The Strange Case of Computer Science - Why Are Fewer Women in The Field?

[frederick0t6]

From the New York Times:

What Has Driven Women Out of Computer Science

Comments

[worldelf]

This may be un-PC, based on a small sample size, and biased, but in my opinion it would have more to do with the guys who choose to work in that field. All the people I know who work in developing computer games are completely out of it, follow no social norms, and are rude, arrogant, self-centered bastards, and I would think it the most torturous thing in the world to put up with them for a few years, where that is the norm. If the stereotype of the CS person is of someone with no social skills, being around people 24/7 who not only have no social skills but also are proud of that fact and think everyone should kowtow to them and that they have NO obligation to be nice to anyone somehow Because of that -- infuriating. A bigger bunch of self-chosen jerks, I don't know where to find. Maybe among risky, high-flying traders. They also only look out for themselves and somehow seem to think there's something moral about that

[worldelf]

But maybe I'm talking about the end result after the fact, and not why they left in the first place.

Because places that have few women in them become very unfriendly for women very quickly. (Also, studies have shown organizations without many women in them fail quickly, and start-ups are more likely to succeed if they have women in them, but that's another story.) So it's easy to say in retrospect how awful it is, but that probably doesn't explain the decline.

[uhclem]

I suspect it has to do with the effort the unis put in to effect change: I know MIT is now 51% female, evenly distributed across majors. But they made it a priority to do that, as their current female president would testify.

And when I was there it was 5% female. sigh.