Women in Computer Science: Low Numbers Hamper Growth

THE SHRINKING WOMAN IN
COMPUTER SCIENCE
PATRICIA LAGO AND LYNDA HARDMAN

MY FIRST LECTURE @ AN ENGINEERING FACULTY

Patricia Lago & Lynda Hardman @ 2011

WOMEN IN COMPUTER SCIENCE

“Computer science (CS) education suffers from deep equity
issues that hamper the growth of U.S. human capital.” [1]

“The low numbers of women in decision making positions
throughout the science and technology system is a waste of
talent that European economies cannot afford.” [2]

Among exact sciences, CS is clearly one of the most
alarming cases of under-representations:
•  In 1996-2006 the presence of women in science and
engineering increased in all fields except CS
•  B.Sc enrollments decreased from 37% (1985) to 18.6%
(2006) [National Science Foundation, 2009]

[1] Addressing Core Equity Issues in K-12 Computer Science Education, Anita Borg Institute
for Women and Technology, 2010]
[2] [Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, EU Commissioner for research, innovation and science]


SOME FIGURES IN ACADEMIA

In the United States (women)
•  Nearly 50% PhD graduates à 40% in science &
engineering à 28% full-time faculty
•  24% full professors à 19% in science &
engineering

In the European Union (women)
•  Nearly 45% PhD graduates à 33% in science &
engineering à 18% in computing
•  18% full professors à11% in science &
engineering

•  … and 58% of university degrees (students)


WOMEN ACADEMICS IN SCIENCE – NETHERLANDS
7,6% more girls complete their
studies

[Ambitie in beeld, Dutch
Network of Women
Professors (LNVH), Nov.
2011: update Monitor
Women Professors]


WHEN WILL WE REACH OUR TARGETS?

13.4% in 2010

Percentage women full professors (in FTE): between 1999 and 2010 with an extrapolation of the growth until
the target of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (15%) and of the Lisbon-agreement (25% in
2010)

[Source: A.-M. van Gijtenbeek en W. Eefting, Ambitie in beeld, Vrouwelijke
hoogleraren in Nederland, LNVH, 2011]


WOMEN CS PRESENCE IN AMSTERDAM (FACULTY)

Computer Science academics @ UvA
120.0%

100.0%
100.0%
86.6% 1995 man
84.8% 85.5%
90.5% 1995 women
80.0%
81.9% 2000 man
2000 women
% fte

60.0% 2005 man
2005 women
2010 man
40.0%
2010 women
2011 man
18.1%
20.0% 2011 women
9.5% 15.2% 14.5%

13.4%
0.0% 0.0%
PhD candidate Docent Postdoc UD/ Assist Prof UHD/ Assoc HGL/ Full Prof
Prof


WOMEN CS PRESENCE IN AMSTERDAM (FACULTY)
Computer Science academics @ VU
120.0%

100.0%

100.0% VU 1995 men
88.5%
81.0% VU 1995 women
80.0%
VU 2000 men
71.4%
65.9% VU 2000 women
% fte

60.0% 69.9% VU 2005 men
VU 2005 women
34.1% VU 2010 men
40.0%
VU 2010 women
30.1% 28.6% VU 2011 men
20.0% VU 2011 women
0.0%
19.0% 11.5%
0.0%
PhD candidate Docent Postdoc UD/ Assist Prof UHD/ Assoc HGL/ Full Prof
Prof


WHAT ABOUT STUDENTS IN INFORMATICS?

