Gender and the pipeline metaphor in computing

Abstract

Using the pipeline metaphor as the conceptual framework, the current paper presents gender differences in computer science (CS) and computer engineering (CE) students’ study aspirations in elementary and high schools, the extent to which they hold a study-related job while in college and their career aspirations after graduating from college. It highlights some of the weak joints of the pipeline and suggests a number of implications to improve representation of women in computing field. It is based on 150 interviews with undergraduate male and female students belonging to five major ethnic/racial categories (White, African-American, Hispanic, Asian American, Native American) from seven institutions in the USA.

Keywords:

• attrition
• ICT
• leaky pipeline

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (0305898). The authors would like to thank Deepak Kapur for clarifying issues related to CS/CE education and all students who gave their valuable time.