The Tech Gender Gap: The Lack of Women Coders and the Movement That’s Fixing It
Women programmers are almost as rare as unicorns. Take a peek into any developer meeting and you’ll most likely find one or two women surrounded by room full of men. It’s a subject that has been passionately investigated by many institutions and organizations, but simply shedding light on the problem hasn’t seemed to have made a difference. The alarmingly low number of women in software development has been well documented. An internet search for “women in tech” generates a lengthy list of articles investigating well known issues such as a hostile “brogrammer” work environment for women, or pay disparities and lack of advancement opportunities. Young women are still being discouraged from pursuing degrees in computer science (math class is tough!), and if they make it through school, they face a rough road in the tech industry. The term “gender diversity” is batted around freely in most major tech companies but the numbers still don’t increase. With all this talk and little results to show from it, diversity in the tech industry is literally a joke.
There is no lack of impressive women in the field. Plenty of seriously ass-kicking women programmers have contributed to the tech industry throughout history. Ada Lovelace is credited with being the first computer programmer in the 1840s. One hundred years later, Grace Hopper created the first compiler. In the 1970s, Adele Goldberg was on the team of developers who created the first object-oriented programming language, one in which the Apple Lisa finds its roots. These visionaries are generally the most celebrated, but the list of women who have contributed significantly to software development is long and impressive. Sadly, they are seldom talked about. The rich potential for female role models in programming, both past and present, is significant. If the low number of women in computer science careers isn’t depressing enough, the percentage of women professors teaching computer science in colleges and universities appears to be even worse. Many college computer science departments in the United States tend to range between 9% and 15% women faculty members.
The following graph from the NPR article: “When Women Stopped Coding” highlights an alarming drop in women graduating with computer science degrees in the 1980s:
The research that’s taking place in the arena of women in computer science is vital to figuring out why and how we continue to fall flat when it comes to recruiting and retaining women in tech. I’ve paired my own research with the hopeful findings of some fantastic organizations working diligently to get more women coding. The great news is there seems to be a healthy amount of momentum behind this cause right now. Solid support systems are popping up all over the place, mostly in the form of women’s technology groups. But these organizations will only succeed if their missions and values are vocally supported by industry leaders, both male and female. An increasing awareness and interest in women’s tech organizations will help them thrive.
Why Women Coders? Turns out, men are not from Mars and women are not from Venus. A 2005 MIT research project concluded men and women are basically the same when it comes to cognitive ability, personality, and leadership qualities. We are more similar than we are different. However, culture shapes us into who we are by nurturing/celebrating certain personality traits and suppressing/condemning/ignoring others. The culturally approved set of traits is markedly different for men and women, and these values are deeply ingrained in our psyches, making it hard to ignore culturally constructed ideas about men and women. It’s unrealistic to think these ideas will change over night.
But we have another option: using them to our advantage. Men are considered more competitive, more aggressive, and are believed to be more linear thinkers. Women are believed to better at learning new languages, are better multi-taskers, better listeners, more abstract thinkers, more in tuned with social issues, and tend to work better collaboratively. A recent article in The Guardian suggests that these traits make women better coders. When there are more women in top-level positions, companies tend to be more successful. Consumer electronic products are used more by women than men, but they are designed almost entirely by men. If men are sandwich bread and women are lunch meat, we’re operating with nothing more than a meatless, mayonnaise sandwich.
So… How did we get here?
Not enough women are pursuing computer science degrees. Women currently only make up about 18% of college students who graduate with a computer science degree. Computer science is the only science field which continues to show a decline in female student enrollment since 2004. Depending on who you ask, the percentage of women in tech jobs hovers somewhere between 12% and 24% and it’s expected to get worse.
Computer Science learning institutions need more women teachers. I was unable to find any published data or articles about this subject, so I did a little digging of my own by looking at the online faculty directories for popular computer science programs at major universities in the U.S. The numbers I discovered are even worse than the national percentage of women in CS degrees. With so few female professors, it’s not surprising that computer science schools have trouble recruiting female students. Please keep in mind these numbers are rough estimates.
A sharp decline in women entering into, and graduating from, post-secondary computer science programs can be traced back to the rise of personal computers in the 1980. Early home computers were marketed towards boys, highlighting computer and video games. Game playing has shown to be a major contributing factor in a child’s success at pursuing a degree in computer science. Today there is a larger percentage of girls interested in gaming, but they tend to not engage at the level boys do — they don’t begin tinkering with code or engage in simple computer programming at the same rates as boys. In online gaming communities, women are shunned or become targets for outrageously sexist behavior. As a result, boys have the upper hand in CS classes, intimidating much of the lesser experienced females, pushing them out. Before the ubiquity of home personal computers and gaming, the playing field in the classroom was more level.
Harvey Mudd University has made some impactful changes to their computer science courses to help women get ahead. They offer different class levels so that students with little to no programming experience can be in a class away from students who have the advantage of prior experience. They’ve redesigned the courses to be focused more on problem solving and less on straight-up programming, and they’ve increased the amount of student collaborative projects. These changes have made a big difference and this successful model should be considered at other schools.
