1. Women and CS:
Lessons Learned from Turkey
Turkish Women in Computing (TWIC)
Three Founding Ph.Ds in CS
Ümit Yalçınalp, Gökçen Çilingir, Gülüstan Doğan

2. Turkish Women in Computing
 An Anita Borg Institute Community
 Global Presence
 Independent (not tied to government, school,
company, sponsorship, etc.)
 Has Sister community @Facebook:
Golden Girls of Computer Science,
1981-86 female grads of Comp Eng & Sci
Middle East Technical University, Turkey

3. Turkish Women In Computing
was born to
 Conquer cultural differences:
Find/help/support in community through
career stages
 Embrace Global Opportunities:
Unite CS graduates abroad & in Turkey
 Enable recognition of members

4. In 2014 women in tech continued to be in the news…

5. 5

6. Women in Tech News categories
 “Pipeline Problem”
 Declining Interest
 Disparity in Universities and College
Admissions(Harvey Mudd’s gains!)
 Equal Pay, Meritocracy & Cultural Factors
 Debate about Abilities and Differences
between men and women
 Retention
6

7. $ Pillars 4 Pillars of Changing the game
for Women in CS
 Entering in the field
 Getting hired in the field
 Being Inspired/Having necessary tools
 Staying in the field

8. Global Perspectives are necessary
News are global
State of affairs are local
Don’t blindly accept what you hear!
Learn and Compare!
Thank you Global Tech Women for this platform

9. in Turkey, girls
 Do excel in High School Science & Math and
have confidence
 Are attracted to undergrad degrees in CS and
beyond (MS., Ph.D)
 and the trend is Increasing

10. Summary of Our Presentation at Voices
Conference in 2014!
10
Pipeline Problem in Turkey?
#sayWhat?
Proof? #checkitoutUS !!!
Why is it different?

11. Our Research on Getting into the Field
 What is the status?
 University admissions data
 Why is it this way?
 Prior Research
 Our own survey in our
community
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7452/10768099944_517989996c_d.jpg

12. Entering the Field
 Nationwide Placement Exam
 1.8 Million take the test in 2013!

13. Our Hypothesis were
 National Exam as driver and equalizer
 Economics and Hipness Factor
 Prestige for Families/Community
 Confidence is there in Women for pursuing
the best
13

14. Statistics from OSYM Placement Exam
0.00
0.08
0.16
0.24
0.32
0.40
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Female ratio in new admissions at Computer Science
departments in Turkey (undergraduate)

15. USA vs. Turkey !
0.0
8.0
16.0
24.0
32.0
40.0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Percentage of females pursuing CS undergraduate
degrees
USA Turkey

16. Results from Last year…
 Interest is increasing and steady
 Applies to Grad degrees and Female Faculty too
 More dropouts from men in grad degrees due to
military service postponement
 Encouraging Numbers for women in STEM
 Mathematics and Statıstıcs ~60% !
 Popularity(CS) > Popularity(Civil Eng.)
Popularity(CS) > Popularity(Mechanical Eng.)
Popularity(CS) < Popularity(Chemical Eng.)

17. Important Footnote
No extra intervention, school, advertisement,
recruiting, mentoring tailored SPECIFICALLY
toward women to achieve these results

18. How do we understand why?

19. Supporting Research*
 Survey of 671 female students in top 6 Turkish
universities
 Investigates to find why women choose engineering
 Covers STEM fields not only CS
* Smith, Alice E., and Berna Dengiz. "Women in engineering in Turkey–a large scale quantitative and qualitative examination."
European Journal of Engineering Education 35.1 (2010): 45-57.

20. TwiCS survey
250+ Turkish women in CS
TWICs members + friends
Graduates of top universities
Small but indicative population of our own
community

21. Art of Creating Surveys
 Education researcher Hafize Sahin from
Washington University was key
 Short
 Multilingual
 Questions focused on
 Interest and successes in high school
 Influence of family, friends, environment
 Choice of fields of study
 Detailed profile and background (age, school,
where you live)

22. Demographic

23. TWIC Survey Results support our hypothesis
Why did you decide to pursue a career in Computer Science?
I was
good at
math and
I was told
Computer
Science
would be
a perfect
career
choice for
me.
Prestigiou
s/credible
degree to
have.
I did not
want to
be a
doctor.
It wasn't a
deliberate
choice, I
chose the
most
popular
departme
nt that I
can get in
with my
score (at
the
Nationa…
High
prospect
of finding
a well
paying job
after
graduatio
n
My
parents
chose it
for me, I
did not.
Adviser/m
entor
suggestio
n
Childhood
dream
Prove
women
can work
in the
field.
My parent
suggeste
d it, I
agreed.
Friend
suggestio
n
Participat
e in family
business
% 18.7 16.6 13.7 13.5 12.1 8.9 6.1 5.4 2.5 1.7 0.5 0.3

24. Favourite topics: Math & Science
What were your favorite classes in high school?
Math
Chemistr
y
Physics Literature
Painting /
Arts
History Music
Geograp
hy
Physical
Educatio
n (PE)
Biology
Ratios 32.1 20.1 14.6 8.8 5.8 4.3 4.3 3.7 3.7 2.5
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0

25. Society Perception Impact
How does society see women computer engineers in Turkey?
It's a very
prestigious
occupation for
women.
36%
It is NOT a
preferred
occupation for
women.
12%
Women is
considered
inadequate
compared to man
in this occupation.
47%
I don't know.
5%

26. Society Perception Impact
It's a very
prestigious
occupation for
women.
16%
It is NOT a
preferred
occupation for
women.
11%
Women is
considered
inadequate
compared to man
in this occupation.
71%
I don't know.
2%
How does society see
women computer
engineers in Turkey?
(age < 30)
It's a very
prestigious
occupation for
women.
53%
I don't know.
7%
Women is
considered
inadequate
compared to man
in this occupation.
28%
It is NOT a
preferred
occupation for
women.
12%
How does society see
women computer
engineers in Turkey?
(age >= 30)

27. Childhood Perceptions Imposed by Society
Yes
13%
No
79%
I do not know / do
not remember
8%
Do you think your parents or teachers believed that "boys are better at
math/science subjects than girls" during your childhood?

28. Acceptance by Male Colleagues
How often do you feel accepted by your male colleagues in the workplace or
in school?
Sometimes
16%
Most of the time
50%
Rarely
6%
Always
25%
Never
3%

29. Feeling of Isolation
How often do you feel lonely or isolated from other people at the
workplace/school because of your gender?
Sometimes
21%
Rarely
35%
Most of the time
9%
Never
34%
Always
1%

30. Conclusion
 Economics and Perceptions fuel the interest
 Excelling in the national entrance exam encourages an
Engineering or Medical School degree
 No lack of confidence in Women
 Positive reinforcement from high school fuels
interest
30

31. Last but not least
Thanks!
 Turkish Women In Computing community
 OSYM for statistics
 Dept. of Computer Engineering, Bilkent Uni
Prof. Dr. Altay Guvenir &
System Analyst Nazan Ceran Titrek
 Dept. of Computer Engineering, METU
Prof. Dr. Ferda Alpaslan
 Golden Girls of Computer Science where a lot
of these ideas have emerged via discussion