Technical difficulties: Lack of women in computer science starts from an early age

August 08, 2012|Kristyn Schiavone, Tribune Media Services

Although computer science is one of the fields poised for exponential job growth over the next several years, there’s a glaring lack of women entering the field.

Since 1984, the number of computer science degrees awarded to women has steadily declined, and today only 13 percent of computer science graduates are female. Accordingly, top jobs in the field are male-dominated. A recent study by technology outsourcing and recruiting firm Harvey Nash Group found that out of 166 U.S.-based technology firms that replaced their CEOs last year, only six appointed a woman for the position.

Bridging the gap

It’s clear women aren’t pursuing technology careers, but why? According to Gloria Townsend, a computer science professor at Depauw University, it’s one of the most promising fields for female students to study.

“There is a predicted shortage of technology workers by 2018, and women are especially courted for their ability to manage projects and teams successfully,” Townsend says. “Just as the early 1980s was a wonderful time for women to enter the field of computing, 2012 holds even more promise as a stepping stone to a technological future.”

Townsend is also the principal investigator for a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant aimed at encouraging more women to explore computing as a career. She says the reasons that few women pursue technology are “complicated and varied,” but that the big picture is that the pipeline from elementary school to a computing career shrinks with each higher level of education.



Julie Gill, a recent Pace University computer science graduate who now does web development and tutoring for Mathnasium, a math learning center for kids, says her father was a programmer and encouraged her to learn.

“When I was a little kid, he sat me down in front of a computer and said, ‘Why don’t you learn how to program?’” she says. “Throughout school I did various programming languages, never in a class but just on the side.”

Her aptitude eventually led to a scholarship for computer science, but she says that if her father hadn’t been a programmer, it’s unlikely that she would have pursued the field.

“This career path would never be recommended to you,” Gill says. “Girls and their friends at school aren’t talking about computers. In elementary school, when the computer breaks, teachers will often choose a boy to come help.”

“From a very young age, we need to give girls the confidence to take risks and make a few mistakes,” she adds. “As a programmer your whole day is pretty much fixing your own mistakes, so we need to teach girls they don’t have to be perfect, and just outright encouragement for girls who are good at problem-solving.”