We live in an age in which women are constantly told they can and should do anything men can. But as an increasing number of women join the ranks of men and become professional athletes, CEOs, world-class chefs, mathematicians and engineers, the field of computer science has seen a significant national decrease in the percentage of women involved.
Tufts, however, is at the field's forefront as it attempts to draw women into the discipline with specific scholarships aimed at women, the campus organization Women in Computer Science (WICS), and one of the few computer science faculties in the world with an equal number of men and women.
According to an April 17 article in The New York Times, women received about 38 percent of undergraduate bachelor's degrees offered in computer science in 1985. By 2003, that number had decreased to just 28 percent. This number was even smaller for schools offering additional graduate degrees in computer science in the 2003-2004 school year, resting at a mere 17 percent.
With so much effort and attention recently devoted to women in mathematical and scientific fields, why are many females still repelled by and underrepresented in computer science on a national scale? According to senior Stacey Ecott, the president and co-founder of Women in Computer Science at Tufts, women are affected by stereotypes associated with the field.
"I think there's such a strong stereotype that you have to be a nerdy hacker and sit in front of your computer all day," she said. "That's not what it's about. People have that really big misconception."
Ecott also noted the difficulty of the major itself, regardless of gender.
"People get into that first class or two, and it's hard; it's a hard major," she said. "I think we're scaring people away, big time."
Senior Lecturer of Computer Science Judy Stafford agreed. She has noticed a pattern among younger women first entering college.
"Female students coming out of high school have less of a concept of what computer science is than male students," she said. "A large percentage of students come to the department with misconceptions that computer science is about programming all night long and eating pizza and working alone."
Stafford, who has recently devoted large amounts of time and effort to helping draw women into technological fields, also noted a larger trend in the nature of the computer science field.
"Computer science has a problem with minorities in general," she said. "It tends to be a white male population."
Ecott estimated that, based on her observations in classes, women make up about a tenth of undergraduate computer science majors. Maya Shoham, a sophomore computer science major and WICS member, also noted the large gender gap in her own classes. "You look around the classroom and there's one other girl in the room," she said.
The disparity between the amount of women and men in computing doesn't stop at the classroom. Stafford, who began her work in computer science in the 1970s, but did not complete a Ph.D in the field until the '90s, said she hasn't noticed an improvement in the scant amount of women choosing to take the computing route in the professional world.
"I've noticed a lack of women at conferences," she said. "I'm definitely used to being one of about 20 percent or lower of women at meetings I attend."
But Tufts has recognized the difficulties in keeping women interested in technological disciplines and is making sincere motions to improve the numbers. WICS, created last year by Ecott and a friend, was made in an effort to bring women in computer science at Tufts together.
"We talked a lot as friends about [there being] very few women in the department," she said. "We realized that we didn't even know the other women in the department, and that they were probably going through the same kinds of things we were."
Shoham has been able to use WICS as a practical resource and has helped the group in its attempts at improving the department.
"Recently I, with one of the grad students, changed the course descriptions for some of the classes to make them more interesting," she said. "It's nice to talk to people who have been in the working world and in the industry ... It's nice to talk to other women, [both] undergrads and grad students who've been through the same thing."
Perhaps one of the most unique and progressive aspects of the department at Tufts is that its faculty is made up of equal numbers of women and men. Ecott, like many undergraduate women majoring in computer science, has drawn inspiration from this during her four years at Tufts.
"Of the professors that I've connected with, they've all been women," she said. "It wasn't on purpose at all, [but] I guess that it was a big part of me being comfortable in the field."
Ecott also praised the work of the department chair, Professor Diane Souvaine. "She's done a fantastic job in trying to get women involved in research and in the community," Ecott said. "Her work in doing that has really made the department stronger."
Shoham agreed, explaining how the leadership of women has helped her undergraduate education.
"It's nice because you see what you could become," she said.
Stafford explained how Tufts is trying to make the field of computer science more appealing to the specific interests of women. Stressing a potential for great amounts of interdisciplinary work, Stafford said she has seen many double majors come through the department.
"We're looking at the introductory curriculum and trying to make sure that it includes materials that appeal to women," she said. "Women tend to go into fields in which they feel that can make a contribution to society. We're trying to make sure that it's obvious that computer science is an important field for supporting society in general and that it's strongly connected to other fields ... I do believe that our department is going to make great headway."
