Undergraduate Women in Computer Science:
Experience, Motivation and Culture
Allan Fisher, Jane Margolis and Faye Miller
School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
Abstract 2. Ethnographic Methodology
For the past year, we have been studying the experiences of We have been using ethnographic methods [4,5], with in-
undergraduate women studying computer science at terviews being the primary source of our data. We regard
Carnegie Mellon University, with a specific eye toward the students as expert witnesses in their own world, and try
understanding the influences and processes whereby they to ask the questions that will enable them to best elucidate
attach themselves to or detach themselves from the field. their thoughts about computer science, It is then up to us
This report, midway through the two-year project, recaps to note significant themes and patterns. We are not testing
the goals and methods of the study, reports on our progress hypotheses, but rather are generating testable hypothcscs
and preliminary conclusions, and sketches our plans for the about students’ attachment and detachment.
final year and the future beyond this particular project. Participants
1. Background The participants of our study are:
The goal of our project has been to understand women’s 1. CMU Computer Science male (29) and female (20) stu-
attachment and detachment from computer science, and to dents (first-year to senior);
find ways for CMU to intervene at the undergraduate level
in favor of gender equity in computer science. Women are 2. Two selected samples of female non-CS majors: 9 stu-
underrepresented in computer science at CMU and in other dents doing well (receiving an A at midterm) in a non-
higher education institutions across the nation: for example, majors’ programming class.
they receive 18% of the bachelor’s degrees in CS at the top Analyzing the Data
12 research departments [l]. Since computers and informa- Every interview is tape recorded. The interviews are tran-
tion technology play an increasingly pervasive role in edu- scribed and the transcripts are entered into HyperResearch, a
cation and careers, this underrepresentation is critical, not commercial computer program developed to assist in
only for the women whose potential may go unrealized, but qualitative data analysis. After coding the interviews for
also for a society increasing dependent on the technology. events and themes, the coder writes what we call a
Clearly part of the low representation of women in CS at “narrative summary.” This is our attempt to keep the par-
the undergraduate level is inherited from the secondary ticipants story as whole as possible, to avoid “context
school level, where girls do not participate in computer stripping.” We have worked very hard negotiating the ten-
science courses and related activities as much as boys [7]. sion between presenting our data as full portraits and the
There is a gap between male and female enrollment in high almost necessary “fracturing” of the data into discrete ele-
school computer science courses that increases as students ments so that we can detect patterns across groups and catc-
progress from introductory to more advanced CS courses gories (see 14, p. 631).
[8]. Females have been only about 12% of Al? computer Reliability
science AB exam takers over the past five years (College Weareaware of the risk of compromised data analysis and
Board, private communication). As we learn more about we are continually asking ourselves how can we get the ’
the different ways that students attach to and detach from most accurate and detailed picture of the situation. We have
computer science, we will apply the lessons learned to the three main defenses against drawing biased or unwarranted
design of pedagogical, administrative, and social methods conclusions. First, we are refining the coding scheme to a
aimed at both attracting and retaining women students. fine level of detail, which tends to decrease the subjectivity
This paper reports our findings in the initial phase of our of the classification of elements of students’ accounts.
research. This part of the research is based on gathering Second, the cross-disciplinary makeup of our research team
students’ accounts of their histories and thoughts about helps to expose implicit preconceptions. Finally, we will
computer science. We have been studying students’ percep- be holding regular focus groups this year to continually
tions of attachment and detachment from the discipline. In return to the participants, and other groups of CS students,
order to conceive of the most effective interventions, we are to double-check what we are hearing and hypothesizing.
working to understand the relative importance of the factors 3. Initial Findings
that have the greatest bearing on the low numbers of
women in the field. In this section we briefly discuss our “working hypotheses”
from the first year of interviews.
Gender Gap in Previous Experience
Permission to make digital/hard copy of part or all of this work for personal During the interviews with first-year CS students, many of
or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are npt made the women speak of feeling less prepared than the other
or distributed for profit or commercial advantage, the copyright notlce, the
title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that students in the department. To obtain more insight into
copying is by permission of ACM, Inc. To copy otherwise, to republis$ !o this issue, we distributed a survey questionnaire to all first-
post on servers, or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permlsslon year CS students regarding their experience and knowlcdgc
and/or a fee. of computers prior to attending CMU. Our study confirms
SIGCSE ‘97 CA, USA a significant gap between male and female prior experience,
0 1997 ACM 0-89791-889-4/97/0002...$3.50
106
, noted in other studies as well [2,3]. It is notable that 40% themselves lowest in initial feelings of preparedness, and
of the male respondents from the CMU first-year class show the most increase (1.1 rise in preparedness for first-
passed the AP exam, thereby placing out of the CMU in- year women on a scale of 1-5, versus a .3 rise for men.) If
troductory level computing class. None of the first-year we continue to hear this, as we interview more students,
women placed out. Also, we found a correlation between this finding could be very important for increasing women’s
females students’ sense of feeling less prepared and their confidence about themselves in this field.
