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That's not proof. It's an observation that needs explaining. Scott Alexander's post[0], which was linked in TFA offers a plausible explanation. > My impression

That's not proof. It's an observation that needs explaining. Scott Alexander's post[0], which was linked in TFA offers a plausible explanation. > My impression is that there were lots of women in CS in 1980 for the same reason there were lots of Jews in banking in 1800: they were banned from doing anything else. > Computer programming was originally considered sort of a natural outgrowth of being a secretary (remember, 77% of data entry specialists are still female today, probably because it’s also considered a natural outgrowth of being a secretary). Women had lots of opportunity in it, and a lot of women who couldn’t break into other professions naturally went into it. > Then people let women become doctors and lawyers, so a bunch of the smart ones went off and did that instead. > You can see the same thing going on with teachers. There’s been a huge decline in the percent of the most talented women who become teachers. [0] https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/08/07/contra-grant-on-exaggerated-differences/#comment-533594 https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/08/07/contra-grant-on-exagge...

ucaetano 9y ago
That explanation doesn't match the chart: There weren't a lot of women in CS. They were growing, just like other fields. And then, suddenly, they stopped growing and started declining.
- account2937858 9y ago
  It did rise most sharply in CS because it was open to women early on when women joined the labor market (previously either holding non-degree jobs or being stay-at-home wives). Once other fields opened up too they left CS for those fields which aligned more with their interests. Maybe there might be two effects at work here: Women joining a field early that was seen as a female job (computer secretaries) that did not align with their interests while conversely men started to join more when the job became more stereotyped as a "male activity" while at the same time being aligned with their interest. Contrast the business curve which also saw an early increase but also is more of a people-interest thing, thus did not see a decline.
  - ucaetano 9y ago
    > It did rise most sharply in CS because it was open to women early on when women joined the labor market (previously either holding non-degree jobs or being stay-at-home wives). Once other fields opened up too they left CS for those fields which aligned more with their interests. Again, that doesn't match the chart: http://www.randalolson.com/wp-content/uploads/percent-bachelors-degrees-women-usa.png http://www.randalolson.com/wp-content/uploads/percent-bachel...

ucaetano 9y ago

That explanation doesn't match the chart: There weren't a lot of women in CS. They were growing, just like other fields. And then, suddenly, they stopped growing and started declining.

account2937858 9y ago
It did rise most sharply in CS because it was open to women early on when women joined the labor market (previously either holding non-degree jobs or being stay-at-home wives). Once other fields opened up too they left CS for those fields which aligned more with their interests. Maybe there might be two effects at work here: Women joining a field early that was seen as a female job (computer secretaries) that did not align with their interests while conversely men started to join more when the job became more stereotyped as a "male activity" while at the same time being aligned with their interest. Contrast the business curve which also saw an early increase but also is more of a people-interest thing, thus did not see a decline.
- ucaetano 9y ago
  > It did rise most sharply in CS because it was open to women early on when women joined the labor market (previously either holding non-degree jobs or being stay-at-home wives). Once other fields opened up too they left CS for those fields which aligned more with their interests. Again, that doesn't match the chart: http://www.randalolson.com/wp-content/uploads/percent-bachelors-degrees-women-usa.png http://www.randalolson.com/wp-content/uploads/percent-bachel...