Computer science holds a significant role in modern society due to its impact on social media platforms and the numerous electronic devices that Americans have become increasingly reliant on. Despite this rise in technology, however, the computer science field is becoming progressively male-dominated. Before the 1980’s, women in America held an equally beneficial role in the computer science field as men did, assisting in programming the first digital computers (National Public Radio). But starting in 1984, the percentage of women involved in computer science plateaued and then dropped (National Public Radio). In 1995, the total percentage of women out of the total number of students who graduated with a Bachelors degrees in computer science was 28.5% (National Science Foundation). By 2014, that percentage had dropped to 18.1% (National Science Foundation). In addition, the rate at which women have continued to pursue the field of computer science in America has dwindled down to a ratio of one women to every four men (Hafner). When compared to various other STEM fields and careers, computer science had been found to demonstrate the lowest percentage of female participation and retainment. The fluctuation of women within the computer science field has sparked significant research and questioning as to why women are so hesitant to pursue such a prevalent field of work within the American modern society. Although the the population of women has slightly increased in recent years, women involvement in computer science within the United States is still overwhelmingly underrepresented in both the work force and educational facilities due to the geek effect and a lack of female role mentors, which not only couples computer science with the video gaming industry that predominantly targets male audiences as their market, but it also decreases confidence levels and enforces feelings of inferiority in educational facilities and the workplace, putting women under the impression that computer science is a male dominated field where female success is limited therefore suggesting that there should be an increase in earlier opportunities for young girls to allow them to gain early exposure and confidence in the field.

Within colleges and universities across America, the presence of women pursuing computer science is limited. Computer science has consistently had the lowest representation of girls when compared to various other STEM fields like physics, engineering, biochemistry, or math. Across all majors, females students make up an average 57% of the total number of undergraduate students within colleges and universities (Hamilton). Within the United States, women receive approximately 42% of undergraduates degrees in math and statistics and 40% of all physical science degrees, yet make up only 18% of total undergraduates students in computer and information science (Hamilton). Even within the world-renown university, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, only 10 women had enrolled in the “Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science” major in the fall of 2017, an overwhelmingly small population in comparison to the 109 women who had enrolled in the Biological Engineering major that same year (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

But in addition to the lack of female computer science students, the number of female computer science faculty members and professors to act as role models for those female students in colleges and universities is just as lacking, if not more so. Within Cornell’s renown School of Engineering, the total number of computer science faculty in 2017 was 36 (Engineering Corporate). Out of those 36 members, only 4 were women. That is an approximate 11.11% female faculty, a certainly overwhelming male-dominated staff (Engineering Corporate). In Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the percentile of tenured women, or women who hold permanent posts as a professor or teacher, illustrates a similar underrepresentation of women professors in computer science, with only 17% of faculty being female (President and Fellows of Harvard College). With such a limited number of female professors in the school of engineering as a whole, one can assume that an even fewer number of female professors is involved in the computer science department. This lack of female staff in computer science programs not only prevents female students from seeing relatable and inspirational role models, since the majority of leaders in the field are men, but it also reinforces the longstanding stereotype that women do not belong in the computer science field. Because there is a scarcity of female students, women find difficulty in connecting with the field as well as male students do. The lack of female professors restricts the perspective that female students view of the field, forcing them to acknowledge the gender gap between men and women, and how men are the seemingly dominant party. Girls are therefore discouraged from pursuing computer science due to the perception that they will be alone or heavily outnumbered by the opposing sex. This intimidating factor then pushes girls to instead pursue other fields of science instead of computer science. For example, when comparing the percentage of women undergraduates in computer science to those in fields like biology, while 18% of computer science graduates are women (Hamilton), in the biology field women account for over 60% of all biology undergraduates (Arizona State University). When comparing the number of female undergraduates in computer science to other prevalent fields such as biology, there is a clear discrepancy between the amount of female representation in each. This suggests that it is there is not an issue with female involvement in the scientific field in general, but rather one specifically related to women participation in computer science.

