Over my professional career as a computer scientist, I have observed exactly what this April 2022 article discusses about my field. The gender gap is a problem, and it's not getting better. The problem so bad that the National Science Foundation (NSF) is pushing efforts that address it, and universities are trying to create programs that encourage female enrollments.
So, drawing from my over 55 years as a female in our society and over 30 years working in this profession, I’ll share some thoughts about this and other relevant articles and about my experiences in the field.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects computer science research jobs will grow 19% by 2026. Yet, women only earn 18% of computer science bachelor's degrees in the United States. Despite the high job demand, computer science remains a male-dominated field in the United States.”
Only 18% of computer science degrees are earned by women in the USA.
“Starting when computer technology first emerged during World War II and continuing into the 1960s, women made up most of the computing workforce. By 1970, however, women only accounted for 13.6% of bachelor's in computer science graduates. In 1984 that number rose to 37%, but it has since declined to 18% -- around the same time personal computers started showing up in homes.“
I remember being a computer science undergraduate in 1984-86. At that time, somewhere between 25-30% of the students at my school were women. A minority for sure, but enough that you weren’t “the only one”. I recall thinking that this was the perfect time to get into this relatively young field, on the ground floor, to make this field one where women were just as common as were men, unlike so many other technical fields. But enrollments have gone in the opposite direction. To make matters worse, women are more likely to leave the computer science degree program than are men. And, more women are likely to leave the field after career entry than are men.
Sadly, “Only 20% of computer science professionals are women.” And oh by the way, that’s ALL professionals, including UI (which takes creative design talents) and managers. I’m in an even smaller niche: cyber security research. It is not uncommon for me to be the ONLY woman in a conference room of 50 men. There is often no line for the women’s room at tech conferences, but the men are lined up out the door. We women make uncomfortable jokes amongst ourselves about this phenomenon.
Only 20% of computer science professionals are women.
I hope that every reader is asking, “How can I help?” And if you are, THANK YOU! To figure out what we can do, we first have to understand what is really going on in the industry and in society in general.
The above cited articles make some really good points about these questions. In all honesty, it’s complicated. There’s no one thing you can point your finger to and say, “That’s it!” That’s why this is so hard. I will share some of the lessons that I have drawn from my experience as a student of the public schools and of a computer science university program and as a career woman, working in a male-dominated field. These are also informed from talking with other women in the field. This list is not comprehensive.
We need to promote the love of technical subjects.
We adults need to stop telling kids that “math is hard”. When we say that, we are telling kids before they even try that they can’t do it and should hate math. This is really for both genders, but it gets pushed on females for sure. At least I had a dad who drilled into me that “can’t do this” is not in my dictionary and that I could be anything I wanted to be. I love my dad. Have I mentioned that? Sadly, other girls don't get that kind of encouragement.
Stereotypical biases start early and affect career choices.
There is an inherent bias in the toys that are marketed towards the genders; these toys reinforce stereotypes. I blame Mattel. Well not just Mattel. But consider that it’s only in recent years that they started making “scientist” Barbies and Barbies with different body shapes. Before this shift, playing with Barbies was about going shopping, getting your hair styled, fashion, and working as a flight attendant. Not that there's anything wrong with these things. But girls can be so much more if they so choose. We need to open minds to and support all the choices. Not to mention that we see how well the exaggerated Barbie figures have helped girls over the years. Now we have an entire industry built around eating disorders. Thanks. Not.
Women need to be encouraged to speak up.
It can be intimidating to be the only female in the room. Often when that happens, the woman will sit in silence and not participate in the conversation. It shouldn’t be that way, but our society has made it that way. I was the only female child in my family, so I’m used to rough housing with the boys and standing up for myself. But other girls didn’t have that same experience. And when you do speak up in any kind of assertive or authoritative manner as part of your job, you are called “controlling” or a *itch. Guys, you wouldn’t say stuff like this if the person were another guy. Stop it. This is nothing more than stereotyped bias. And women are worse than men about doing this to other women. Really?
Women need female role models.
There’s been a lack of female role models in technical fields (see #3). This is really important. People want to be in places where they see other people like themselves. This is just how humans are wired. And this is really a self-fulfilling prophecy. If there are few women in these fields, how do we grow mentors to recruit more females? This is why organizations such as the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu have popped up. They find female mentors and connect them with young girls who are interested in computer security.
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a real problem in tech.
We need to fully digest that sexual harassment in the workplace is a problem. “More than 50% of women in tech report gender inequality, discrimination, or sexual harassment in male-dominated environments.” This fits with my experience. The hacker (and gamer) communities are overrun with testosterone driven guys who act like 13 year olds and treat women as sexual objects, rather than intellectual peers. Think Beavis and Butt-head or Wayne’s World. I'm not saying that all men in these groups act like this but a lot do. So let me be clear: NO PROFESSIONAL WOMAN wants to be in an environment where this garbage is going on. None. It’s so bad that groups like the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu and Girls Who Code (among others) have had to create safe places for girls and women who want to learn about and become proficient at computer science and cybersecurity. It shouldn’t be this way. We have a partially-gender segregated community. Women should feel welcome and included in all parts of the field.
Societal hyper-sexualization of females is a contributing factor to sexual harassment in the workplace.
The hyper-sexualization of females in our society is real and is one of the contributing factors to sexual violence and harassment. You can’t watch advertisements without seeing it. Nor can you watch much on Netflix (and others) without gratuitous sex (that adds absolutely NOTHING to the story). And it’s not just hinted at. We’re talking full on nudity and sex acts, and that affects the way people think. The sexualization of women even pervasive in superheroes. And it is all leaking into the office. Folks, we can’t have it both ways. Continuing on the thought from #5, there are four top conferences in cybersecurity research. There is one that I haven’t supported in years. Why? Because the last time I went, a male researcher included in his presentation a screenshots of a cover from (I think) Vanity Fair that showed a woman only partially dressed and in a very compromising position. At a professional conference. A place where women are supposed to feel like equals. Really? I guess he didn't get the memo. This is a prime example of our hyper-sexual culture leaking into the work place. A number of women got up and walked out, including me. It was so bad that the conference issued an apology and said that they would be reviewing slides before they were presented in the future. I don’t know if they are actually doing that. I could give other examples of the sexual harassment I’ve had to eudure in my career, but frankly, those are too embarrassing to talk about. So. You want to help women in the workplace? We need to stop making everything about sex. Really. Making innocuous things about sex only feeds this problem. We women need safe work environments, where we don’t have to worry about what the men we work with are thinking -- a place where we are treated with the dignity and respect that we deserve and where we can excel through excellence of work contribution.
Women need safe work environments that are free of sexual innuendos, undertones, and outright harassment.
These are just some of the thoughts I’ve had about this subject for a very long time. This just keeps coming up. Over and over again. I figured it was about time to write it down.
As for me? I chose this field. I do not regret it. The career path has been most fulfilling for a logical brained person like myself (I’m reading that left/right brain isn’t really a thing). But. I really don’t appreciate a lot of the garbage I’ve had to tolerate to stay IN this field. I’m not alone in this. I have female co-workers, and we all have this fight. I do want to be clear that the vast majority of my male co-workers are great and don’t engage in the cited abhorrent behavior (5&6). But it’s here, and this is not where we need to be. We have a long way to go, and it’s going to take a village to get there.
Women need true allies in this fight. Will you be our ally?