Percentage women (higher education) in 'science,
mathematics and computing’
Country 2007 2008 2009
The Netherlands 16,2 17,4 19
Hungary 28,2 30,8 31,6
European Union 37,5 37,5 37,7
United States 38,6 43 43
Romania 56,8 51,8 52,1
Italy 50,3 50,8 51,4
Sweden 43,2 43,4 43,1
[Source: Eurostat (elaboration of VHTO), http://www.vhto.nl/cijfers-trends/internationaal.html]


STUDENTS IN NETHERLANDS – BACHELOR (TECH.
INFORMATICA)

Percentage girls ~4%


STUDENTS IN NETHERLANDS – BACHELOR
(INFORMATICA)

Percentages girls fluctuate between 4,5% and 5,7%


OBSERVATIONS – ON CS STUDENTS IN THE
NETHERLANDS

@HBO percentages are higher [colleague, NL]
•  Multi-disciplinary programs explicitly targeting girls
•  Less math, more society-relevant subjects

Reasons (in NL) for girls not choosing beta/technical programs:
•  Influence of the environment (parents, society lacks role
models)
•  Negative self-image about own performance in (beta) subjects
•  Negative image of Informatics (‘risky’ in Dutch society)

… and for Informatics also:
•  Unclear about possible career/professions (either teacher or
researcher)


WOMEN CS PRESENCE IN AMSTERDAM (STUDENTS)

UVA Students 2003-2010
100.0%

90.0%

80.0%

70.0%
Student registrations

60.0%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%

20.0% 13.4%
9.7% 10.5% 11.4%
6.3% 6.6% 7.8%
10.0% 5.2%

0.0%
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Registered students University of Amsterdam
Bachelor - male 94.8% 93.8% 90.3% 93.4% 92.2% 89.5% 86.6% 88.6%
Bachelor - female 5.2% 6.3% 9.7% 6.6% 7.8% 10.5% 13.4% 11.4%

6.2% Increase of girls in the BACHELOR phase


VUA Students 2002-2010
100.0%

90.0%

80.0%

70.0%

60.0%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%
16.9% 16.8% 18.8%
20.0% 13.2% 15.2%
11.2% 12.4%
8.5% 9.6%
10.0%

0.0%
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Registered students VU University Amsterdam
Bachelor - male 86.8% 88.8% 91.5% 83.1% 90.4% 83.2% 87.6% 84.8% 81.2%
Bachelor - female 13.2% 11.2% 8.5% 16.9% 9.6% 16.8% 12.4% 15.2% 18.8%
Master - male 90.9% 80.0% 74.4% 83.7% 87.7% 89.4% 81.5% 88.7% 79.9%
Master - female 9.1% 20.0% 25.6% 16.3% 12.3% 10.6% 18.5% 11.3% 20.1%

5.6% Increase of girls in the BACHELOR phase


VUA Students 2002-2010
100.0%

90.0%

80.0%

70.0%

60.0%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0% 25.6%
20.0% 18.5% 20.1%
20.0% 16.3%
12.3% 10.6% 11.3%
9.1%
10.0%

0.0%
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Registered students VU University Amsterdam
Bachelor - male 86.8% 88.8% 91.5% 83.1% 90.4% 83.2% 87.6% 84.8% 81.2%
Bachelor - female 13.2% 11.2% 8.5% 16.9% 9.6% 16.8% 12.4% 15.2% 18.8%
Master - male 90.9% 80.0% 74.4% 83.7% 87.7% 89.4% 81.5% 88.7% 79.9%
Master - female 9.1% 20.0% 25.6% 16.3% 12.3% 10.6% 18.5% 11.3% 20.1%

11.1% Increase of girls in the MASTER phase


OBSERVATIONS – ON STUDENTS IN AMSTERDAM

•  (Overall) the number of girls increases (but very unstable)
•  Percentages remain too low (20.1% max in 2010/MSc)
•  (VUA Bachelor) Lifestyle Informatics performs slightly better than
IMM & Informatics
•  (VUA Master) only exception Bioinformatics (1/2 to 1.5/1 in 2011!)

•  Increases in international students (+28.6% since 2002)
•  Mostly Master students
•  Majority of girls

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
International
3.7% 13.9% 14.1% 19.3% 16.5% 20.0% 28.9% 23.6% 32.3%
students (VUA)


ON THE POSITIVE SIDE …

… searching for concrete actions is like opening the Pandora’s box

[Source: Wikipedia, http://www.mitchellteachers.org/WorldHistory/AncientGreece/
DiscoveringReferencestoGreekMythology.htm]


THE WISDOM OF THE CROWD

We asked a number of women and men academics what
works and what doesn’t

… from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, China,
Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Iran, and the
Netherlands…


PAVE THE WAY TO …

Some created circumstances to enable significant gender
diversity in research and higher education

•  Strong networks to attract but mostly support
>  At all levels, from students to senior leaders
>  “Women@SCS ensures women have opportunities for networking,
mentors/mentoring, socializing, outreach, leadership and
visibility” [Women@CMU]
>  “Networks should proactively engage to develop a culture and
environment working well for both men and women” [NICTA]


PAVE THE WAY TO … (CONT.)

