Women And Computing

Problem:

Only 17% of the high school students who took the Advanced Placement Computer Science test in 1999 were females - the lowest percentage of all tests given

The problem's repercussions are staggering. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists computer scientists, computer engineers, and systems analysts as the top three occupations with the fastest employment growth, 1996-2006.

http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/club/girls.html#Introduction

This phenomenon has been well documented over the last 20 years (Martin et al 2004, Camp 2002, Turner 2001, Mortleman 2004.

Originally referenced by: Eva Turner, University of East London

Why Women Don't Choose Computing,

We must find a way to include girls in computing, without excluding boys at the same time.

Research

http://women.acm.org/completed.html

The Role Model Project for Girls- Acm Committee on Women in computing

The Role Model Project for Girls

"This project addressed the need for role models in non-traditional careers such as computer science, for girls and young women"

www.computergirl.us

Designed by Ami Wu, her mission was to halt the alarming decrease of women in computer science.

Features

The site is designed to focus on female high school students across America. The entire Q&A on the site has been specifically chosen to address their concerns.

The site has opinions and answers from many experts and role models.

They have a discussion board in place that allows certain individuals to post resources, question advice and answers.

Possible reasons for the absence of women:

Women usually have a lot less experience of computing compared to men by the time they leave school and begin university. Women are further alienated by a stifling "geek culture" that celebrates obsessive computing at the expense of broad interests, according to Margolis & Fisher

"Many female undergraduates know so little about the nature of computer science (CS) that they are reluctant to enroll in their institution's introductory CS course"

The article goes on to mention that because of the small number of females on these courses coupled with their minimal computer experience they are more likely to believe that IT is too hard or "not