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Attracting Women Into Computer Science

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the trying-harder dept.

Frisky070802 writes "U.S. News & World Report has an article about attracting women into Computer Science. '...That sense of isolation and inadequacy is one reason the number of women earning computer science degrees in this country has plummeted over the past two decades--with women dropping from 37 percent to 28 percent of graduates--at the very moment their presence in other scientific and engineering disciplines has soared. 'You look at the national statistics,' says Rick Rashid, senior vice president of research at Microsoft, 'and you just have to be appalled.'' It describes how some companies have even started summer camps to attract high school girls into high tech."

3 of 1,174 comments (clear)

  1. What's the point? by Cereal+Box · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    You can call me sexist if you want, but I'm not convinced that women in general are as capable as men when it comes to disciplines like engineering or Computer Science. I'm not saying that there aren't women who are talented in these fields -- they're just not as easy to find as these politically-correct types would like to believe. There will always be talented women who are drawn to Computer Science and they don't need special programs or camps to "convince" them that they will enjoy studying Computer Science.

    1. Re:What's the point? by Xugumad · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      I think the real problem is not discouraging the women who are good at computer science. I think if you take a random sample of men, and a random sample of women, you'll find more of the men have a natural ability for computer science.

      This doesn't mean that women are incapable of computer science, just less likely to have a natural knack for it. I've met plenty of women who are good sys-admins or programmers (some of them dramatically better than my male co-workers, but that's another rant).

      However, computer science has an air of geekiness, which I think puts off a lot of women, not to mention being outnumbered. I've been in groups where I'm the only guy, and it's a litle bit creepy, I'd imagine the opposite is also true!

  2. Re:Aim a little lower.... by brsmith4 · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    I think it's due, in large part, to the fact that, despite what anyone says to the contrary, men really don't care what you are saying. The two sexes operate on different wavelengths. The truth is, women rarely discuss anything that your average man is even remotely interested in. Just like most women don't want to hear about the big game or how your day sitting behind a computer went, men don't want to hear the often inane, overdrawn, and overdramatized details that women tend to put out on the table.

    Its really all about sex and how much a man and a woman can stand to sleep in the same bed with each other afterward. I don't know who started the whole "committed relationship" thing, but it was a Bad Idea (TM).

    Sincerely,

    John "Couldn't-keep-a-relationship-together-to-save-his -life" Doe