The talk slides given in Global Voices 2014 by Turkish women in Computing about statistics regarding women in computer science, the trends and beliefs about CS education and how it compares to US.

1. Game
Changers
for
Women
in
CS:
Lessons
Learned
from
Turkey
Turkish
Women
in
Compu9ng
(TWIC)
Three
Founding
Ph.Ds
in
CS
Ümit
Yalçınalp,
Gökçen
Çilingir,
Gülüstan
Doğan

2. Turkish
Women
in
Compu9ng
! An
Anita
Borg
Ins9tute
Community
! Global
Presence
! Independent
(not
9ed
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. Why
we
founded
TWIC
At
one
Grace
Hopper
Conference
some
of
us
wondered:
! “Why
is
the
environment
different
in
US?”
! “How
can
we
find/help/support
each
through
stages
of
our
careers?”
! “Can
we
unite
CS
graduates
abroad
and
in
Turkey?”

4. Bombarded
by
News
about
Women
in
Tech
!

5. From
Huffington
Post
March
4

6. From
Huffington
Post
March
4

7. From
Huffington
Post
March
4

8. News
are
about
! #
of
Women
are
declining
in
compu9ng
and
STEM
! Are
there
inherent
differences
between
Men
and
Women’s
capabili9es?
! Hos9lity
exists
in
STEM
environments!
! Changing
the
game
for
women
is
Needed!

9. Changing
the
game
for
Women…
! Entering
in
the
field
! Gekng
hired
! Being
Inspired/Supported
! Staying
in
the
field

10. Why
our
experience
is
so
different?
What
can
be
learned
from
other
countries
such
as
Turkey
and
case
studies?
Let’s
start
with
Gekng
into
the
Field…

11. Where
our
percep9ons
differ…
! Girls
excel
in
Science
&
Math
in
High
School
! Girls
are
alracted
to
undergrad
degrees
in
CS
and
beyond
(MS.,
Ph.D)
! The
trend
is
increasing,
not
decreasing
! Larger
percentage
of
women
working
in
the
field
and
pursuing
graduate
studies

12. As
Scien9sts,
we
did
a
bit
of
research
on…
! Data
about
women
gekng
into
the
field,
par9cularly
in
CS
departments
! Research
that
inves9gated
similar
ques9ons
hlp://farm8.sta9cflickr.com/7452/10768099944_517989996c_d.jpg

13. Entering
the
Field
! Na9onwide
Placement
Exam
! 1.8
Million
take
the
test
in
2013!

14. Hypotheses:
Na9onal
Exam
as
Equalizer
! Eliminates
gender,
race,
and
similar
biases
from
applica9on
process
! Schools
accept
students
based
on
na9onal
ranking
! Exam’s
emphasis
is
on
mathema9cal,
analy9cal
ability
and
knowledge

15. Hypotheses
con9nued
! Computer
Science
degree
is
extremely
popular
! Clean
Work
Environment:
Office
! Great
Pay:
Students
start
working
while
in
school
! Cool,
Pres9gious
and
Relevant
for
the
future
! Medical
School
is
pursued
ayer
high
school
and
plays
an
important
role
in
choices
! CS
is
a
strong
alterna9ve
to
not
choosing
medical
school

16. Posi9ve
Effects
of
Environment
! Pres%ge:
Families
push
for
children
to
scien9fic
fields
(doctors,
engineers)
! Successful
girls
in
high
school
are
also
encouraged
towards
scien9fic
degrees
by
family
and/or
friends

17. Lets
look
at
some
numbers

18. Sta9s9cs
from
OSYM
Placement
Exam
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
Female
ra%o
in
new
admissions
at
Computer
Science
departments
in
Turkey
(undergraduate)
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013

19. The
trend
con9nues
in
grad
degrees…
0.35
0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
Female
ra%o
in
graduates
at
Computer
Science
departments
in
Turkey
(graduate
degrees)
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013

20. What
about
Female
Assistants
and
Faculty?
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
Female
ra%os
in
faculty
at
Computer
Science
departments
in
Turkey
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Faculty
total
Research
assistants

21. Middle
East
Technical
University:
Women
Undergrad
Ra9o
0.250
0.200
0.150
0.100
0.050
0.000
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013

22. Bilkent
University:
Women
Undergrad
Ra9os
(Graduated)
0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012

23. Math
and
Science
Sta9s9cs
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Female
ra%o
in
new
admissions
to
Mathema%cs
and
Natural
Sciences
departments
in
Turkey
(undergraduate)
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Female
ra%o
in
new
admissions
in
2013
Mathema9cs
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Sta9s9cs
Astronomy

24. USA
vs.
Turkey
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
Percentage
of
females
pursuing
CS
undergraduate
degrees
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
USA
Turkey

25. Important
Footnote
No
extra
interven9on,
school,
adver9sement,
recrui9ng,
mentoring
tailored
SPECIFICALLY
toward
women
to
achieve
these
results

26. Results:
! Interest
is
increasing
and
steady
! More
dropouts
from
men
in
grad
degrees
due
to
military
service
postponement
! Encouraging
Numbers
for
women
in
STEM
! Mathema9cs
and
Stazszcs
~60%
!
! Popularity(CS)
>
Popularity(Civil
Eng.)
Popularity(CS)
>
Popularity(Mechanical
Eng.)
Popularity(CS)
<
Popularity(Chemical
Eng.)

27. Suppor9ng
Research*
! Survey
of
671
female
students
in
top
6
Turkish
universi9es
! Inves9gates
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
quan9ta9ve
and
qualita9ve
examina9on."
European
Journal
of
Engineering
Educa9on
35.1
(2010):
45-­‐57.

28. Conclusion
&
Next
Steps
! Data
and
previous
research
support
our
hypotheses.
! A
large
scale
survey
to
assess
reasons
for
choosing
CS
careers
is
planned
! Publicity
&
Recrui9ng
new
members
will
con9nue
Join
Turkish
Women
in
Compu9ng
at
ABI
and
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/303250353033495/

29. Big
Thank
You!
! OSYM
for
sta9s9cs
! 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