actual experience with computers prior to CMU. Attachment Begins at Home
Gap Between Perceived and Actual Ability Research on women in the sciences has highlighted the
Despite this difference in how students evaluate themselves, importance of family influence on students’ exposure to and
there is a gap between women’s perceived ability and their interest in majoring in the sciences [9]. Our interviews
actual performance. Despite their modest estimates of their certainly confirm this. Most of the students, male and fe-
own standing in the class, three out of the seven first-year male, were first introduced to computing by a parent who
students made the Dean’s List (which turned out to be about either works on computers themselves or brings one home
the top third of the class) in the first semester, and six of for the child. School is almost incidental, except in a few
the seven women made a B or A average for the first year. cases. Male students, with only a few exceptions, re-
Hacking Not a Prerequisite for Success ported owning their own computer, or having the family
computer in their room, by an early age. Only one of the
Many of the female students have entered the department seven first-year women reported having her own computer
with very little computer experience, yet they do well. prior to CMU.
Their stories counter the suggestion that prior computing
experience is necessary to do well in undergraduate com- While females are also influenced by a parent at home, we
puter science. Their stories of success raise some challenges hear a difference between the females and males that we
to widely-held beliefs of who does computer science. Their believe to be important and deserving of further inquiry.
success is not without costs, though -- they often go Females’ stories are filled with descriptions of watching
through a very difficult period of adjustment, facing tremen- their dad work at the computer, or having their older brother
dous self-doubt and feelings of isolation and inadequacy. show them how he programs the machine. From there,
Nonetheless, it is clear that one need not have been a high their interest is sparked, and some do become active in
school hacker to major in CS. Our findings have become an computing activities in high school, but their participation
important talking point for prospective students, and may is much more qualified than the males’. There seems to be
have contributed to the improved recruitment of women less tinkering, less unguided exploration and less obsession.
students for the coming year. Indeed, even the female who was president of her high
school computer club, says in reference to computing, ‘2
Confidence Gap Narrows never really got totally into it.”
Based on the gender gap in previous computing experience, Males: Computers as the Ultimate Toy
it is not surprising to find a difference in the confidence
levels of male and female first-year students. Female first Several males describe epiphany moments from their earli-
year students report themselves as being significantly lower est (before 10) computing experiences, sometimes receiving
in computing experience, preparedness for their computer the sense that this is what they wanted to do for the rest of
science courses, and ability to master the course material their lives. They become consumed early on and their com-
than the males. In contrast, in response to a first semester puter activities become a consistent part of their identity.
survey, the males’ stated confidence is quite high. For ex- One student answers the question “Can you tell me how
nmple, 53% of the men rated themselves as highly prepared you got interested in computers?” this way:
for their classes, whereas none of the women rated them- Well, Z think it was sometime in middle school, sixth
selves as highly prepared. 50% of the men reported them- grade about then, my &d borrowed a computer from a
selves as having an expert level of at least one program- ’ friend, it was an old black and white Macintosh, just
ming language prior to CMU, whereas none of the women totally self contained one unit thing, and Z remember
reported themselves as having an expert level of knowledge just playing with that all the time and trying to figure
of a language. We have heard in the interviews how this stuff on it. And that got me really hooked ... Z was
gender gap in confidence affects the women students’ expe- really getting into figuring things out on computers
riences in the program. In our first-year interviews female and Zjust knew that that was going to be something
students commonly refer to how much more other students for me.
(males) know, and question whether they belong. Other male students respond likewise:
What we were surprised to hear from the upperclass women Z started playing around with computers before Z can
was that confidence seems to rise, rather than fall, as remember...Z think Z supposedly knew how to type on
women progress through their junior and senior years. This a machine before Z could write....
is contrary to the findings of studies from other disciplines.
Junior and senior women talked to us about a leveling proc- Z liked to play games a lot when Z was growing up on
ess, which occurs as the course material gets more difficult them. They just seemed to be really integral to how Z
for everyone by the junior year, and as women’s hard work like to express my creativity....
and discipline has paid off. We asked first-year students and But Z like just what a computer can do. Z don’t know
upperclass students to rate their feeling of preparedness for why it interests me so much...They say kids like to
their CS classes compared to classmates, and their ability to take things apart and see what makes them go and Z do
master the course material, for their first semester and their that a lot....
