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How To Get More Women Into Computer Science

fewer women in computer tech Why do women seem to be deserting computer science education?

A new study by Accenture and Girls Who Code (GWC) exposes the unpleasant fact that the percentage of women in U.S. computer science programs has plummeted from 37% in 1984 to just 18% today. That, along with a finding that the gap in pay between men and women in tech is actually growing, has prompted lots of finger-pointing, and a whole lot of ideas on how more women can be encouraged to get into computer science.

The Cure?
Accenture CEO Julie Sweet recommends that schools hire more female computer science teachers at the high school level. Though boys don’t seem to care much about the gender of their teachers, girls seem to see the subject as more “cool” if it’s taught by a female instructor.

Changing the curriculum to be more girl-friendly is another recommendation. To many applications being built in computer classes focus on games or sports, which are of far less interest to girls than boys. One California school, Harvey Mudd College, has actually been able to boost its percentage of women computer science majors by simply changing the name of its courses from “Introduction to Java Programming” to “Creative Problem Solving In Science And Engineering With Python,” and by using course examples that focus on world health instead of gaming.

High schools need to stop killing girls’ interest in technology. Right now, 74% of American girls in middle school express interest in STEM subjects, but by the end of high school, just 0.4% are focused on getting a college degree in computer science. Schools need to do a better job of changing a perception that math and science are masculine fields, by creating more opportunities that keep young women engaged in tech learning.

The Challenges
There’s no shortage of obstacles for women in tech. To begin with, many young girls find that there’s little social support for tech learning from their friends. Ms. Sweet says that a girl is about one-third less likely to be interested in coding if her girlfriends don’t think it’s “cool.”

Young women, unfortunately, aren’t getting a message that tech is a great field from the women who have gone into it. The Harvard Business Review has reported that 50% of all women who go into STEM fields eventually leave because of “hostile work environments.”

While out and out discrimination may be minimal, many women in tech report an undercurrent of condescension and isolation that companies have not been quick to address.

A male-dominated venture capital world makes it hard for women entrepreneurs to get funding. With less than 10% of all partners at VC firms being women today, it’s hardly surprising that less than 9% of all venture capital-funded startups in 2014 were run by women CEOs ( Find out about one of the few women who has broken through in the tech VC world: read Meet the Only Female General Partner at Alphabet’s VC Arm.

Better maternity leave policies need to be created that allow women to stay in tech without having to choose between work and family, and to avoid burnout for women who are returning from maternity leave.

Elite University’s Affordable Online Master’s in Computer Science

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cheapest online computer science masters A new experiment at Georgia Tech could save students – at least some students who qualify – a bundle on a master’s degree in computer science.

America’s elite universities – of which Georgia Tech is certainly one – have often regarded online education with suspicion. They’ve toyed with so-called “MOOCs” or massive online courses, which have drawn large numbers of students but have seen high dropout rates and don’t provide actual credits toward a degree.

Online education tends to result in more price competition among schools – at least in the opinion of SuccessDegrees. The more traditional private colleges fear that they won’t be able to protect their $50,000. per year price tags if they dive into the online degree world. Many professors also express a view that online learning isn’t at the same quality level as classroom study.

Georgia Tech, apparently, has chosen to toss away both those notions. Although their computer science degree is officially referred to as an “OMS” for “online masters,” the school promotes this accredited degree as being essentially on a par with their campus-based degree in the same major. And on price – the school has taken a truly adventurous step. The online computer science degree from Georgia Tech is now being offered for a total of $7,000.

No, that’s not a typo. The degree costs $7,000. Naturally, it’s created excitement. About 4,000 students are now enrolled online, versus about 300 who are taking the computer science master’s on campus. The main issue, of course, is that Georgia Tech is a selective school, and you’ll need good college grades to get in.

More on Georgia Tech’s online master’s program here.

Why A College Degree Is The New High School Diploma

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college grads earning more Forty years ago, a high school diploma was a ticket to many basic jobs in manufacturing, construction and other areas that paid at least a basic living wage. No more. Recent studies show that there is virtually no growth in jobs whatever for people who lack at least some college education. Moreover, wages are actually dropping for jobs that don’t require any higher ed.

The New “Low End” Jobs
A new report from the Georgetown Center shows that over 95% of the new jobs gained since the 2008 financial meltdown have gone to people who have either spent some time in college or earned a degree. Many of them are technical jobs in health care or professional service positions that seldom go to applicants with only a high school diploma.

Blue collar jobs that existed before 2008 have come back, but with lower wages. A study by the National Employment Law Project found that wages for retail and restaurant workers have dropped by about 6% since the recession ended. Employers who need people for even lower skilled jobs, in fact, are increasingly expecting applicants to have at least an associate’s degree. As a result, the wage differential between college grads and non-college grads has risen significantly.

As a result, according to an NBC News piece, more and more Americans are starting to support Bernie Sanders’ idea of free college for all Americans.

Tech Insider’s View Of Which Computer Science Degrees Are Likely To Get You Hired And Which Ones Won’t

By degreeeditor

To try to find out more about which computer science degrees really can result in getting a job, I went to a friend who is a senior guy at Oracle, and has hired lots of people over the years. We’ll leave him anonymous, as he doesn’t want his employer to see him speaking on blogs. Here’s his view of which degree specialties are not in computer science, and which are not:

Information technology / Information systems: “These are the broadest of all tech degrees. You’ll find it hard to get a job with one of these unless you major in something like security or cloud computing, both of which are huge right now. These degrees combine some business and finance teaching with basic programming, but they’re not honed down enough.”

Systems analysis: “Systems analysts are the guys who liaison between businesspeople and the programmers. In some businesses there has been growth in jobs for these kinds of specialists under the heading of ‘business analyst.’ That’s a person who would draw up technology plans based on the business needs of the company, and submit them to programmers to execute. But again, this type of degree is so general that it isn’t necessarily great to get you streamed into any particular job function.”

Computer science / Computer engineering: “CS is very broad. Computer engineering is more specific to architecture. A person with this type of training might work, for example, on putting together the systems of two banks that have merged. They’re also in demand by companies who need to upgrade their technology architectures, which, honestly, is just about every company sooner or later. Of these two degrees, I would say computer engineering is more powerful from a job standpoint.”

Software programming: “Programmers, unfortunately, are a dime a dozen right now. If you’re a real rock star programmer or you have a highly developed specialty in game design or some other profitable area, you may find a positive employment market. But a general programming degree won’t distinguish you very effectively.”

Computer security: “If you are well qualified in security, I would expect that you’ll get hired. Cyber security people work in both the corporate and the public sectors, and there’s a growing need for virtual security experts in every type of enterprise. A lot of the tech people hired by the FBI are cyber security experts.”

Database management: “Everybody needs database managers, because all the ecommerce, banking and even information publishing systems run off of databases. It helps if you come out of a good school, because there are a fair number of database experts in the market. But good database administrators are hard to find, so if you really hone your skills in this area you can wind up with pretty good prospects.”

Web development: “Web developers are the people who get your web pages up on the internet. Some of them are more on the graphic design side and others focus more on developing the code that makes the website actually work. It’s category where there is a lot of work and it can be a good gateway to many other career tracks, but it’s not one of the most lucrative areas.”