women of science

One of my favorite scenes in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is when the female Cardassian is skeptical that Miles O’Brien can do a proper job of being a good scientist because on Cardassia, all scientists are female. The males are simply too emotional for science. Only in sci-fi, right?

Two NYTimes articles (recent, earlier) have been making me think about the low rates of women in computer science.

Admittedly, I never really though about this problem until I got to grad school. Wellesley was all female, so I never thought too much about it. When I got to Davis, I would have these “I feel like I’m at summer camp” moments when I’d suddenly realize that I was the only female in a group or a class. Aside from those jarring moments when I actually thought about it, I never really cared because it didn’t affect me or my life in anyway. I thank Wellesley for that. When I attended the Grace Hopper conference for the first time, one speaker, Fran Bermon, said something that I fiercely hold to. “Don’t be the woman computer scientist. Be a computer scientist.” I agree. Yes, be aware that as a woman some things will be harder. However, don’t handicap yourself before you even start by putting too much emphasis on “woman” and not enough on “computer scientist.”

Society now accepts technological prowess, so it’s not fear of being labeled a nerd, I think, that keeps people away. Test scores show that females do just as well if not better than male peers. Computer science is a field with great relevance and influence on the world. So why aren’t females flocking to this field as they’re flocking to economics, life sciences, political sciences, and all the other fields previously dominated by men? I think this perception that it’s so difficult for women, which does have some basis in reality, is what keeps a lot of females from entering into the computer science or other science fields. Who wants to try something that brings unnecessary hardships when similar rewards can be earned by going into other fields? Why would you want to enter a field where taking maternity leave might be considered a sign of weakness or lack of dedication and could jeopardize your tenure if you desire a family? But even earlier than that, why aren’t females flocking to a thriving field, or even trying it? Is it the notion that programming is boring and that’s all you’d do? Is it fear of failure? Indifference?

I’m skeptical that “geek chic” or the Obama presidency is going to lead to a drastic change in enrollment numbers or the number of women seeking to enter academia. However, I’m hopeful that all the attention may bring about changes in the established traditions of career advancement and maybe even in the way computer science will be taught.