Women and CS
This was an article that was sent to the Women in Computing group at my school. It's from today's New Yort Times. Very interesting I think.
Computer Science Takes Steps to Bring Women to the Fold
I think it's sad that more women aren't involved in computing. I mean I can see that they're trying to get more women interested in everything, but the ratio of men and women in CS is really amazing. I agree that the stereotyping of people involved in computer science - that they are nerds that just sit and program in front of a computer all day every day - is quite damaging for both sexes. However, one of the major problems that exist here is the stereotyping that women can't achieve in mathematics as well as men can. In my opinion, that is what prevents many women from not pursuing the CS degree.
The nerd stereotype is also damaging to obtaining more women because it's been shown that women are overall more sociable than men. They tend to rely more on the relationships of those around them and the idea of potentially being cut off from social interaction in a cubicle with only code to work on doesn't appeal to many women. Not that it appeals to many men either, but seeing how women tend to gravitate to more social jobs such as healthcare, secretaries, and such it seems that they would prefer to have more social interaction in their workplace than they believe CS has to offer.
In the article they are rather disparaging of the AP Computer Science course specifically because it shows only a narrow view of the CS degree. I never took CS in high school, but I can agree with the viewpoint they consider. When I first started my degree I had the same kind of view of CS, and I didn't like it. I started looking at other majors such as Psychology and International Affairs because I didn't feel satisfied with the broadness of the CS major. It took the experience of the work place where I was using my knowledge on a regular basis to make me realize that the field was broader than that. I started to realize that the degree could be mixed in almost any area you could think of, and honestly the possibilities of the degree are astonishing. Few other degrees can allow you to go into such a variety of fields.
I think if they tried to show the options of CS in High School, or even in the beginning classes in college, they would see the retention rate of the students in the degree increase. I think there's a certain amount of intimidation that's used as well. At least, that's my two cents worth on the matter.
Computer Science Takes Steps to Bring Women to the Fold
I think it's sad that more women aren't involved in computing. I mean I can see that they're trying to get more women interested in everything, but the ratio of men and women in CS is really amazing. I agree that the stereotyping of people involved in computer science - that they are nerds that just sit and program in front of a computer all day every day - is quite damaging for both sexes. However, one of the major problems that exist here is the stereotyping that women can't achieve in mathematics as well as men can. In my opinion, that is what prevents many women from not pursuing the CS degree.
The nerd stereotype is also damaging to obtaining more women because it's been shown that women are overall more sociable than men. They tend to rely more on the relationships of those around them and the idea of potentially being cut off from social interaction in a cubicle with only code to work on doesn't appeal to many women. Not that it appeals to many men either, but seeing how women tend to gravitate to more social jobs such as healthcare, secretaries, and such it seems that they would prefer to have more social interaction in their workplace than they believe CS has to offer.
In the article they are rather disparaging of the AP Computer Science course specifically because it shows only a narrow view of the CS degree. I never took CS in high school, but I can agree with the viewpoint they consider. When I first started my degree I had the same kind of view of CS, and I didn't like it. I started looking at other majors such as Psychology and International Affairs because I didn't feel satisfied with the broadness of the CS major. It took the experience of the work place where I was using my knowledge on a regular basis to make me realize that the field was broader than that. I started to realize that the degree could be mixed in almost any area you could think of, and honestly the possibilities of the degree are astonishing. Few other degrees can allow you to go into such a variety of fields.
I think if they tried to show the options of CS in High School, or even in the beginning classes in college, they would see the retention rate of the students in the degree increase. I think there's a certain amount of intimidation that's used as well. At least, that's my two cents worth on the matter.