Target new generations (high school girls), show them they
can do it, their potential

>  “some years ago an intensive program in high schools to attract
girls to computer science. This resulted in ~30% more freshman
girls” [Norway]
>  K-12 program in the U.S.


… INSPIRE THEM ..

•  By speaking their language


WHEN WE GET THEM, INVEST TO KEEP THEM TOO

Not just attract talents!
•  “Since the program stopped, the number of girls went
down” [Colleague, Norway]

•  “Women overall progress at many of the country's top
research universities has been slow, the gains uneven
and fragile” [Lawrence H. Summers, President Emeritus
of Harvard University]


CREATE ROLE MODELS …
•  Top Female Scientists
@TUDelft

•  Fenna Diemer-
Lindeboom @VU

•  Rosalind Franklin
Fellowships @ RuG

•  Aspasia @NWO


… AND CREATE A GENDER NEUTRAL ENVIRONMENTS
“I vastly underestimated the problem. People tend to think that if there’s a
problem, it’s with a few old-fashioned people with old-fashioned ideas.
That’s not true. Everybody has unconscious gender bias. It shows up in
every study.”
[Professor at Princeton, from New York Times, “For Women in Sciences,
Slow Progress in Academia”, April 15, 2005]

(After having introduced me to a female colleague) “As I am a guy, I will
excuse myself from the conversation from here on :-)” [anonymous]

Good examples:
•  Mentoring programs
•  Automatic 1-year tenure-clock extension
•  Guidelines for gender neutral nomination committees [checklist
VU]: remove gender stereotypes, clone-phenomenon


SOCIETY HAS A (SILENT, SUBTLE) INFLUENCE

Chin Malaysia
a, Ho
ng K
ong
One of the largest
IT companies in the world


CREATE INNOVATION

Some translated gender diversity into concrete inspiring
actions


GENDERED INNOVATION @ STANFORD


TIME FOR INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITIES

•  ICT driven by- and shaped around people
•  “Tackling societal challenges” first in EU research and
innovation agenda,
Ø  this including: health, demographic change and well-being;
secure, clean and efficient energy; smart, green and integrated
transport; resource efficiency and climate action, including raw
materials; and inclusive, innovative and secure societies.
•  Creative industry, red life sciences and ICT in the top
sectors of Amsterdam area


WASTE OF TALENTS AND THE ‘GIRL EFFECT’ ON
DEVELOPMENT

“Investing in women is smart economics. Investing in girls –
catching them upstream – is even smarter
economic.” [Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director, World
Bank, Washington DC]


FOOD FOR THOUGHTS WWW.NATURE.COM

[Nature 442, 133-136 (13 July 2006) | doi:
10.1038/442133a; Published online 12 July 2006]

THANKS GO TO …

Anjo Bikker, Jan Bosch, Fenny Bosse, Victor Brilleman, Saskia
Edixhoven, Jaap Heringa, Elly Lammers, Maryam Razavian, Dirkje
Schinkelshoek, Peter Scholts, Babette Sluijter, Damian Tamburri
… for providing data and support

Doutzen Abma, Lydia Duijvestijn, Carol Frieze, John Grundy, Christine
Hofmeister, Peng Liang, Anna Liu, Eila Ovaska, Femke van Raamsdonk,
Maarten de Rijke, Mary Shaw, Marjan Sirjani
… for giving feedback on women computer scientists nationwide and
abroad

Hans van Vliet and Jan Bergstra
… for inviting us!


Women in Computer Science: Low Numbers Hamper Growth

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