Women in computer science. What can be done?
Hi, I’m currently a female student studying A-level computer science, and I wanted to share my thoughts and expressions about the gender imbalance, as well as what I think can be done to solve this problem.
I feel as if not enough people who are directly IN the situation voice their opinions, and this is mainly where the problem lies.
Just for some background info:
- I was 1 girl in a class of around 30 who took GCSE computing
- I was 1 of 2 girls, in a class of 14, who studied AS-level computing
- I’m now the only girl in my A-level computing class.
- We have both a Male and Female A-level computer science teacher
- I hope to go onto further education in a computer science related course
Now that’s all out of the way, let me get into it.
Much like science, in general, there has been a noticeable gender difference in IT related studies and industry jobs. For me, this problem starts when we are young. The whole gender specific advertisements we have all seen as children directly market boys and girls towards different interests. For example, as a child I was bought a lot of baby dolls and dress up things, where as my male friends had action figures and cars. When you think about what we are learning from these different toys, its quite plainly obvious as to how I could have been put off engineering and mathematical areas of interest.
Fortunately, my family had a keen interest for gaming. I picked up an SNES controller at the age of 4 and I don’t think I’ve turned back since then. One of the most influential toys I had as a child was LEGO. I cannot stress enough how LEGO was one of the key aspects of bringing genders together. It teaches you mathematics, functionality of structures, creativity and logical thinking, in a way that doesn't target a specific gender. With recent trends, its less likely that a female would want LEGO (For this article I’m not going to talk about the “Lego friends” which is specifically targeted at girls.). I’m entirely going to blame parents for this. LEGO starts at age 4, your child has NO idea what they actually like at age 4. My young sister (age 4) changes her mind every day about what her favorite thing is, so in reality what you buy your child for birthday or Christmas is entirely up to you, the parents. This is the first step of introducing females to computer science; choose your gifts wisely.
Moving on, primary education (in the UK) when I was a child it was most definitely lacking in the IT department. Only in the last 2 years of my primary school education they really started to get a grasp of how important IT was. They introduced games into the curriculum. We played a game each year and did activities surrounding the game and what it was about. It became very educational, we wrote stories, drew pictures, solved puzzles and discussed the game as a class. It’s much like reading a book as a class and then getting everyone to do activities based on that. Our school also made an effort to choose students who showed interest in IT and make them “ICT monitors”. Its much like the school council, but for technology instead. There was an equal amount of girls and boys assigned to this job. We got to go to places and try out new technology, reviewing how they could be used in an educational environment and voting on if the school should use their budget to buy it or not. This involvement is my second step to equaling the gender balance in computer science; a fun and inclusive primary curriculum.
As for Secondary school education (years 7–9), the lack of computer science (which during my time was just ICT) made it almost impossible for anyone to know about it. We never really looked into coding, there was a small leap into looking at Kodu Game Lab, which allowed you to make your own games from pre-made code. This allowed students to enjoy learning the basic logic of coding, and maybe not even notice they are doing it at the same time. The main focus of IT lessons at this time was for the student to know how to use a computer. As advancements in technology have improved and it has become much easier for students to get a hold of cheaper technology options, and this isn't as necessary now. Basically, the IT and Computing teaching from year 7 to 9 has improved greatly.
When it came to picking my GCSE options, I already knew I had an interest in games and technology, so I wanted to learn computer science. I faced numerous hurdles during this decision. Multiple teachers put me off by saying “You do realize your the only girl in the class”, “Does it bother you?”, and “Are you sure it wont be too off-putting?”. Why does this even need to be asked? If I’m a woman interested in computer science I am fully aware of the gender imbalance and do not need to be put down about it on a constant basis.
As for taking the course, there were a list of supply teachers, students and even visitors, who questioned me and made me feel extremely uncomfortable about being the only female in the class. I once even had an OFFSTED inspector ask me about it, and had to ask him politely to stop asking me because it became apparent that it was more bullying me than asking me for useful feedback. This is where I believe most women will be entirely put off. Sly, harmful and unnecessary comments made by people who you are meant to be encouraged by. I cant express enough how heartbreaking this is and its truly the first time I experienced the gender issue within computer science. So my tip here is for professionals to encourage and not make insensitive remarks. Educate pupils on the gender gap, let them all know rather than picking on an individual.
Lastly, A-level education has been the best year of computer science for me. Apart from the occasional “Women in tech” events that are advertised, which I personally don’t think help the problem, this year is mature enough and all students understands the issue. Everyone works together to ensure that both genders are included and no one feels excluded. However, its not like this in all schools or colleges. So that’s my last and final tip. Create a mature community of year 12 and 13 students that respect each other’s decisions in career choice, and make women feel the same in a class full of men. Having both a male and female teacher also helps with encouraging women to learn computer science. Its almost reassuring to see.
Beyond. I personally don’t find these “women's tech days” very appealing. If anything I want to attend more technology events with an even gender attendance. Not facing the problem of these classes being very “macho” and heavily male, only causes women to be put off more.
Well, that’s a lot of information I know. Here is a short recap:
- Parents! Encourage non-gender-specific toys.
- Primary curriculum: include games and make computing fun.
- Secondary schools: Give a more interesting approach to technical aspects of computer science.
- Educate ALL students on the gender imbalance in the computing industry and the benefits to being a woman in the computing industry.
- GCSE’s: Don’t put off your female students! Making remarks about the class being full of boys does not help.
- Have both male and female computer science teachers.
- A-levels: Encourage a, Mature and inclusive class. Take students aside and question their comments if they say anything insensitive; Don’t ignore it!
- Beyond: create some events that have an equal gender attendance. Encourage inclusiveness, not exclusive opportunity only for women.
I hope this is somewhat helpful. My experience, though only short, will hopefully shed some light onto this situation and make people think.
Use this as feedback, and act upon it, absorb it, process it. Tell me what you think.
I am a proud woman in computer science education.
Thanks for reading,
- Megan
