WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJORS: RESULTS ON BARRIERS FROM INTERVIEWS AND A SURVEY

Abstract

In this research we investigate why women and minorities are underrepresented in the computer science major.We would like to find out the barriers that are keeping women and minorities from pursuing computer science degrees.This paper reports the results from three studies: analysis of the Taulbee Survey data, interviews with high school and college students, and a random survey of college students.We used the Taulbee Survey to analyze the numbers of women and minorities in computer science bachelor degrees.We used the interviews to identify barriers that keep these students from pursuing the computer science degrees, and we used the surveys to gain information on the effects of each of the barriers we identified.From the interviews we gathered that the main reason the high school and college students weren't pursuing the computer science degree was a lack of interest in the degree.For women, we found perception that computer science is better suited for men as a significant barrier.For minorities (black and Hispanic), lack of computer experience and the perception that computer science is for geeks and nerds are the two significant barriers.

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