The Gender Divide in Computer Science
Abstract: This paper examines the gender divide in computer science. Computer science is a relatively new field, but still has few females involved in it. Numbers seemed to be on the climb for a while only to dwindle back down. Stereotypes and media play a large role in discouraging women, but some universities are trying to change this by encouraging women. Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has made some significant increases in women enrolled in computer science. A change of some kind is needed so we can create a more diverse group of programmers. That may be the key to the next big breakthrough in the field.
1. Brief History: contributions from women
This paper analyzes the reason behind the gender gap in computer science. Although there is a low number of women in computer science and related fields, women have made some important contributions. An early contribution came from Augusta Ada Byron back in the early to mid 1800's. She is best known for her contributions to theoretical work. Her work, along with others at that time, is believed to be the foundation for modern computers. She developed the idea of loops and subroutines long before electronic computing existed. In honor of her, the Department of Defense named the high-level programming language Ada after her [11].
Some other notable contributions in the past came in the 40's while most men were off in WWII and women were forced to hold many of the jobs left behind. Grace Hopper made one of the biggest breakthroughs: inventing the first English-based programming language, which was later used to develop COBOL. Today terms she was remembered for are also still used like bug and debug [2].
Men, however, returned from the war and took back these positions and the gender gap became more prevalent as time went on. It seems, though, that this shouldn't have happened quite so easily since contributions like Hopper's are the beginning of what became the backbone of digital computing as we know it today [6]. Hopper's contributions really marked the beginning of computing as we know it, so in that sense computer science is a relatively new field. One would think the newer technologies like computers would have been easier to break into, since men didn't have as many years of advantage in computing as they did in many other areas; areas where the number of women is much more even[2].
...roblems of integration. If the science world takes advantage of undiscovered female talent, science as a whole will benefit greatly. For example, the original group of ENIAC programmers consisted of 6 women. In 1946, these women helped to develop the first operating stored-program computer.6 If female talent such as this goes to waste because of social neglect, the science world will never know what possible discoveries that could have been made with the help of women. If Dr. Djerassi is accurate with his examples of discrimination, the science world should take note of these problems and attempt to solve them.
Invisible Man (1952) chronicles the journey of a young African-American man on a quest for self-discovery amongst racial, social and political tensions. This novel features a striking parallelism to Ellison’s own life. Born in Oklahoma in 1914, Ellison was heavily influenced by his namesake, transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ellison attended the Tuskegee Institute on a music scholarship before leaving to pursue his dreams in New York. Ellison’s life mirrors that of his protagonist as he drew heavily on his own experiences to write Invisible Man. Ellison uses the parallel structure between the narrator’s life and his own to illustrate the connection between sight and power, stemming from Ellison’s own experiences with the communist party.
Invisible Man is a book novel written by Ralph Ellison. The novel delves into various intellectual and social issues facing the African-Americans in the mid-twentieth century. Throughout the novel, the main character struggles a lot to find out who he is, and his place in the society. He undergoes various transformations, and notably is his transformation from blindness and lack of understanding in perceiving the society (Ellison 34).
In Ralph Ellison’s novel, Invisible Man, the invisible man encounters many people on his journey to self discovery. Such journeys are not meant to be undergone alone, but instead with the help of others’ advice, actions and experiences. These individuals, though they only appear briefly, leave a lasting impression on the invisible man. In particular, Mr. Norton, Dr. Bledsoe, and the vet all have a significant impact on the invisible man’s personal decisions, outlook on society and provide valuable lessons that aid in the development of his identity as an invisible man.
In the novel “Invisible Man” the anonymous narrator struggles with his identity throughout the whole novel, leading him to be a quite questionable character. He first begins to question his identity was the way he tried to emulate his grandfather. His grandfather tries to instill in him that he should be docile but still keep in mind that he should never become complacent, never allow the whites to fully undermine him or possess all the power, he was...
