Abstract:

The shortage of new computer scientists is a serious threat to American leadership in technological innovation. The US economy is expected to add an estimated 1.5 million technology-related jobs in only a few years while this country will have only half that many qualified graduates. Nationwide, Computer Science undergraduate programs suffer from a dropout rate approaching two-thirds of incoming students. While the number of women entering the “STEM” fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) is growing, their numbers still lag. It is imperative to recruit and retain more women into these fields, and support them until graduation. How can this be achieved? There are a number of approaches to solving this problem: forming relationships with high school guidance counselors; recruiting women from two-year colleges into four-year colleges; mentoring programs; decreasing “geek” culture; increasing the visibility of women in the field and in the colleges to female students; making introductory computer science courses less intimidating; and preparing different teaching methods that make studying computer science as fresh and creative as opposed to regimented and stifling.

Keywords:

women in technology, computer science retention, educational issues, digital divide.