Women in CS

This past week, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in Minneapolis. This celebration focuses on encouraging women to pursue careers in the computing sciences and it provides education on this topic (among many others) as well as a variety of opportunities for networking.

During my time here, I have learned some very interesting aspects of how the roles of women in computing have changed over the years. Originally, computer science was dominated by women. During the second world war, women would run the computers. It wasn’t until men realized that there was so much more to be done in this field that women were pushed out  of the field. In more recent years, it has become clear that computer science is the one of the ONLY fields in which the percentage of women has decreased as time has progressed; 2013 having some of the lowest percentages of women in computer science than ever.

Through the various different speakers at Grace Hopper, there have been many different reasons for this. Sheryl  Sandberg (writer of “Lean In” and chief operating officer of Facebook) was the keynote speaker on the first morning of the conference and she very intensely discussed this issue. In one anecdote, she explained to the audience how two men responded to why they don’t hire as many young women. The first, stating the most women are “not like Sheryl,” meaning that they do not take opportunities to step up and are weak. The second stated “well my wife is afraid I will sleep with them, and I probably would.”

Both statements are equally offensive (in my opinion). The first indicates that women do not try and do not want to succeed. The assumptions that women do not want to succeed are clearly incorrect. As demonstrated by the increased efforts of many women in trying to pursue careers (in all fields) over the last 30, or so, years clearly contradicts this idea. Further, the issue that arises with women is that many women begin to believe the stereotype of a woman after hearing it for so long. Women begin to believe that they have to have children, and they have to take time off in order to take care of these children. If they do not stop working, they are considered bad mothers. Meanwhile, if a father does not stop working while he is raising a child, he is rarely considered a bad father. Therefore, women do not avoid success. Women do what they can to work towards success, but the difficulties of society can make that an exhausting task.

The statement of the second gentleman is shockingly blunt, but in some cases, very true and very honest. In modern times, it is still very common for women to be perceived as sexual objects (and yes, this can be the case for men as well). As a result, it can be difficult for some to see women as equals and as good in business or the sciences, but also a sexual play thing. When the objectification of human beings as a whole can stop, equality across the board will prevail..

Although this issue was not touched upon by Sheryl, I also believe that in some educational institutions, women do not receive the support they need in order to continue on in the computing sciences. Speaking from personal experiences, being a female in a male dominated major at a male dominated school can be very intimidating. It is not uncommon for me to feel like the least intelligent person in the room, even if this is not the case. By encouraging more women into the computer science fields, women will have a stronger support system within the major and will have a less likely chance of dropout.

In conclusion, women need more encouragement, support, and respect, and they will be successful in the computing sciences. The intelligence is there, and with the appropriate support success will follow.

Further, I am really looking forward to hearing how some males at Stevens feel about women in the Computer Science at this school, as well as in general.