Women-run startups rarely get funded by venture capitalists. Start-ups are largely funded by men, and men tend to favor funding other men rather than women. Only 4.2% of actively investing venture capitalists are women. It’s therefore not surprising that just 11% of venture capital backed companies are women-owned. However, the rise in popularity of crowdfunding proves there is a bias that occurs only when men hold the cash, and provides new avenues for support of women-owned startups. Indiegogo proudly boasts that 47% of their campaigns are led by women. Plum Alley is a member-based company that invests in women entrepreneurs. As the numbers of women entrepreneurs improve, an increase of women in tech jobs is sure to follow. Women leaders tend to hire more women and there are plenty of companies helping make this a reality. Women 2.0, a company dedicated to closing the gender gap, just launched a tech recruiting service.
Women are leaving their engineering jobs twice as often as men. The National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) state that approximately 56% of women drop-out of development jobs mid-career. Contributing factors include lower wages (women with CS careers make $.73 to every $1 a man with a comparable job makes); less chance for promotion, and hostile work environments and sexism.
Virtual classrooms. Distance learning models and virtual classrooms may help women coders who’ve left the tech industry find their way back in. Online computer science courses are growing in number. Coursera offers free and affordable courses taught by professors at universities like Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and UC Irvine. Computer Science Online has a helpful section devoted to helping women choose computer science programs proven to support the advancement of women in CS degrees. Similarly, EDX and Lynda.com offer a wide range of computer sciences courses.
Online resources for women coders abound. Women Who Code is a global nonprofit with chapters all over the world. Most chapters have weekly code parties and monthly Hackathons where women with varying skill level come together and work on larger projects.
The future demand for tech workers means we must get more women into tech. Technology jobs are predicted to increase 22% faster than any other sector in the next ten years. It is estimated that by 2018, there will be 1.4 million new computer-related jobs. In order to meet this demand, the gender gap must close. If the current growth pattern in tech jobs continues, “the information technology industry will only be able to fill half of its available jobs.” [NCWIT] The tech industry is failing miserably at attracting women to tech jobs, and many women are leaving mid-career. The good news is, there is a revolution gaining momentum. The list of organizations that support women and girls interested in software development is impressively long and keeps growing. Here are just a few: Women Who Code, Mother Coders, Anita Borg Institute, Code.org, Black Girls Code, National Center For Women in Technology, Society of Women Engineers, Girls in Tech, Girls Who Code and Women Tech Makers.
Conclusion
Throughout my research, I was encouraged by how momentum seems to be gaining right now around getting, and keeping, more women coding. I feel inspired to join forces. I hope this article inspires you to do the same. If you are a woman coder or want to become one, find your community — either locally or online. There are tons of organizations for this purpose.
If you code, here’s what you can do now to help more women get into coding:
- Increase your skill set by taking classes. Try online classes through Epicodus, Lynda.com, Coursera, Instructables, or Code School.
- Teach women and kids classes.
- Teach your friends or get involved with organizations like Women Who Code and participate in hackathons with other women.
- Volunteer at local schools and teach kids or host your own Django Girls workshop.
- Start a tech business and hire more women. Girls in Tech will help you get started.
- Whether you code or are just interested in getting more women coding, support organizations with donations of time or money.
I’ve included a list of even more organizations where you can get involved. Let’s do this!
Resources for Women and Children who want to code:
Mother Coders is a San Francisco based nonprofit that trains moms to code. They have 4 and 8 week courses that include childcare if needed.
Girls in Tech San Francisco based, with over 60 chapters worldwide. They host AMPLIFY — a women’s technology pitch forum for potential start-ups.
National Center For Women in Technology (NCWIT) have a fantastic FAQ sheet about the challenges Women in Technology face.
Django Girls is a non-profit that helps women host free 1-day programming workshops in their towns.
Girl Develop It is an international organization that helps women learn to code through in-person classes and community support.
Girls Inc Brings STEM professionals into K-12 schools as mentors and teachers.
Society of Women Engineers Has research on female attrition in computer fields. They have a K-12 outreach program for girls interested in pursuing CS degrees..
Anita Borg Institute offers an extensive online library of curriculum and research. and hold partner meetings that coach corporations on ways of improving diversity, inclusion, retention and advancement in their organizations.
Skill Crush offers online courses in programming with a focus on training women for tech jobs. They even have a free 10-day boot camp.
Reading List
A short list of articles I’ve found while researching and writing this article.
Wong, Julia Carrie. “Women are considered better coders, but only if their gender is concealed.” The Guardian. February 2016. Read it.
Larsen, Selena. “Why So Few Women Are Studying Computer Science.” Readwrite. September 2014. Read it.
Stemwedel, Janet D. “Science kits … for girls.” Scientific America. December 2011. Read it.
Madrigal, Alexis C. “Sorry, Young Man, You’re Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech.” The Atlantic. June 2012. Read it.
Zarya, Valentina. “Female Programmers Make Nearly 30% Less Than Their Male Counterparts.” Fortune. November 16, 2016. Read it.
Photo Credits
Image 1. Copyright: leungchopan / 123RF Stock Photo
Image 2. Percentage of women by majors. From NRP article: “When Women Stopped Coding.” October 2014.
Thank You
Many people have helped in the making of this article. I am grateful for the insights, suggestions, and copy edits from Lucas Haley, Linden How, and Lynn Beighley. I also want to thank Juana Maria Wofford, Eric Russell, Lisa Jellett, and Alan Peters for their thoughtful conversations on this subject.
