

The Decline of Women in Computer Science - dhs
http://knol.google.com/k/jennifer-taylor/the-decline-of-women-in-computer/u67r-Ndua/5hwjo0#

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pg
Striking graph. Having been there at the time, I'd propose roughly the same
explanation she does, though in less loaded terms. The decline starts about
5-6 years after microcomputers became widely available. Assuming 4 years to
graduate, that means the decline in women CS majors begins almost exactly at
the time kids started to be able to hack in HS.

Up till 1980 or so, CS was like other engineering disciplines in that it was
something most students started to learn in college. Few students arrive in
college already proficient in mechanical engineering. But starting in the
early 80s, students started to arrive who were already proficient (or at
least, experienced) in programming. These kids were self-selected, and they
were almost exclusively boys.

~~~
neilk
I once had an enlightening discussion on a company mailing list about this.
The common complaint among the female programmers was that their university
classes were directed towards these self-selected male know-it-alls, who had
been overclocking their PCs since middle school. Many of the women, who were
just making their first foray into Comp Sci in university, got so frustrated
they almost quit. And these women eventually became great programmers, so
imagine what the women of average talent experienced.

The funny thing is, when prompted, quite a few of the men chimed in that they
resented these male uber-nerds too.

So maybe society just forgot how to teach computer science or programming to
adults. It might be that the schools have a reliable business, graduating the
inveterate nerdz-4-life.

And maybe that's why practically every student I interview codes like they
didn't learn anything in university. (But that's another story.)

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jimbokun
"Today, in terms of numbers, women have outpaced men in biological and
agricultural sciences"

Then why not equal concern about men falling behind in these sciences, as for
women not keeping pace in computer science degrees?

~~~
ajross
Because the split there is about 55:45, which is close enough to even to be a
wash. If men were 20-25% of the workforce in the life sciences (as women are
in engineering and CS), then yes, it would be a problem. But they're not, so
it isn't.

You _did_ look at the linked article, right?

~~~
mdemare
I'm always surprised at these claims of women getting over 25% of all CS
bachelor degrees. I've given a couple of one day courses to CS students and
there weren't any women. In my college days there was one girl (and she
considered getting a masters in CS a hobby next to her main occupation, which
was med school.)

At conferences with hundreds of attendees I see less than a dozen women, more
than half of whom turn out to be the friends or sisters of the organisers.

Is that just my experience? I'm Dutch, but this includes my experiences at
JavaOne, RailsConf and EuRuKo.

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babul
In many countries, such as India, there is actually a rise in women in
Computer Science, probably more to do with the fact that in most cases they
start off on an equal footing to boys in terms of exposure to computers pre-
college and secondly due to the lucrative (in relative terms) job prospects
and non-manual nature of the work.

The trends there seem to be following the early trends of the graph here (but
in a more condensed timeframe), and it will be interesting to see how it
continues.

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river_styx
I chalk this one up to the anti-intellectual barbie doll culture here in the
U.S. There are plenty of girls studying computer science and engineering in
Asia, for example, where academics are valued over sports and fashion attire.

~~~
ricree
How does this account for the continued growth of women in other technical
fields? One of the biggest points in the article is that this trend differs
strongly from many other intellectual areas.

~~~
LogicHoleFlaw
Well, this is only an anecdote, but a close female friend of mine went to
college to study CS. After two years in the program however, she switched
majors. The vaguely hostile social atmosphere and the impression of a
programming career as lonely nights sitting at a computer monitor contributed
greatly to her decision. She was very competent in the field but those
external factors were enough to push her away. It was probably the right
decision for her, but it was definitely a loss for computer science.

