
Diversity initiatives help change the face of Berkeley computer science - fortran77
https://news.berkeley.edu/story_jump/diversity-initiatives-help-change-the-face-of-berkeley-computer-science/
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kick
_“Anytime someone mentioned computer science, I compared myself to them and I
never quite felt like I had the ability to do what they were doing,” Paniagua
said. “All my misconceptions of computer science made me believe that the
field wasn’t meant for me.”

“The program was a life-changing experience for me,” says Paniagua, who now
plans to major in computer science, cognitive science or both.

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Over the past two years, the number of women graduating with degrees in
computer science and in electrical engineering and computer science (EECS)
majors has increased by 47%, and the number of students from underrepresented
minority backgrounds following same path has increased by 43%, reports
Berkeley’s EECS department, which runs the programs.

Improvements in diversity are also evident at the graduate level: Between fall
2011 and fall 2018, the percentage of women in EECS graduate programs jumped
from 14.5% to 22.5% and the number of underrepresented minority students grew
from 27 to 41._

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Kudos to Berkeley, these results are seriously impressive, and highlight how
much a little bit of outreach can do to improve the quality of life of others.

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Bostonian
The picture caption says "Students share project demos during CS KickStart, a
free, week-long program for incoming freshman, female-identifying and non-
binary students interested in computer science."

So a guy who says he is "female-identifying" or "non-binary" can attend, but a
guy is who is gender-conforming and honest about it cannot. What is the
justice of that?