current semester. For both groups, those students who felt A4y mother brought me a computer back in Alabama
least prepared at the beginning experienced the greatest in- when Z wasfour years old and Z guess ever since it has
crease in feelings of preparedness over time. Women rate
107
Experience, Motivation and Culture
Allan Fisher, Jane Margolis and Faye Miller
School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
Abstract 2. Ethnographic Methodology
For the past year, we have been studying the experiences of We have been using ethnographic methods [4,5], with in-
undergraduate women studying computer science at terviews being the primary source of our data. We regard
Carnegie Mellon University, with a specific eye toward the students as expert witnesses in their own world, and try
understanding the influences and processes whereby they to ask the questions that will enable them to best elucidate
attach themselves to or detach themselves from the field. their thoughts about computer science, It is then up to us
This report, midway through the two-year project, recaps to note significant themes and patterns. We are not testing
the goals and methods of the study, reports on our progress hypotheses, but rather are generating testable hypothcscs
and preliminary conclusions, and sketches our plans for the about students’ attachment and detachment.
final year and the future beyond this particular project. Participants
1. Background The participants of our study are:
The goal of our project has been to understand women’s 1. CMU Computer Science male (29) and female (20) stu-
attachment and detachment from computer science, and to dents (first-year to senior);
find ways for CMU to intervene at the undergraduate level
in favor of gender equity in computer science. Women are 2. Two selected samples of female non-CS majors: 9 stu-
underrepresented in computer science at CMU and in other dents doing well (receiving an A at midterm) in a non-
higher education institutions across the nation: for example, majors’ programming class.
they receive 18% of the bachelor’s degrees in CS at the top Analyzing the Data
12 research departments [l]. Since computers and informa- Every interview is tape recorded. The interviews are tran-
tion technology play an increasingly pervasive role in edu- scribed and the transcripts are entered into HyperResearch, a
cation and careers, this underrepresentation is critical, not commercial computer program developed to assist in
only for the women whose potential may go unrealized, but qualitative data analysis. After coding the interviews for
also for a society increasing dependent on the technology. events and themes, the coder writes what we call a
Clearly part of the low representation of women in CS at “narrative summary.” This is our attempt to keep the par-
the undergraduate level is inherited from the secondary ticipants story as whole as possible, to avoid “context
school level, where girls do not participate in computer stripping.” We have worked very hard negotiating the ten-
science courses and related activities as much as boys [7]. sion between presenting our data as full portraits and the
There is a gap between male and female enrollment in high almost necessary “fracturing” of the data into discrete ele-
school computer science courses that increases as students ments so that we can detect patterns across groups and catc-
progress from introductory to more advanced CS courses gories (see 14, p. 631).
[8]. Females have been only about 12% of Al? computer Reliability
science AB exam takers over the past five years (College Weareaware of the risk of compromised data analysis and
Board, private communication). As we learn more about we are continually asking ourselves how can we get the ’
the different ways that students attach to and detach from most accurate and detailed picture of the situation. We have
computer science, we will apply the lessons learned to the three main defenses against drawing biased or unwarranted
design of pedagogical, administrative, and social methods conclusions. First, we are refining the coding scheme to a
aimed at both attracting and retaining women students. fine level of detail, which tends to decrease the subjectivity
This paper reports our findings in the initial phase of our of the classification of elements of students’ accounts.
research. This part of the research is based on gathering Second, the cross-disciplinary makeup of our research team
students’ accounts of their histories and thoughts about helps to expose implicit preconceptions. Finally, we will
computer science. We have been studying students’ percep- be holding regular focus groups this year to continually
tions of attachment and detachment from the discipline. In return to the participants, and other groups of CS students,
order to conceive of the most effective interventions, we are to double-check what we are hearing and hypothesizing.
working to understand the relative importance of the factors 3. Initial Findings
that have the greatest bearing on the low numbers of
women in the field. In this section we briefly discuss our “working hypotheses”
from the first year of interviews.
Gender Gap in Previous Experience
Permission to make digital/hard copy of part or all of this work for personal During the interviews with first-year CS students, many of
or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are npt made the women speak of feeling less prepared than the other
or distributed for profit or commercial advantage, the copyright notlce, the
title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that students in the department. To obtain more insight into
copying is by permission of ACM, Inc. To copy otherwise, to republis$ !o this issue, we distributed a survey questionnaire to all first-
post on servers, or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permlsslon year CS students regarding their experience and knowlcdgc
and/or a fee. of computers prior to attending CMU. Our study confirms
SIGCSE ‘97 CA, USA a significant gap between male and female prior experience,
0 1997 ACM 0-89791-889-4/97/0002...$3.50
106
, noted in other studies as well [2,3]. It is notable that 40% themselves lowest in initial feelings of preparedness, and
of the male respondents from the CMU first-year class show the most increase (1.1 rise in preparedness for first-
passed the AP exam, thereby placing out of the CMU in- year women on a scale of 1-5, versus a .3 rise for men.) If
troductory level computing class. None of the first-year we continue to hear this, as we interview more students,
women placed out. Also, we found a correlation between this finding could be very important for increasing women’s
females students’ sense of feeling less prepared and their confidence about themselves in this field.
