Attracting Women Into Computer Science

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."

Comments

Re:Well gee

[Khali]

Many boys are given legos. Many girls are given dolls.

My sister and I were both given Legos when we were young. We were both given dolls too. And it happens that I'm now into computer science, while she's baroque music. So even when given the same opportunities as kids, grown up by the same parents at the same place and going to the same schools until we were 17 year old or so, we have completely different interests now.

So, either we were born with differences, be they related to gender or not, or there are just too many factors to be taken into account through one's life and any individual signal we pick and try to analyze is completely undistinguishable from the overall noise.

Re:Single sex classes

[ctr2sprt]

I have a friend who's Jewish, and he confessed to me one time that he often felt very singled-out. Anyway, it was a big deal for him, and he often felt very alone at college. One time when we were talking about this (he was feeling especially down that day), I asked him why he went where he did instead of a place like Brandeis, where he'd be in the majority. And he told me that he did it because he needed to learn to live in the real world, where Jews are often few and far between. Going to Brandeis would be more fun, he said, but he'd have to make the transition sooner or later - and better to make it when all your expenses are still paid by your parents, instead of when you're living truly on your own for the first time.

It struck me as a very wise point of view to have. And it's one I think applies here. You can go with single-sex classes, sure. But once these women graduate, they're going to be in environments where, quite often, they are the only women in the department or on the shift. If they can't take that, well, it's better to find out before you dump $40k+ getting an education in a field where you won't be working.

I attended one

[kria]

Well, actually, I attended a total of three summer events at colleges, while I was in Junior High or High School.

The first one was called Summerquest and was at Eastern Michigan University. It was for both genders and covered a wide variety of topics. I was there for the Creative Writing part. I don't think anyone from that group is earning their living through writing... ;)

The second one was called Summerscience for Girls, later, I believe, renamed, though I could be wrong. This was obviously just for females and included groups on Physics, Chemistry, etc. I was in the Physics group. I truly do believe that more of us ended up with an interest in science. In addition, I heard quite a few stories from girls who really had been discouraged by teachers and other adults from science and math, and I think that this summer program may have given them a bit more strength on that.

The third program I attended was the Michigan American Legion Auxillary Girls' State. Essentially, it was a thing for learning more about politics, and many of the girls who went were ones that were very involved in school politics and the like. While some of them were very bright, it was definitely not true of all of them, and I enjoyed it considerably less than the other two, where participants were sent based on academic record. It also totally turned me off any idea of going into law (I was my "city" lawyer) or politics.

I, personally, have not had a problem with _teachers_ or _parents_ discouraging me from science and math. I've been exposed to computers since I was four (ah, the TI 99-4/a), and always told I can do whatever I put my mind to do. On the other hand, I have certainly felt discouraged by peers, while I was in high school, at any rate, with the typical ridicule for getting good grades, being "too smart for my own good", and reading too much.

Despite the fact that I went to a college (www.rose-hulman.edu) that was only allowing women in in my class, the class of '99, I did not feel that there was anything wrong with my being there. I feel very little pressure of that nature here at work, despite being a programmer on a defense project.