmers are expected to be male, nerdy and antisocial - an odd, and self fulfilling prophesy that forgets
the women that the entire field was built upon." Added 01/31/2015.
How can we encourage girls to study computer science? by Allison Master
, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Washington
"Imagine a computer programmer. What does this person look like? What is this person doing? Is the person with anyone? What kinds of
hobbies might he or she have? Chances are that you imagined someone who is: male, white or Asian American, kind of geeky-looking and
sitting alone at a computer." Added 09/27/2015.
What Really Keeps Women Out of Tech by Eileen Pollack
, Professor of Creative Writing, University of Michigan
"Technology companies know they have a gender and diversity problem in their work force, and they are finally taking steps to try to
fix it. But where are those new employees going to come from if women and minority students aren’t opting to study computer science
or engineering? Figuring out why people who choose not to do something don’t in fact do it is like attempting to interview the elves
who live inside your refrigerator but come out only when the light is off. People already working for a company might tell you what
makes them unhappy. But these complaints won’t necessarily pinpoint the factors that keep women and minorities away from studying
computer science in the first place." Added 10/12/2015
Increasing Number of Women in Computing Hinges on Changes in Culture, Not Curriculum by Byron Spice
, Carnegie Mellon
"Fewer women than men pursue computer science, but correcting that imbalance won’t be accomplished via quick fixes or by making
coursework less strenuous. Rather, the culture of computer science departments must change, as outlined in a new book,
'Kicking Butt in Computer Science: Women in Computing at Carnegie Mellon University.'" Added 02/20/2016.
Teach girls bravery, not perfection TED Talk by Reshma Saujani
, Girls Who Code
"We're raising our girls to be perfect, and we're raising our boys to be brave, says Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code.
Saujani has taken up the charge to socialize young girls to take risks and learn to program—two skills they need to move society forward.
To truly innovate, we cannot leave behind half of our population, she says. 'I need each of you to tell every young woman you know to be
comfortable with imperfection.'" Added 03/07/2016.
Born for it: How the image of software developers came about by Birgitta Böckeler
, ThoughtWorks
"The stereotype of the socially-awkward, white, male programmer has been around for a long time. Although 'diversity in tech' is a
much discussed topic, the numbers have not been getting any better. On the contrary, a lot of people inside and outside of the IT
industry still take it for granted that this stereotype is the natural norm, and this perception is one of the things that is
standing in our way to make the profession more inclusive and inviting. So where does this image come from? Did the demographics
of the world's programmer population really evolve naturally, because 'boys just like computers more'? What shaped our perception
of programmers? This text is about some possible explanations I found when reading about the history of computing." Added 04/21/2016.
The Women Behind The New Initiative Tackling Tech’s Diversity Crisis by Nikki Gloudeman, Katie Tandy, and Kelley Calkins of The Establishment
(This article is no longer available, but the the links in this abstract are still valid, and thus I leave it in the list.)
"Yes, it is that bad. The impassioned rhetoric surrounding diversity in tech isn’t hyperbolic; by every possible measure, a lack of
inclusivity remains a damning, deplorable, distressing problem. Consider this: In a recent
Fortune survey of nine top tech companies,
women comprised, on average, one-third of the workforce. Minorities, meanwhile, were found to make up “just a tiny fraction” of those
workforces. Worse yet, representation was revealed to be even more dismal in leadership roles. And lest you think things are changing—
they’re not. Or at least, they’re changing at a glacial pace. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the
representation of women
in computer and mathematical operations is actually slightly worse than it was in 2010 (it has improved for underrepresented racial and
ethnic minorities, but only slightly). More alarming, still, is that women
are earning just 18% of computer science degrees . . .
compared to 37% in back in 1985. Another
analysis found that the major tech
companies that had made the most progress in diversifying their
workforces increased their hiring of women and people of color by a paltry 3%. The situation is so bad, in fact, that it’s easy to stop
paying attention, to resign oneself to a situation that feels both bleak and insurmountable. But for the eight accomplished women behind
Project Include—who have a cumulative 150 years of experience in the tech
industry, and who have all lived the discrimination revealed by these troubling stats—resignation isn’t an option. The only way forward
is a push for change to address the underlying issues that have stymied the industry." Added 06/22/2016.
A new survey explains one big reason there are so few women in technology by Emily Crockett
, Vox
"A new study finds that sexism is rampant in the tech industry, with almost two-thirds of women reporting sexual harassment and nearly
90 percent reporting demeaning comments from male colleagues. The study, called
"Elephant in the Valley," surveyed 200 women who work at tech companies,
including large companies like Google and Apple as well as startups. The study focused on women who had 10 years of experience in the
industry, and most worked in Silicon Valley." Added 06/25/2016.
