A New York Times article, What is Driving Women Out of Computer Science?, outlines the changing numbers and declining enrollments of women in CSE since the 1970s, when the intended enrollment of women reached a high in the early 80s and has been steadily decreasing ever since. The reason for this decline is a matter of dispute among the experts, who see women gaining greater equality in representation in nearly every other science and engineering-related field. Some blame the “nerd” factor, others feel the male gaming culture negatively impacts female interest in computing. Yet, it’s clear that despite the various theories for declining enrollments, no one is quite sure what is really going on. Early exporsure to CSE–the earlier the better– appears to be a key factor in drawing women into the field.

*Update* Read the response It’s the Stress, Stupid by Elizabeth Manapsal in the Cornell Daily Sun for additional thoughts on the barriers keeping women out of computer science.

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Games4Girls Competition: ChicTech, an outreach program of the University of Illinois’ Department of Computer Science, extends an open invitation for college women to participate in the fifth annual Games 4 Girls Programming Competition (G4G). Students can get real-world, collaborative experience by creating new software for girl gamers. Teams from various Universities will compete using the Gamemaker platform. In April, High School girls will judge the games and determine the winners. Create your team today!

Registration Deadline: December 19, 2008
Click Here to Register.

Submissions and Evaluations: April 6, 2009
Winners Announced: April 19, 2009

Visit here for more information.

G4G on Facebook.
(Read on …)

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2009 Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship – Deadline to Apply is February 6, 2009

Dr. Anita Borg (1949-2003) devoted her life to revolutionizing the way we think about technology and dismantling the barriers that keep women and minorities from entering the computing and technology fields.

In honor of Anita’s vision, Google is proud to announce the 2009 Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship, awarding a group of female students each a $10,000 scholarship for the 2009-2010 academic year. All
finalists and scholarship recipients will also be invited to attend a 3-day Scholars’ Retreat at the Googleplex in Mountain View, CA in June 2009. (Read on …)

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I came across an article on the new “From Astronomy to Zoology: 1,500 years of Women in Science and Technology” exhibit at the American Computer Museum (founded by Barbara Keremedjiev) in Bozeman, and I just thought it sounded like a neat idea. Check it out!

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A recent Los Angeles Times article discusses why women do not have a strong presence in the video game industry, citing that women “comprise fewer than one in five workers in the business, according to a 2007 survey by gamedeveloper magazine. Among game programmers, the number is 3 percent.” Yikes.

Representatives from Electronic Arts Inc. have a big voice in this article, and they acknowledge what many of us know from personal experience. While girl gamers are on the rise, more boys grow up playing video games than girls, and so later are drawn to careers in the field. With so few women entering CSE-related majors already, and then an even smaller subset interested in games, it’s not a shocker that women aren’t strongly represented in game design companies. Yet, there now seems to be a greater push in the industry to broaden its reach and break out into the mainstream, with the recognition that diversity in the workforce is key in accomplishing this.

The article lists additional detractors for women including the perception that the industry is like one big frat party (strippers at recruiting parties? Really???) and the demanding schedules required during peak times, leaving little room for work-life balance. A new book Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat: New Perspectives on Gender and Gaming addresses these issues and the need for a broader perspective in game design.

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