In the 1980s, over 1 in 3 women studied computer science in college, providing demonstrable evidence that women are quite capable of understanding and excelling in computer science studies. This is in stark contrast to the number of women who study today, which resides in the range of 15%, and which has led to some questioning whether women have the capacity to learn computer science.
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In the 1980s, over 1 in 3 women studied computer science in college, providing demonstrable evidence that women are quite capable of understanding and excelling in computer science studies. This is in stark contrast to the number of women who study today, which resides in the range of 15%, and which has led to some questioning whether women have the capacity to learn computer science.
Though much research has been done to uncover why the number of women studying computing has dropped so significantly, this fact remains the same: girls and women are as capable of learning computer science as their counterparts.
K-12 educators aware of equity issues in their classrooms understand the importance of advocating for all of their marginalized students, particularly when it comes to computing. Research has shown repeatedly that adopting culturally-relevant and responsive approaches can increase students’ content knowledge. Although some have mistakenly interpreted this as code words for “dumbing down” the curriculum, nothing could be further from the truth. It is quite possible (and necessary) to maintain rigor in the curriculum while at the same time adjusting teaching methods to make content more interesting and less dominated by curriculum more intended to be of interest to boys.
And when this is done, what happens? Again, the research shows that in addition to girls becoming more interested and fluent in computer science, the boys also learn more as well. In other words, it’s a win-win. And, even better news – this extends to other underserved populations as well, making it a triple-win.
Maybe this isn’t news to you, but there are still K-12 educators as well as educators at the post-secondary level who still are unaware. Yet, I remain convinced that this is a potential solution for girls to become more interested in computing and potentially choose to pursue computing careers after high school. This will not only provide the knowledge they need to be better citizens aware of the benefits and challenges of technology, it may also provide the needed workforce of tomorrow to fill critical technical jobs in cybersecurity, health care, education, and even civil service.
Perhaps, through K-12 teachers working to implement culturally-relevant and responsive teaching strategies in their classrooms, in the near future we can return to a day where 35%+ of those studying computer science in college were women. Until then, our work remains in bringing equitable teaching practices to teachers, so they, too, can open doors to computing for girls – like Mr. Barker, my high school math and computer science teacher, once did for me.
Monica McGill is new to the CSTA Board, serving as the college/university representative. She currently serves as ACM-W North America Chair, a committee that works to promote, celebrate, and advocate for women in computing in North America. She has worked as a computer scientist in industry and for the government and has taught computing for over 15 years. Her current work involves establishing CSEdResearch.org as a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve K-12 CS education for all children by enabling and disseminating exemplary evidence-driven research, with a focus on identifying culturally relevant promising practices and transforming student learning.