How to keep more girls in IT at schools if we're to close the gender gap by Karin Verspoor
, Associate Professor,
Department of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne
"The world is increasingly embracing digital technology, and so too are our schools. But many girls are still missing out on developing IT and
programming skills. IT classes in schools mostly focus on basic skills, such as how to use email or spreadsheets, or use tablets to access
online quizzes and educational games. Programming and algorithm-based problem solving don’t form a part of the typical school day. They tend to
get taught only in extra-curricular classes, such as coding clubs." Added 07/11/2016.
Women in Big Data: Does Gender Matter? by Crystal Valentine
, Datanami
"I've recently taken on a position as an executive in a technical role at a big data startup headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley.
I see the growth of next-gen big data platforms as the most exciting and disruptive story of the 21st century. The entire computational
landscape is going through a profound change; legacy technologies are in decline and a new vanguard of distributed data platforms are emerging
as the next-gen infrastructure for enterprise and research applications. It's a great time to be a technologist. But it's hard not to notice
that in the midst of all of this new growth and innovation, women have played a decidedly small role. This isn't a new phenomenon; the gender
gap in technology companies and in computer science degree programs has been well documented. But since a lack of gender diversity is a
headwind for any industry, it bears further exploration into the root causes." Added 07/13/2016.
Facebook Gives Pathetic Excuse For Its Diversity Problems by Damon Beres
, Huffington Post
"Facebook says it's having trouble hiring people of color because public schools are failing to educate them properly.
The company is 52 percent white, 38 percent Asian, 4 percent Hispanic and 2 percent black, according to diversity numbers
released Thursday. Sixty-seven percent of Facebook employees are male overall. In a blog post about the data, Maxine Williams,
Facebook's global head of diversity, offered an excuse that belies the social network's status as one of the most valuable and
resource-rich companies in the entire world. 'It has become clear that at the most fundamental level, appropriate representation
in technology or any other industry will depend upon more people having the opportunity to gain necessary skills through the
public education system,' Williams wrote." Added 07/16/2016.
Harvey Mudd College took on gender bias and now more than half its computer-science majors are women
by Oliver Staley
, QZ.com
"As US universities struggle to encourage women to study computer science, one small college is having uncommon success attracting them to the
field. Harvey Mudd College, in Claremont, California, has been an outlier in producing female programmers for a decade. This year, for the
first time, more women than men graduated with a degree in computer science. Nationally, about 16% of undergraduate computer-science majors
are women. At Harvey Mudd, that figure is 55%. (It falls to 49% when joint majors are included.)" Added 08/25/2016.
What it means to be black in the American educational system
by Kevin O'Neal Cokley
, The Conversation, The University of Texas at Austin
"Many people still think that racism is no longer a problem in America. After the election of President Obama, academic John McWhorter argued
that racism in America is, for all intents and purposes, dead. The prominent conservative scholar and African-American economist Thomas Sowell
has argued that 'racism isn't dead, but it is on life support.' Harvard professors William Julius Wilson and Roland Fryer too have argued about
the declining significance of race and discrimination. However, as we wind down the final months of Obama's presidency, the declining significance
of race and discrimination narratives seem to be at odds with the lived realities for African-Americans. President Obama himself has faced racist
treatment, such as the birther controversy and a member of Congress saying 'you lie.' And then, one incident after another has highlighted the
painful reality that black men are disproportionately likely to die at the hands of the police in comparison to any other demographic group."
Added 10/03/2016.
There's a persistent gender gap in computer science and engineering. This could be why by Sapna Cheryan
, World Economic Forum
"Many science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) areas now show a gender parity – women earn about half of the undergraduate degrees in
biology, chemistry and mathematics. This, however, is not true of all STEM areas – women earn fewer than one out of every five of the undergraduate
degrees in computer science and engineering. The failure of computer science and engineering to recruit and graduate women is incredibly costly.
These disciplines often offer high-paying jobs, and men’s greater participation in lucrative jobs in these fields perpetuates the gender gap in pay.
That’s not all. When predominantly male engineering teams design lifesaving products, such as airbags and heart valves, they often do so with male
bodies in mind. This has far-reaching implications – some of these products have caused injuries and deaths for women and children. My research
shows gender gaps in computer science and engineering are a result of a masculine culture that dominates these fields."
Added 11/12/2016.
