If you don’t read the news, then you probably don’t know there’s a crisis in computer science. The lack of women pursuing computer science in the United States is abyssmal (though the same statistics also seem to apply to the UK), or so many reports say. And then there are a number of reports claiming the gap is narrowing and things are getting better as discussed here, here, and here. Unfortunately, those that do pursue computer science may leave the industry due to hostile working conditions and other issues.
The following are my experiences pursuing a computer science degree.
Growing Up
My father was a chemist, my mother an elementary teacher with a Masters degree in mathematics. My dad loved computers ever since he bought our first one, an Apple II in 1985. As a hobby, he started building PCs from scratch and he let me help (mainly holding screws or moving wires back so he could install a piece of hardware). Dad printed out star charts and we’d go outside and look for constellations and planets. Mom sat at the kitchen table with me and helped me with my math homework when I had questions. My parents were very involved in my education. It wasn’t that failure wasn’t tolerated - they believed you just should do whatever it took to avoid failure. I was to get help from the teacher or from my parents until I understood the material and could master it.
Needless to say, my parents never discouraged me from pursuing the sciences. Nor did my school. In 3rd grade, I created some neat drawings using a new program for Apple as part of a special project. The school sent me and a few selected classmates to a conference hosted by Apple, promoting children’s software among other things, and we showed off our projects.
The problem was I excelled in English, History, and the arts. I was an exceptional writer. I used to read novels (180+ handwritten pages!) I wrote myself to my friends on the school bus. I visited the libraray frequently. I won three awards in Photography by my senior year in high school. I wasn’t exceptional in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. I was in a slower track for math, because I felt like I needed quality more than quantity. I was just better at the liberal arts. So, I majored in Photography and later, got my Masters degree in Secondary English Education because I had a track record of being great in those areas. It had nothing to do with anyone saying I wasn’t good enough to pursue a science degree.
Why I Chose Computer Science
There were always signs that I loved computing. I was always grateful when Dad upgraded our computers at home, whether it was more RAM or a larger hard drive or a new OS (though Windows 98 was AWFUL!). I was much more comfortable using a computer than my classmates in high school and even in college. Learning new software was a breeze - who buys a manual? Just play around with it to learn! By college, my best friends were computer science majors. My future husband was a computer science major. And in college, I got my first taste of coding without even realizing it. I was a gamer. I loved this game called Neverwinter Nights(NWN) and it came with the Aurora toolset to build your own game similar to NWN. To make things happen, I had to write code with a syntax very similar to C.
When I decided to change career paths, computer science was on the top of my list. Learning different languages, solving problems, being creative: that’s what I wanted in a career. I was afraid of the math, but the truth is: Computer science doesn’t actually require complex math. It CAN, but there are plenty of areas of computer science that do not require that skill.
In The Classroom
The University of Pennsylvania has done a great job accepting a fair amount of women into the MCIT program. I’ve never felt like the only woman in the computer lab. I’ve never even felt as though computer science was a boy’s club. My classes are at least 30% female. I sadly have never had a female professor in computer science, but I have had numerous female TAs, all of which were highly qualified and extremely helpful.
Disclaimer: At the time of writing this, I have not yet taken a CIS course and therefore, cannot tell you the male/female ratio in that area of study. It may be different.
In the Workplace
I interned at a very small start-up - maybe 20 people total. There were only two women - me and another software developer. She worked from home. My office was usually populated by 7 men and me. It never bothered me. I held my own, did my work well, had nice lunch outings with my co-workers, and enjoyed my internship.
What did bother me was my co-workers changing their vocabulary in an effort to “accomodate me”. I never asked them to do this, but I think they were doing it to be polite. Instead of saying, “Ok guys, meeting time!”, they’d say, “Ok guys…and lady, meeting time!” Why couldn’t I just be one of the guys? Did this mean I couldn’t be a brogrammer either? Of course, they were trying to be polite and inclusive. Little did they know treating me like one of the guys would have been the most polite and inclusive thing they could do.
What are your experiences? Use the comment area below!