Posted on 11/15/2008 8:33:25 PM PST by neverdem
Digital Domain
ELLEN SPERTUS, a graduate student at M.I.T., wondered why the computer camp she had attended as a girl had a boy-girl ratio of six to one. And why were only 20 percent of computer science undergraduates at M.I.T. female? She published a 124-page paper, Why Are There So Few Female Computer Scientists?, that catalogued different cultural biases that discouraged girls and women from pursuing a career in the field. The year was 1991.
Computer science has changed considerably since then. Now, there are even fewer women entering the field. Why this is so remains a matter of dispute.
Whats particularly puzzling is that the explanations for under-representation of women that were assembled back in 1991 applied to all technical fields. Yet women have achieved broad parity with men in almost every other technical pursuit. When all science and engineering fields are considered, the percentage of bachelors degree recipients who are women has improved to 51 percent in 2004-5 from 39 percent in 1984-85, according to National Science Foundation surveys.
When one looks at computer science in particular, however, the proportion of women has been falling. In 2001-2, only 28 percent of all undergraduate degrees in computer science went to women. By 2004-5, the number had declined to only 22 percent. Data collected by the Computing Research Association showed even fewer women at research universities like M.I.T.: women accounted for only 12 percent of undergraduate degrees in computer science and engineering in the United States and Canada granted in 2006-7 by Ph.D.-granting institutions, down from 19 percent in 2001-2. Many computer science departments report that women now make up less than 10 percent of the newest undergraduates.
In 1998, when Ms. Spertus received her Ph.D. in computer science, women received 14 percent of the doctorates granted in the field...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
HEY-———
I worked at Unisys (Sperry/Uinvac) and developed the IC for the 1100 (Micro 1100) in the Semiconductor Division in Eagan, Mn......
Where were you...??
My grandson just started college in software engineering. Reading this thread to this point has given me the jitters.
Same as men: the jobs have been outsourced.
Spinsters with attitude
My son is grqaduating with a degree In Management Information Systems.
Anybody know much about that? What is the job outlook for that field?
It is obvious that YOU are not in the field. Ten years ago, there were 5,000 jobs advertised in Atlanta alone for "hard core" software. (Not web related.) Today there are precisely four advertised. Book stores used to have large sections brimming with CS books, now there are only a couple of shelves with "ho hum" computer books. (No demand.) Ten years ago the software trade journals were plentiful and very thick. Now most of them don't exist and the surviving rags are but a few pages and mostly content-less.
I entered this career in 1972, graduating with top honors. It was easy to find a job. Now, it is nearly impossible.
LOL! That is not too darn far from the truth.
Frankly, I miss the ones I worked with. Most, not all, were not jerks. The technical testosterone was something to behold. They were an interesting breed.
It’s simple “Outsourcing”. They are just a step ahead of the curve
Who cares what the cause is, what is important is the solution, and that is to kick 5 out of every 6 males out of computer science so that we can achieve the desired result.
It’s the hope and change that America needs.
The short skirts on the Star Trek TOS uniforms.
What has driven women out of computer science?
By The way I just read all the comments to check and make sure it hasn’t been said
One word.....
Porn.
I went to an (almost) all day Grace Hopper speaking/training engagement once. I still have the “nano-second” she gave me. What a gal! The Admiral really knew her stuff, and was an excellent teacher.
I teach IT now at Auburn University, and often remember her and try to emulate her style.
I have about 5/1 ratio guys to gals in my classes. They’re certainly welcome, so I can’t explain it.
Most of ‘em grew up and became managers.
Yeah, but who DIDN’T look like that in the mid-70s? It was a very ugly decade.
Yeah, whatever. [/sarc]
Actually, it is obvious YOU are not in the field. A few minutes of research would show that your personal observations don't match up against reality. But don't take my word for it: BLS Stats
Common sense also tells you that the amount of software our society uses is increasing, not decreasing. That software does not write itself. Also, I am not sure what you mean by "hard core" software. While I agree that web site design (HTML) is not software development, creating websites still requires a massive amount of software development expertise (JavaScript, XML, datbabases, PHP, ASP.NET).
A lot of companies advertise for developers now thru the web, not via newspapers. Most big defense companies are begging for software developers 'cause their existing employees are retiring and no one wants to work for them (not cool enough and too much paperwork).
A lot of people have also left the field because software development is so much harder now than it used to be. When I graduated, all you really needed to know was Fortran and assembler. Now you need to know Java, C++/C#, web programming, security, OOP--its very daunting. Of course, the development environments are a lot better (almost no debuggers in 1980), so that evens the playing field some.
Porn
Domestic or foreign? I could see someone who lived with metric not knowing our system. It would be similar to me going to Britain and staring blankly when they say something weighs so many stones (I googled it and a stone 14 pounds, which is just short of $21).
WINNER!
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