*the following is my personal opinion and not that of GamingAngels*

A study released today states that women aren’t in Computer Science because of geek stereotypes. Before I talk about my personal opinion about their survey and what’s really keeping women away from Computer Science, here’s a run down about the study.

The author of the article suggests that the stereotype of computer scientists as geeks is what is driving women away from the field.

“When people think of computer science, the image that immediately pops into many of their minds is of the computer geek surrounded by such things as computer games, science-fiction memorabilia and junk food,” said lead researcher Sapna Cheryan, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Washington. “That stereotype doesn’t appeal to many women who don’t like the portrait of masculinity that it evokes.”

The study included more than 250 students that weren’t studying computer science. The first experiment gathered 40 male and female students in a classroom that contained “geeky” objects like Star Trek posters, video game boxes and coke cans. Those students then filled out a questionnaire about their attitude toward computer science. Other students were in a room that was just plain. In the “geeky” environment women were “significantly less” interested in computer science than the men.

In the other experiments, (about 90 students in each), the participants were given a choice between similar jobs in different environments, both genders preferred the plain environment but women more so than men.

The article draws a conclusion that the image of computer science needs to be fixed to draw people to the field.

I found the study and the conclusion offensive. The study surveys people that weren’t interested in computer science enough to study it in the first place. We aren’t told what the questionnaire asked, or what areas of Computer Science that the questions focused on. We also aren’t given actual quantitative results that show percentages in order to compare the male vs female results. Instead we are consistently told that more women disapproved of the geeky room than the men.

Which drives at the heart of what is wrong with the study, the items used to decorate items that are “typically associated with computer science”. Instead of using computers, network cables, or various other hardware or software, they use Star Trek posters, Coke cans and video game boxes. I’m curious as to how they came to agree that those items are associate with computer science. I’ve never seen a Star Trek poster in a classroom. I also never watched an episode of Star Trek until two years ago. I’m not sure how the team chose to use Coke cans. While it is well known that comp sci majors live on caffeine, if you are going by stereotypes, then pick Mountain Dew. I think it’s more likely that comp sci majors may turn to something like Red Bull now. The study does not detail which video game boxes they used. Although based on personal experience, comp sci majors would barely have time to play video games and were more likely to be creating them.

The problem that this study is trying to address is a valid one, why is there a decreasing amount of women choosing Computer Science as a major? But the study goes horribly wrong in trying to prove it. I’m going to end my post with my personal experience and opinions as to how Comp Sci can attract more women.

While all majors are difficult and have their own level of commitment, Computer Science is one that is very demanding. The 100 level class is a major weed-out class (meaning it tends to weed out people that aren’t committed). My 100 level class demanded many hours in the computer lab, often without much help or assistance. I found it frustratingly hard to fit my social activities with trying to get projects finished. Personally, I used that class to find out that programming wasn’t my personal strength and then took my interest in tech and went to Management Information Science which is nick-named CS-lite. I feel that I could have been more encouraged to stick with it if the classroom had been smaller or I had received more personal attention.

I can’t understand for the life of me why they choose to interview people that never considered Comp Sci as a major instead of interviewing people that started as Comp Sci majors and then left. To me, that would make for a more interesting look at why people chose not to pursue a degree in Comp Sci.

Another thing that would help, is if more High Schools offered programming classes that taught basics and showed how much fun programming can be! It’s incredibly exciting and rewarding to create an application.

In order to look at why women aren’t considering Computer Science as a major or career, you really have to look at the gender issues that exist in Comp Sci. Unfortunately there are still some men that don’t think that women can be equals with men in terms of programming skill. In my experience, I’ve had to work twice as hard to prove myself because of my gender. In terms of careers, women are still paid significantly less than their male counterparts for the same work.

It’s laughable to me, to suggest that stereotypes about geeks is keeping women from studying computer science. While I don’t have all the answers, and I can only draw on my experience, I would recommend that the people behind this study scrap it and take a more realistic look at the field of Computer Science if they really want answers.

[picture from www.mynameiskate.ca]