Steps Teachers Can Take to Keep Girls and Minorities in Computer Science Education by Deborah Farmer Kris
, KQED
"It’s no secret that women, African Americans and Hispanics are underrepresented in computer science classrooms and careers. Among students who
take AP Computer Science courses in high school, for example, boys outnumber girls by more than 4 to 1. In 2013, only eight percent of students
taking the AP CS exam were Hispanic and just three percent were African American. A recent report from Google and Gallup on diversity gaps in
computer science education pointed to “structural and social barriers” for these three populations. It’s not enough to simply recruit
underrepresented students to enroll in CS classes, say leaders in the field; once students are signed up, schools need do more to create inclusive
classroom environments that position them for success. Last summer, Cynthia Lee, a lecturer in the computer science department at Stanford
University, created a widely-circulated document called, “What can I do today to create a more inclusive community in CS?” The list was developed
during a summer workshop funded by the National Science Foundation for newly hired computer science faculty and was designed for busy educators."
Added 11/22/2016.
Women in Computer Science: Getting Involved in STEM by ComputerScience.org
"Even with projected growth of 15-20% between 2012 and 2022, the vast majority of computer science jobs will be pursued and filled by men. As
STEM-related industries on a whole add over 1.7 million jobs in the coming years, there continues to be a notable absence of women in the field.
This trend begins well before entering the job market: girls account for more than half of all Advanced Placement (AP) test-takers, yet boys
outnumber girls 4:1 in computer science exams. In Mississippi, Montana and Wyoming, not a single girl took the AP Computer Science examination in
2014. There is a clear disconnect between the computer science industry and the message girls receive about their ability to succeed in tech
organizations. This guide examines the history behind this disparity and how educators, parents, employers and computer scientists can reverse the
trend." Subsections include: 'The Current State of Women in Computer Science', 'Getting Started: How Do We Get Young Women Interested in CS?',
'The 20 Schools With the Most Women Computer Science Graduates', 'Scholarships for Women in Computer Science', and 'Career & Support Resources'."
Added 11/26/2016.
Colleges Have Increased Women Computer Science Majors: What Can Google Learn? by Laura Sydell
, NPR
"A Google engineer who got fired over a controversial memo that criticized the company's diversity policies said that there might be biological
reasons there are fewer women engineers. But top computer science schools have proven that a few cultural changes can increase the number of
women in the field."
Added 08/14/2017.
Girls who code: about us by Girls who code
"We're a national non-profit organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology."
Added 08/21/2017.
Shifts in Computer Science Interest by Kaitlin Mulhere
,
Inside Higher Ed
"Lesser math confidence and a stronger preference for artistic fields dissuade women from majoring in computer science to a
smaller degree today than in the past, analysis of student interest in computer science shows."
Added 08/21/2017.
Computer Classes Are Diversifying! Now, About Those Jobs… by Davey Alba
,
Wired
"High-school girls are taking more Advanced Placement computer engineering exams than ever before, according to a new report
from Code.org and the College Board. In 2017, largely thanks to a new test aimed at expanding the reach of engineering classes,
female participation in these AP tests increased at a faster rate than young boys’ participation on the exam in 2017."
Added 08/21/2017.
Computer science now most popular major for women by Susannah Meyer
,
The Stanford Daily
"As of last week, computer science (CS) has become the most popular major on campus among women. According to data on declarations,
214 women are majoring in computer science, a fact that solidifies the recent growth of interest in the department. The previously
most popular major among women, human biology, closely trails with 208 declarations."
Added 08/21/2017.
Women Are Almost Half of Carnegie Mellon's Incoming Computer Science Undergraduates by Byron Spice
,
Carnegie Mellon University Computer Science Department
"Women make up more than 48 percent of incoming first-year undergraduates this fall in Carnegie Mellon University's top-ranked School
of Computer Science (SCS), setting a new school benchmark for diversity. SCS has long been a national leader in increasing the
participation of women in computer science, a discipline in which women have been significantly underrepresented nationwide."
Added 08/21/2017.
History of Women in IT: 6 Female Pioneers in Computer Science by Purdue University Global
"Women have played a vital role in the field of computer science and information technology (IT), developing some of the most essential
components of modern IT. Just a few of the achievements women have made in IT include..."
Added 06/18/2018.
Harmless Fun or Disguised Disrespect? by National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT)
"Sometimes people just want to make others laugh. We all want to laugh. It feels good. It's the best medicine. So why not repeat that
hilarious sexist, racist, or homophobic joke? Because no matter who cracks them, sexist jokes are a form of sexism. Racist jokes are
a form of racism. Homophobic jokes are a form of homophobia. These jokes matter: they can shape our beliefs and our actions..."
Added 07/20/2019.