4 ms·

So, if you pay attention to history, you can see that there isn't actually a predisposition which affects this. In the 1980's, about half[1] of computer scient

by likpok 17y ago

So, if you pay attention to history, you can see that there isn't actually a predisposition which affects this. In the 1980's, about half[1] of computer scientists were women. Now? 10-20%. Something is being done, and it is being done wrong. So it's not as simple as "They don't want to" or "Society makes them". [1] I believe it to be about half. However, it might be slightly more or less. Definitely far higher than today.

ahoyhere 17y ago
Based on what metrics? Where are your #s coming from? What are you defining as "a computer scientist"?
- likpok 17y ago
  There was an article in the NYT (I think it may be mentioned above) that discussed this. It appeared on slashdot, and I remember being quite aggravated at comments akin to 'Maybe they just don't want to', as the article explicitly dealth with this. Also, I believe their metric may have been students, but I am not sure.
msluyter 17y ago
Here's an article from the NY Times that goes into this in some detail, although there appears to be no single compelling explanation: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/business/16digi.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/business/16digi.html One thing that the article notes is that women have achieved parity in other technical fields: "When all science and engineering fields are considered, the percentage of bachelor’s degree recipients who are women has improved to 51 percent in 2004-5 from 39 percent in 1984-85, according to National Science Foundation surveys." I find it rather hard to believe that software professionals are especially sexist compared to those in other engineering fields, thus I tend to think that other factors -- a reputation for grueling work hours, the "nerd factor", perceived drop in availability of jobs due to outsourcing, etc... -- are driving women away.
Tichy 17y ago
It could still be "they don't want to" - conditions in society might have chanced so that other options have become more attractive for women. Wasn't 1980 still a completely different time, when it was more typical for women to stay at home? In that case, it would be even more surprising if there was parity back then. I had the impression that a lot of women from Russia tended to be into technical careers, I wonder what was behind that. "Better" childcare (as in children being raised by the state)?
Afton 17y ago
I recommend checking out [unlocking the clubhouse](http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=9635 http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&#38...). It goes into this in significant detail. Too much detail for me dredge up from my read of it 3 years ago.

by likpok 17y ago

ahoyhere 17y ago

Based on what metrics? Where are your #s coming from? What are you defining as "a computer scientist"?

likpok 17y ago
There was an article in the NYT (I think it may be mentioned above) that discussed this. It appeared on slashdot, and I remember being quite aggravated at comments akin to 'Maybe they just don't want to', as the article explicitly dealth with this. Also, I believe their metric may have been students, but I am not sure.

msluyter 17y ago

Here's an article from the NY Times that goes into this in some detail, although there appears to be no single compelling explanation: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/business/16digi.html http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/business/16digi.html One thing that the article notes is that women have achieved parity in other technical fields: "When all science and engineering fields are considered, the percentage of bachelor’s degree recipients who are women has improved to 51 percent in 2004-5 from 39 percent in 1984-85, according to National Science Foundation surveys." I find it rather hard to believe that software professionals are especially sexist compared to those in other engineering fields, thus I tend to think that other factors -- a reputation for grueling work hours, the "nerd factor", perceived drop in availability of jobs due to outsourcing, etc... -- are driving women away.

Tichy 17y ago

It could still be "they don't want to" - conditions in society might have chanced so that other options have become more attractive for women. Wasn't 1980 still a completely different time, when it was more typical for women to stay at home? In that case, it would be even more surprising if there was parity back then. I had the impression that a lot of women from Russia tended to be into technical careers, I wonder what was behind that. "Better" childcare (as in children being raised by the state)?

Afton 17y ago

I recommend checking out [unlocking the clubhouse](http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=9635 http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&#38...). It goes into this in significant detail. Too much detail for me dredge up from my read of it 3 years ago.