“Sexist discrimination in STEM is such incredibly old news that it is a serious wonder we have not discovered the words “Women cannot be trusted to add” in cave paintings.”(JR Thorpe)
Although seemingly a very important aspect of Invisible Man, the problems of blacks are not the sole concern of the novel. Instead, these problems are used as a vehicle for beginning the novel a...
STEM is best known as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. STEM for many years has been primarily seen as and stereotyped into a masculine work field. But as of recent years, while it expands, more and more women have been rising in these fields. However, there is still a tremendous gender gap between men and women in these fields and areas of work. The gender gap between men and women in STEM is alive and well. There is no denying that the gender gap between men and women in STEM is immense. But there instead are many sufficient reasons as to why there is such a huge gap between men and women within in fields. Some probable causes for the lack of women seen in these areas are biased towards women, unconscious bias girls receive
Women graduates from the 16 Wisconsin Technical College Districts in 2003 made up 12,589 (65%) of 19,358 graduates as compared to 6,745 (35%) men. The percentage of women graduates from the WTCS has increased significantly since the 1980s but has been more than 50% for at least the last 20 years. The percentage of women graduates nationally from American two and four colleges and universities is increasing significantly each year and will eventually exceed or be on a par with men graduates from higher education nationally in “most” academic and professional majors, if they do not already exceed men in 2004.
In 1970 women had earned only 17% of a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering computer science, and natural sciences. In 1995 though, the proportion was still low but it increased to 31%. (Macionis 1998).
Araby is about escaping into the world of fantasy. The narrator is infatuated with his friend's sister; he hides in the shadows, peering secluded from a distance trying to spy her "brown figure"(Joyce 38). She is the light in his fantasy, someone who will lift him out of darkness. I see many parallels to my life as a boy growing up in the inner city of Jersey City. We looked for escape also, a trip uptown to Lincoln Park, or take a train ride to New York City where we would gaze at the beauties on 7th Ave.
Karwatka, Dennis. "Ada Lovelace--The First Computer Programmer." Tech Directions 54.10 (1995): 21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 May 2014.
With technology rapidly changing as fast as we blink our eyes, it is important for people to learn as much as possible about the computer world if they want to maintain a decent lifestyle because the world we live in revolving around those technologies. As McKee points out, “most jobs now require intelligence and technical skill” (1). Each year, there is something either added or modified to computers, which forces people to learn computer literacy at a steady pace. While some love computers, others despise them. When comparing people’s attitudes towards computers, statistics show a gender gap that proves most females’ attitudes are drastically different from the attitudes of males. Several studies prove that women not only lack an interest in technology, but they also chose not to enroll in computer classes. Since computers and technology play an enormous role in the world today, more technology professionals are needed. It is extremely important for more women to become knowledgeable in these areas. Swain and Harvey argue, “This technology gender gap is affecting half our population and causing it to be unprepared to contribute to the demands of a high-tech twenty-first century” (17). While this may not seem like a serious issue to some, it is an issue that will ultimately lead to a bigger problem if not handled immediately. So why are there so few women in the technology field? To answer that question, I must first find out why are there so few women in the technology and computer classes, considering that this atmosphere is the most common place where the interest for computers is born.
...cs. In the years, the country has started to realize the injustice it has been doing females in the field of mathematics. I believe that in the future these biases and disadvantages will be a thing of the past. Females have the mental capability to perform on an equal level with all respected and distinguished male mathematicians, but first social pressures and stereotypes must be eliminated.
If the nineteenth century was an era of the Industrial revolution in Europe, I would say that computers and Information Technology have dominated since the twentieth century. The world today is a void without computers, be it healthcare, commerce or any other field, the industry won’t thrive without Information Technology and Computer Science. This ever-growing field of technology has aroused interest in me since my childhood. After my twelfth grade, the inherent ardor I held for Computer Science motivated me to do a bachelors degree in Information Technology. Programming and Math, a paragon of logic and reasoning, have always been my favorite subjects since childhood.