Such factors like lack of female role models and perceptions of computer science as male-dominated distorta female views of computer science and asserts a feeling of inferiority and a lack of confidence alongside male classmates. More often than not, girls in the field tend to struggle with the feeling that they are lacking in comparison to male counterparts who “have had exposure to computer science before” and therefore cause women to “feel like they're less qualified” to be pursuing it (Butchireddygari). The lack of “exposure to computers and programming prior to college” is often a key factor in determining women participation in computer science, as without it, girls feel significantly less confident around experienced male peers and therefore become less likely to continue pursuing the field (Butchireddygari). A study at Harvey Mudd College found that girls who had prior exposure to computer science said their “experience with programming prior to college motivated [them] to stay in the program” (Hafner). More demanding courses like CS 5 at Harvey Mudd College focus more so on “hard-core programming, appealing to a particular kind of student -- young men, already seasoned programmers, who dominated the class” (Hafner). Such courses therefore deter the interests of female students as it is difficult to keep up in a class of men, many of whom are already familiar with the topics and concepts being taught. This only aids in reinforcing the stereotype of “geeky know-it-alls” as the dominant narrative of computer science students (“Women in Computer Science: Getting Involved in STEM”). The impact of prior experience in order to elevate female confidence in computer science is one that could aid in overshadowing gender stereotypes about the female participation in the field and even help maintain or augment interest for the field. Although not all male students may have the extensive prior knowledge of concepts, they have a wider community of male classmates to turn to for help when they are struggling or have questions, whereas for girls it may be more difficult to ask for help. As suggested by Kate O’Hanlon, “a third-year Ph.D student in computer science,” studying computer science at an all-girls college had “more of a welcoming environment” that allowed for her to more successful as a student by collaborating more alongside other female students (Butchireddygari). Collaboration is a significant part of learning and growing as a student. Without other female students to rely on and collaborate with, girls end up feeling overwhelmingly isolated within their classes as they are less inclined to ask male classmate for help over female classmates. Because of this perceived contrast on prior knowledge of the field, many may question why women are not following suit and seeking out earlier opportunities to be exposed to the computer science field in order to gain more confidence and experience alongside many of their male counterparts. When analyzing the early opportunities available to girls who are interested in computer science, there is an overarching lack of such programs available to girls.

Outside of school, girls are not given equal opportunities to pursue or experience computer science and allow for early exploration of the field, therefore increasing the gap in prior knowledge between boys and girls and resulting in the lack of women in the field as a whole. Within most secondary schools, “less emphasis is placed on developing girls’ computer science skills as compared to boys (“Women in Computer Science: Getting Involved in STEM”). Even those who go on to study STEM-related topics in college often report feeling they lag behind male counterparts, due to a dearth of attention at the highschool level” (“Women in Computer Science: Getting Involved in STEM”). Because there is limited opportunity to explore the computer science field within their schools, girls therefore need to find opportunities outside of their schools in order to receive exposure to the field prior to college. The majority of such programs are co-educational, meaning that girls must compete alongside male peers in order to get into such programs and receive the opportunity to explore the field. This acts as yet another discouraging factor in a girl’s journey to pursuing computer science, ultimately preventing girls from even attempting to achieve an early opportunity to pursue computer science. Such programs are often extremely competitive to get into for both boys and girls. Coordinators therefore seek to recruit those who have had prior success in the field or taken advances courses within school as opposed to those who have had limited to no exposure. As a result, female acceptance into such programs is significantly less than that of boys as the reason female students are applying to such programs in the first place is to receive that greater exposure to the field, yet that same factor is what ultimately leads to their rejection to such programs. Competition in general for women in science, due to its low acceptance rates, is an overarching discouraging factor that diminishes women interest before women even begin to study the field, resulting in an even smaller pool of women who ultimately enter the field.

Even upon entering the workforce, women in computer science face numerous obstacles that all ultimately prevent women from entering the field. Not only are women restricted from achieving higher ranking roles, but women also face many issues of discrimination within the workplace simply upon the basis of their gender. According to a report implemented by Pew Research Center, “about three-quarters of women who work in computer programming and other computer-related jobs say they’ve experienced discrimination in the workplace,” which is significantly greater than the 16% of men who have admitted similar experiences (Lazzaro). When surveying women working in STEM who faced issues of discrimination, an approximate 29% of them claimed that they often “earned less than a man doing the same job” or “were treated as though they were incompetent” in comparison to male coworkers (Lazzaro). For the majority of women under the age of 25 who are involved in the tech industry, “earnings on average are 29 percent less than their male counterparts” (Lazzaro). In fact, women receive lower salary offers than men for the same job at the same company 63 percent of the time” (Lazzaro). Furthermore, about 1 in 5 of women disclosed that they experienced repeated “small slights at work, or received less support from senior leaders than a man doing the same job” (Ghaffary). In addition to discriminative gendered income, women also face an overarching lack of understanding for family planning, as “tech is blatantly unfriendly to family planning, from being pregnant to nursing” (Lazzaro). It is due to such imbalanced treatment, wages, and even lack of understanding for family planning needs within companies that women quickly lose the desire to continue pursuing a path in computer science. When faced with the choice of pursuing a future that historically has treated women poorly due to discrimination within the workplace, it makes sense that many women would no longer want to be a part of such a field where mistreatment is so common and representation is so low. Alongside discrimination regarding wages and family planning is the overarching issue of “the glass ceiling” of society and the prevention of women from achieving higher ranking roles in computer science (Hughes). A survey conducted by HackerRank, a technology company focused on consumers and businesses, titled the 2018 Women in Tech Report noted that in this past year, out of the over 14,000 professional software developers surveyed, only 2,000 were women (Hughes). When comparing the chances in which men and women were to be put in junior-level roles and assuming that men and women within the same age bracket had the same amount of time following college to gain working experience, women between the ages of 18-24 were 1.1 times more likely to hold junior positions in comparison to men (Hughes). As the range of age is increased, the probability that women, in comparison to men, were hold a junior position increased as well. Women ages 25-34 were 1.8 times more likely to be in a junior level position. Women ages 35 and up were 3.5 times more likely to hold a junior-level position (Hughes). This restriction of women into junior level roles enforces the stereotype of male superiority within computer science professions. Women are more likely to be working lower ranking jobs while men were hired to take over senior roles despite having similar skill sets to women (Hughes). In fact, “20.4 percent [of women] continue to occupy junior roles, compared to just 5.9 percent of men in the same age bracket” (Hughes). In order to make computer science field more attractive to women, there needs to be a dismantling of the male-dominance and female-inferiority stereotypes within the field. But that stereotype cannot be dismantled without ensuring that women will have an equal opportunity to earn roles alongside their male co-workers.