actual experience with computers prior to CMU. Attachment Begins at Home
Gap Between Perceived and Actual Ability Research on women in the sciences has highlighted the
Despite this difference in how students evaluate themselves, importance of family influence on students’ exposure to and
there is a gap between women’s perceived ability and their interest in majoring in the sciences [9]. Our interviews
actual performance. Despite their modest estimates of their certainly confirm this. Most of the students, male and fe-
own standing in the class, three out of the seven first-year male, were first introduced to computing by a parent who
students made the Dean’s List (which turned out to be about either works on computers themselves or brings one home
the top third of the class) in the first semester, and six of for the child. School is almost incidental, except in a few
the seven women made a B or A average for the first year. cases. Male students, with only a few exceptions, re-
Hacking Not a Prerequisite for Success ported owning their own computer, or having the family
computer in their room, by an early age. Only one of the
Many of the female students have entered the department seven first-year women reported having her own computer
with very little computer experience, yet they do well. prior to CMU.
Their stories counter the suggestion that prior computing
experience is necessary to do well in undergraduate com- While females are also influenced by a parent at home, we
puter science. Their stories of success raise some challenges hear a difference between the females and males that we
to widely-held beliefs of who does computer science. Their believe to be important and deserving of further inquiry.
success is not without costs, though -- they often go Females’ stories are filled with descriptions of watching
through a very difficult period of adjustment, facing tremen- their dad work at the computer, or having their older brother
dous self-doubt and feelings of isolation and inadequacy. show them how he programs the machine. From there,
Nonetheless, it is clear that one need not have been a high their interest is sparked, and some do become active in
school hacker to major in CS. Our findings have become an computing activities in high school, but their participation
important talking point for prospective students, and may is much more qualified than the males’. There seems to be
have contributed to the improved recruitment of women less tinkering, less unguided exploration and less obsession.
students for the coming year. Indeed, even the female who was president of her high
school computer club, says in reference to computing, ‘2
Confidence Gap Narrows never really got totally into it.”
Based on the gender gap in previous computing experience, Males: Computers as the Ultimate Toy
it is not surprising to find a difference in the confidence
levels of male and female first-year students. Female first Several males describe epiphany moments from their earli-
year students report themselves as being significantly lower est (before 10) computing experiences, sometimes receiving
in computing experience, preparedness for their computer the sense that this is what they wanted to do for the rest of
science courses, and ability to master the course material their lives. They become consumed early on and their com-
than the males. In contrast, in response to a first semester puter activities become a consistent part of their identity.
survey, the males’ stated confidence is quite high. For ex- One student answers the question “Can you tell me how
nmple, 53% of the men rated themselves as highly prepared you got interested in computers?” this way:
for their classes, whereas none of the women rated them- Well, Z think it was sometime in middle school, sixth
selves as highly prepared. 50% of the men reported them- grade about then, my &d borrowed a computer from a
selves as having an expert level of at least one program- ’ friend, it was an old black and white Macintosh, just
ming language prior to CMU, whereas none of the women totally self contained one unit thing, and Z remember
reported themselves as having an expert level of knowledge just playing with that all the time and trying to figure
of a language. We have heard in the interviews how this stuff on it. And that got me really hooked ... Z was
gender gap in confidence affects the women students’ expe- really getting into figuring things out on computers
riences in the program. In our first-year interviews female and Zjust knew that that was going to be something
students commonly refer to how much more other students for me.
(males) know, and question whether they belong. Other male students respond likewise:
What we were surprised to hear from the upperclass women Z started playing around with computers before Z can
was that confidence seems to rise, rather than fall, as remember...Z think Z supposedly knew how to type on
women progress through their junior and senior years. This a machine before Z could write....
is contrary to the findings of studies from other disciplines.
Junior and senior women talked to us about a leveling proc- Z liked to play games a lot when Z was growing up on
ess, which occurs as the course material gets more difficult them. They just seemed to be really integral to how Z
for everyone by the junior year, and as women’s hard work like to express my creativity....
and discipline has paid off. We asked first-year students and But Z like just what a computer can do. Z don’t know
upperclass students to rate their feeling of preparedness for why it interests me so much...They say kids like to
their CS classes compared to classmates, and their ability to take things apart and see what makes them go and Z do
master the course material, for their first semester and their that a lot....
current semester. For both groups, those students who felt A4y mother brought me a computer back in Alabama
least prepared at the beginning experienced the greatest in- when Z wasfour years old and Z guess ever since it has
crease in feelings of preparedness over time. Women rate
107
