Abstract
Gender imbalance in Software Engineering (SE) and Computer Science (CS) is a global issue. For years, these fields were male-dominant, affecting the way society perceived these careers. Girls who feel the unwelcoming atmosphere of the computer technology industry and do not receive support in choosing SE and CS education tend to choose more traditional “female” careers. One way to solve this problem is to make SE and CS education more welcoming for a female audience. To achieve that, universities and other higher education institutions need to make changes in the program design and promotion to potential applicants. This study aims to collect practices for attracting more women and achieving better gender balance in SE and CS tertiary education. We conducted a literature review of 49 studies. As a result, we identified thirteen initiatives that could be implemented at promotion, university, program, and course levels.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
National Center of Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_325.35.asp
Gender Equality Index | Digitalisation (2020) | Finland. https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/thematic-focus/digitalisation/country/FI
Lehman KJ, Sax LJ, Zimmerman HB (2016) Women planning to major in computer science: Who are they and what makes them unique? Comput Sci Educ 26:277–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2016.1271536
Aller, C.F., Navarro, S.R.: Gender in software engineering degrees. In: ECSA 2018: proceedings OF THE 12TH European conference on software architecture: companion proceedings. ASSOC computing machinery (2018)
Ellemers, N.: Gender Stereotypes. 275–298 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011719
Lewis, C.M., Anderson, R.E., Yasuhara, K.: “I Don’t Code All Day”: Fitting in Computer Science When the Stereotypes Don’t Fit. In: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2016 ACM CONFERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL COMPUTING EDUCATION RESEARCH (ICER’16). pp. 23–32. ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY (2016)
Wang, J., Moghadam, S.H.: Diversity Barriers in K-12 Computer Science Education: Structural and Social. In: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2017 ACM SIGCSE technical symposium on computer science education (SIGCSE’17). pp. 615–620. ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY (2017)
Hyde JS (2014) Gender Similarities and Differences. Annu Rev Psychol 65:373–398. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115057
Borsotti, V.: Barriers to Gender Diversity in Software Development Education: Actionable Insights from a Danish Case Study. In: 2018 IEEE/ACM 40TH international conference on software engineering: software engineering education and training (ICSE-SEET). pp. 146–152. IEEE (2018)
Janzen, D.S., Bahrami, S., Silva, B.C. da, Falessi, D.: A Reflection on Diversity and Inclusivity Efforts in a Software Engineering Program. In: 2018 IEEE frontiers in education conferenCE (FIE). IEEE (2018)
Bastarrica, M.C., Hitschfeld, N., Samary, M.M., Simmonds, J.: Affirmative action for attracting women to STEM in chile. In: Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Gender Equality in Software Engineering. pp. 45–48. ACM, Gothenburg Sweden (2018)
Lang C, Craig A, Egan M (2016) The Importance of Outreach Programs to Unblock the Pipeline and Broaden Diversity in ICT Education. Int. J. Informat. Commun. Technol. Educat. 12:38–49. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJICTE.2016010104
Kamberi, S.: Enticing Women to Computer Science with Es (Expose, Engage, Encourage, Empower). In: 2017 IEEE women in engineerinG (WIE) FORUM USA EAST. IEEE (2017)
Petersen K, Vakkalanka S, Kuzniarz L (2015) Guidelines for conducting systematic mapping studies in software engineering: An update. Inf Softw Technol 64:1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2015.03.007
Griffith AL (2010) Persistence of women and minorities in STEM field majors: Is it the school that matters? Econ Educ Rev 29:911–922. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.06.010
Nesiba, N., Dana-Farley, J., Muhyi, N., Chen, J., Ray, N., Pontelli, E.: Young Women in Computing: Creating a successful and sustainable pipeline. In: 2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE). pp. 1–9 (2015)
Payton, J., Barnes, T., Buch, K., Rorrer, A., Zuo, H.: STARS Computing Corps: Enhancing Engagement of Women and Underrepresented Students in Computing. In: Barnes, T., Thiruvathukal, G.K., Boyer, K., Forbes, J., and Payton, J. (eds.) 2015 research in equity and sustained participation in engineering, computing, and technology (RESPECT). IEEE (2015)
Al-Tahat, K., Taha, N., Hasan, B., Shawar, B.A.: The impact of a 3D visual tool on female students attitude and performance in computer programming. In: 2016 SAI Computing Conference (SAI). pp. 864–867 (2016)
Chang, Y., Cintron, L., Cohoon, J., Cohoon, J., Tychonievich, L.: Instructional design principles of diversity-focused professional development MOOC for community college computing faculty: Lighthouse CC. In: 2016 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE). pp. 1–5 (2016)
Taneja, S., Rawajfih, Y., Gore, D., Marghitu, D.: Educating the STEM Leaders of Tomorrow Attracting K-12 Students to Computing Careers. In: 2015 ANNUAL GLOBAL ONLINE CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY (GOCICT). pp. 11–15. IEEE (2016)
