Definitely, it IS a problem

• Diverse participation encourages creativity• Design of products and services by a diverse

group yields products and services that benefit a broad range of consumers

• Fortune 500 companies with a high number of female executives deliver 34% higher return to shareholders than companies with the fewest women

The Incredible Shrinking Pipeline

Adapted from“The incredible shrinking pipeline, Communications of the ACM, vol. 40, no. 10, pp. 103-110, Oct. 1997, Tracy Camp Colorado School of Mines

Questions• What is the shrinking pipeline?• What is the incredible shrinking pipeline?• Why does the incredible shrinking

pipeline exist?• Is it a problem? Why or why not? • If yes, what is being done to solve the

problem?• Does the incredible shrinking pipeline

exist outside the United States?

Equality B.A./B.S. Degrees

Ph.D. Degrees

Asst Profs Assoc Profs Full Profs0

10

20

30

40

50

60

The Shrinking Pipeline: 1999-00

pipeline level

% w

om

en

in

CS

Goal

Total B.A./B.S. Degrees Awarded

80-81

81-82

82-83

83-84

84-85

85-86

86-87

87-88

88-89

89-90

90-91

91-92

92-93

93-94

94-95

95-96

96-97

97-98

800000

850000

900000

950000

1000000

1050000

1100000

1150000

1200000

1250000

Percent B.A./B.S. Degrees to Women

80-81

81-82

82-83

83-84

84-85

85-86

86-87

87-88

88-89

89-90

90-91

91-92

92-93

93-94

94-95

95-96

96-97

97-98

40

45

50

55

60

80-81

81-82

82-83

83-84

84-85

85-86

86-87

87-88

88-89

89-90

90-91

91-92

92-93

93-94

94-95

95-96

96-97

97-98

98-99

99-00

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

% of BS Degrees Awarded in Science and Engineering to Women

CSBio/LifeEngMathPhyAll

Academic Year

% o

f D

eg

ree

s t

o W

om

en

B.A./B.S. % toYear Degrees Women80-81 15,121 32.581-82 20,267 34.882-83 24,510 36.383-84 32,172 37.184-85 38,878 36.885-86 41,889 35.786-87 39,589 34.787-88 34,523 32.488-89 30,454 30.889-90 27,257 29.990-91 25,083 29.391-92 24,557 28.792-93 24,241 28.193-94 24,200 28.494-95 24,404 28.195-96 24,098 27.596-97 24,768 27.297-98 26,852 26.798-99 29,345 27.199-00 36,195 28.0

B.A./B.S. Degrees awarded in CS, and Percentage awarded to women

(1980-81 to 1999-00)

Math/Stats increased by 8.9%

Bio/Life Sciences increased by 20.7%

Engineering increased by 38.3%

Physical Sciences increased by 44.6%

Computer Science decreased by 24.5%

Changes in the Percentage of Degrees Awarded to Women

(1983-84 to 1999-00)

The Incredible Shrinking Pipeline

Why does the Incredible Shrinking Pipeline exist in Computer Science and not other Science/Engineering fields?

Retention: Top 10 Reasons for Why Left Computer Science

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Cho

ice

Tea

chin

g

Adv

isin

g

Oth

er M

ajor

s

Inte

rest

Life

styl

e

HS

Pre

para

tion

Car

eer

Opt

ions

Ove

rwhe

lmin

g

Poo

r G

rade

s

Source: NSF 1996

%Women%Men

1. not enough role models

2. women have other interests

3. don't know about the industry

4. limited opportunity

5. negative media

6. too nerdy

Recruitment: Priming the Pipeline

Andrea Jepson and Teri Perl

Why are girls less likely to pursue computer science careers?

Reasons for the ISP

1. PC games in the 80's were mainly developed by and for males

2. perception of CS became hacker/nerd/anti-social in the early 80's

3. women in CS faced gender discrimination 4. mentors began encouraging boys to major in

CS more than girls 5. too few women in computing in the 70's

became professors

Is the Incredible Shrinking Pipeline a problem?

The IT Shortage

• IT industry accounts for more than 1/3 of the U.S. economy

• 3 of the top 10 fastest growing jobs are in information technology

• IT job growth far exceeds expected degree production through 2012 (145,000 new jobs compared with 75,000 degrees)

Largest Projected Increases in Jobs

for CSM Majors (2000-2010)

Computer ScienceElectricalMechanicalCivilEnvironmental

Does the Incredible Shrinking Pipeline exist outside the United States?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1975 1985 1990

Source: Wright 1997, Women in Computing

Pe

rce

nta

ge

United StatesCanada

Japan

SpainTurkey

Italy

FinlandHungary

Korea

GermanyMalaysia

Percent of Women in CS by Country

What can be done to reverse the Incredible Shrinking Pipeline trend?

Priority Items To Do

1. make more visible the female role models that exist

2. improve CS mentoring of K-12 school females

3. improve CS mentoring of college females

4. ensure equal access to computers for girls in K-12 schools, public and private

5. train teachers to have classrooms that are friendly to both males and females

Change the image of computer science!

What is being done to reverse the Incredible Shrinking Pipeline trend?

ACM = Association of Computing Machinery

ACM-W = ACM'S Committee on Women in Computing

http://www.acm.org/women

21 new articles

Inroads (SIGCSE journal), Special Issue on Women in Computing

June 2002

9 editorials

8 reprints

Pale and Male: 19th Century Design in a 21st Century World

Inroads (SIGCSE journal), June 2002

Is Diversity in Computing a Moral Matter?

What do you say? Open Letters to Women Considering a Computer Science Major

R&R Women in Undergraduate Computing Majors

Unlocking the Clubhouse: The Carnegie Mellon Experience (7% to 42%)

Priming the Pipeline

R&R Women in Undergraduate Computing Majors

People Who Make a Difference: Mentors and Role Models

CRA = Computer Research Association

http://www.cra.org/Activities/craw

Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology

http://anitaborg.org

Questions

• What is the shrinking pipeline?• What is the incredible shrinking pipeline?• Why does the incredible shrinking

pipeline exist?• Is it a problem? Why or why not? • If yes, what is being done to solve the

problem?• Does the incredible shrinking pipeline

exist outside the United States?

NO CLASS

NEXT TUESDAY

(OCTOBER 19th)