Accompanying stereotypes of inferiority that women find upon entering the computer science field, geek culture stereotypes that are repeatedly portrayed within the media play an equal role in ushering women away from the field from an early age. When looking at the majority of television shows or movies, there is often the stereotypical nerdy character who lacks social skills yet thrives intellectually from their profound knowledge in science. Television shows like CBS’s The Big Bang Theory highlight key gender stereotypes to viewers, portraying one of the lead male characters, Sheldon, as a stereotypical nerd who was passionate about science yet lacked fundamental social skills (Armstrong). This “stereotypical view of the geeky male nerd so often portrayed in the media” ultimately discourages women from pursuing careers in computer science as such geek culture stereotypes “are inconsistent with the female gender role, the qualities that are considered appropriate for women” (Armstrong). Not only is it inconsistent with how many women want see themselves, but it is also inconsistent with how they desire others to see them. When examining Steven Levy’s Hackers, a book highlighting prominent figures in computer science throughout history, a similar stereotype can be observed of brilliant yet awkward computer scientists, “who escape normal human interaction by retreating to the sterile confines of computer labs” (Kendall). It is noteworthy to mention that the book highlighted the accomplishments of numerous male computer scientist throughout historys, yet mentioned only a single female figure- Roberta Williams- a video game designer in the late 1900’s who worked alongside her husband, Ken Williams (Kendall). The book failed to acknowledge other significant female figures within the computer science field from throughout history, such as the renown Dorothy Vaughan, whose story as an African American expert computer programmer within NASA was highlighted within the Oscar winning film Hidden Figures (Petit), or even Jean Bartik and Ada Lovelace, the two first computer programmers “back when ‘programming’ involved using cables, dials and switches to physically rewire the machine” (Kendall). This illustrates the narrative that women are given of computer science as there is a clear lack of acknowledgement for the successes and contributions of notable women involved in computer science throughout history. Women therefore fail to see stories of successful women within computer science and instead only see the stories about male “geeks” as examples of success in the field. Even the wealth and fortune Bill Gates, the creator of Microsoft, acquired for himself through his work in the computer science field was not enough to entice women to enter the computer science field. Despite his “financial status… he personified what a geek was. So although people did envy him, they probably didn’t aspire to be like the man himself- even if he did change the world” (Kendall). These stereotypes of computer scientists run so deep within society that when asked to describe professionals in the field, “adolescents most often depicted [them] as male – as well as white, middle-aged or elderly, unattractive, dressed in a lab coat and glasses, geeky or nerdy, socially awkward, and individuals who work alone” (Steinke). Because of the prevalence of these misconceptions of the computer science field regarding the stereotypical geek coder, women viewed the computer science field and its professions as unrelatable and contrasting with how they wish to portray themselves. Young girls viewed computers as something that was masculine and restricted to the use of boys only. On some level, they were partially correct as the early video gaming industry was targeted solely at boys.

