Though the field of computer science has seen strides in the increased number of people earning degrees and in job openings across the country in recent years, the field is still lacking diverse representation of women and minorities.
Out of all of the bachelor’s degrees in computer science received in 2015, 8.4 percent were Latinx students at doctoral-granting colleges and universities, 8.5 were Latinx students at non-doctoral-granting institutions, 4.3 were Black students at doctoral-granting institutions and 8.6 were Black students at non-doctoral granting institutions, according to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
In 2015, women comprised 15.3 percent of computer science bachelor’s degrees earned at doctoral-granting institutions and consisted of 16.6 percent of degrees earned at non-doctoral-granting institutions.
A new report from the Association of Computing Machinery Education Board’s Retention Committee outlines successful interventions to encourage more women and minority students to pursue the computer sciences major and continue in the field post-graduation.
“The ultimate goal of any work in this area should be to increase the retention rate for students considering programs in computing,” the report said. “In addition, undergraduate [computer science] education programs need to change their pedagogy, courses, and programs to accommodate students of all backgrounds, rather than expecting students to change themselves to fit into a possibly narrow, existing expectation,” the report added.
“Retention in college computing programs is foundational because if we are not attracting and retaining a diverse population of students in computer science programs during their academic careers, we cannot achieve a diverse workforce,” said Chris Stephenson, co-chair of the committee and head of computer science education programs at Google.
The underrepresentation of women and minorities, specifically Latinos and African-Americans in computer science is a growing concern for experts.