The video game industry also plays a role in preventing girls from pursuing computer science as early video game marketers solely targeted boys and therefore emphasised the stereotype that video games and computer science are for boys, but not girls. When looking at the history of computers, the invention reached mass popularity through its use for gaming (“Women in Computer Science: Getting Involved in STEM”). The first personal computers available to the public “were essentially early gaming systems that firmly catered to males” (“Women in Computer Science: Getting Involved in STEM”). In order to sell more computers, marketers targeted the male population telling narratives of a “new device that met the needs of men” (“Women in Computer Science: Getting Involved in STEM”). Consequently, as more men began to buy computers for personal use, more women began to not buy computers (“Women in Computer Science: Getting Involved in STEM”). Thus, the nerdy programmer stereotype began to take hold in the professional world of computer science. The video gaming industry still currently plays a pivotal role in making the computer science field unappealing to girls by producing an overwhelming lack of female characters within games or portraying the existing female characters in an extremely sexist way. Although, in recent years, the gaming industry has made increased attempts to reach out to its female audience, female characters within video games are still massively underrepresented with “over 85% of all characters in games [being] male. And when female characters are included, they are often portrayed in a sexy and sexist way” (Kendall). Such objectification of females is not only insulting, but also not something the majority of girls would find appealing in games. Because of such factors, girls are less interested in video games, viewing games like Call of Duty or League of Legends negatively due to the scantily clad female characters, objectification of female characters, or overly gorey content. Such aspects of gaming are not commonly appealing to female markets, and instead often push limits of disgust or discomfort. By targeting boys as the market audience for selling such video games, this therefore led to a limited exposure and interest of using computers for girls. As a result of stereotypes surrounding video games, girls associate negative perceptions of video games with computer science as a whole, therefore distancing themselves from desires to pursue a field where such sexism and objectification of females is acceptable.

Issues regarding the lack of female participation in computer science are a widely acknowledged issue within the United States, however when looking at foreign countries, other countries do not seem to have this same unequal representation within the field. When comparing the rates of technology companies started by women in America to those of foreign countries, there is an overarching contrast regarding female involvement. When looking at the total number of female startups within the United States in 2015, “women owned only 5 percent of startups” (Lazzaro). Not only that but the year prior “venture capitalists invested just $1.46 billion in women-led companies. Male-led companies earned $58.2 billion in investments” (Lazzaro). Such deviations of investments into technology companies started by men and women help to illustrate why so many women often end up leaving the field with “a quit rate [of] more than twice as high for women (41 percent) than it is for men (17 percent)” (Lazzaro). When specifically comparing America to India in regards to the number of women participating in the computer science field, there are several factors that play a role in the ranging amounts of participation. Within American culture, the stereotype of geek culture emphasises the view of computer science alongside STEM careers as “masculine while the arts and the humanities are perceived as feminine” (Yardi). As a result, girls often “assess their mathematical ability to be lower than boys of equal capability” due to overarching assumptions in male superiority and female inferiority in STEM related fields” (Yardi). Women therefore view the field of computer science as one that ultimately results in failure as opposed to success and put them in a position where they are greatly overwhelmed by male coworkers. In comparison, women in India “do not perceive computer science to be a masculine field but simply a path to socio-economic success” (Yardi). Another factor that impacted the high rates of women participation in India was the lack of gender discrimination in the education system. Though women in India acknowledged “discrimination in other areas of life including in the family and in post-university professional environments” there was no reported discrimination experienced in formal education environments (Yardi). In contrast, most American women reported experiencing some bias or discrimination at school” (Yardi). According to numerous studies conducted within the United States, there is a “subtle gender bias” present in the American educational system, where “U.S. teachers favor boys in STEM education as early as primary school” (Yardi). There was also the presence of geek culture which pushed girls in America away from the computer science field. However this stereotype is nonexistent within India, as “despite male-female differences, Indian girls/women still felt that their participation was welcome in groups and their input was valued” and they play an equally significant role in the field as their male counterparts do (Yardi). Ultimately, it is the idea that women will not succeed in America that prevents them from pursuing computer science, whereas in India, it is the contrasting belief that women can succeed in computer science that motivates them to pursue careers in the field with hopes of achieving socio-economic success.

Computer Science is a rapidly expanding field that continues to grow as each year passes. Jobs related to STEM continue to create over 1.7 million jobs within the United States in a small number of years (“Women in Computer Science: Getting Involved in STEM”). Yet despite the expanding industry, the participation of women continues to be drastically outnumbered by men, especially due to stereotypes like the geek effect which enforces the idea that women will not be as successful within the field and even adds onto feelings of inferiority and inadequacy alongside male counterparts. In the modern day, the need for more women role models like the first women programmers Bartika and Lovelace is evident in order to “help spread the word that these days computing isn’t just for the boys” (Kendall). There are various measures that people within the US can take in order to involve more women in computer science. For example, offering early programs to young women to allow for early exposure to the field would play a significant role in elevating confidence levels of girls and allow for them to gain more prior experience and knowledge to take with them into college. Programs such as Kode with Klossy, Girls Who Code, and Code First: Girls “are making a difference… widening societal change to encourage more women to enter the discipline in the future” (Kendall). Perhaps someday, such programs will become more widespread and overshadow the gender stereotypes of being in STEM-related occupations, igniting the passions of numerous young girls to simply pursue what they enjoy and programming new gender roles into the field of computer science.

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