Brady C, Orton K, Weintrop D, Anton G, Rodriguez S, Wilensky U (2017) All Roads Lead to Computing: Making, Participatory Simulations, and Social Computing as Pathways to Computer Science. IEEE Trans Educ 60:59–66. https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2016.2622680
Ortega, F.R., Bolivar, S., Bernal, J., Galvan, A., Tarre, K., Rishe, N., Barreto, A.: Towards a 3D Virtual Programming Language to increase the number of women in computer science education. In: 2017 IEEE Virtual Reality Workshop on K-12 Embodied Learning through Virtual & Augmented Reality (KELVAR). pp. 1–6 (2017)
McInerney, C., Lamprecht, A.-L., Margaria, T.: Computing camps for girls – a first-time experience at the university of Limerick. (2017)
Khan, A., Wei, Y.: Free Talk Zone: Inclusive Pedagogy to Encourage Women in Computer Science. In: Arabnia, H.R., Deligiannidis, L., Tinetti, F.G., Tran, Q.N., and Yang, M.Q. (eds.) Proceedings 2017 international conference on computational science and computational inteligence (CSCI). pp. 1108–1114. IEEE (2017)
Latulipe, C., Rorrer, A., Long, B.: Longitudinal Data on Flipped Class Effects on Performance in CS1 and Retention after CS1. In: SIGCSE’18: PRoceedings of the 49th acm technical symposium on computer science education. pp. 411–416. Assoc computing machinery (2018)
Narayanan, S., Cunningham, K., Arteaga, S., Welch, W.J., Maxwell, L., Chawinga, Z., Su, B.: Upward Mobility for Underrepresented Students: A Model for a Cohort-Based Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. In: SIGCSE’18: Proceedings of the 49th acm technical symposium on computer science education. pp. 705–710. Assoc computing machinery (2018)
Kulkarni, A., Yoon, I., Pennings, P.S., Okada, K., Domingo, C.: Promoting Diversity in Computing. In: Polycarpou, I., Read, J.C., Andreou, P., and Armoni, M. (eds.) ITICSE’18: Proceedings of the 23rd annual ACM conference on innovation and technology in computer science education. pp. 236–241. ASSOC computing machinery (2018)
Ericson, B., McKlin, T.: Helping underrepresented Students Succeed in AP CSA and Beyond. In: SIGCSE’18: Proceedings of the 49th acm technical symposium on computer science education. pp. 356–361. ASSOC computing machinery (2018)
Metcalf, H.E., Crenshaw, T.L., Chambers, E.W., Heeren, C.: Diversity Across a Decade: A Case Study on Undergraduate Computing Culture at the University of Illinois. In: SIGCSE’18: Proceedings of the 49th acm technical symposium on computer science education. pp. 610–615. assoc computing machinery (2018)
Ribaupierre, H. de, Jones, K., Loizides, F., Cherdantseva, Y.: Towards Gender Equality in Software Engineering: The NSA Approach. In: 2018 IEEE/ACM 1st International Workshop on Gender Equality in Software Engineering (GE). pp. 10–13 (2018)
Miller, J., Raghavachary, S., Goodney, A.: Benefits of Exposing K-12 Students to Computer Science through Summer Camp Programs. In: 2018 IEEE Frontiers in education conference (FIE). IEEE (2018)
Goldweber, M.: Strategies for Adopting CSG-Ed In CS 1. In: 2018 Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT). pp. 1–2 (2018)
Petropulu A, Lord S (2018) Improving the diversity of faculty in electrical and computer engineering (iredefine ece[point of view]. Proc IEEE 106:214–218. https://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2018.2790178
Gomes, L.L. de A., Carvalho, J.R.H., Lauschner, T., Nakamura, F.G., Freitas, R. de: Encouraging Women to Pursue a Computer Science Career in the Context of a Third World Country. In: 2018 IEEE FRONTIERS IN EDUCATION CONFERENCE (FIE). IEEE (2018)
Foertsch, S.: Yes you can, follow your goals! Individual Coaching for female Computer scientists on career development. In: Domenech, J., Merello, P., DeLaPoza, E., and Blazquez, D. (eds.) 4TH International conference on higher education advances (HEAD’18). pp. 533–541. UNIV POLITECNICA VALENCIA (2018)
Otondo, R.F., Pearson, R.A., Reese, D., Jones, B., Hodges, J., Bott, G., Ndicu, M.J.: Sensemaking and Success in the Transition from Community Colleges to University IS/CS/CE Programs. Communications of the association for information systems. 43, 516–544 (2018). https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.04329
Ying, K.M., Pezzullo, L.G., Ahmed, M., Crompton, K., Blanchard, J., Boyer, K.E.: In Their Own Words: Gender Differences in Student Perceptions of Pair Programming. In: SIGCSE `19: Proceedings of the 50th ACM technical symposium on computer science education. pp. 1053–1059. assoc computing machinery (2019)
Kuttal, S.K., Gerstner, K., Bejarano, A.: Remote Pair Programming in Online CS Education: Investigating through a Gender Lens. In: 2019 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC). pp. 75–85 (2019)
Wright, R.N., Nadler, S.J., Nguyen, T.D., Gomez, C.N.S., Wright, H.M.: Living-Learning Community for Women in Computer Science at Rutgers. In: SIGCSE `19: Proceedings of the 50th acm technical symposium on computer science education. pp. 286–292. Assoc computing machinery (2019)
Keller, L., John, I.: How Can Computer Science Faculties Increase the Proportion of Women in Computer Science by Using Robots? In: 2019 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON). pp. 206–210 (2019)
Hallak, H.A., Ibrahim, S., Low, C., Mesalami, A.E.: The Impact of Incorporating Hands-on Raspberry Pi Projects with Undergraduate Education in Boosting Students’ Interest in Scientific/Engineering Majors and Encouraging Women and Minorities to Advance their Integration in Practical Fields. In: 2019 IEEE Learning With MOOCS (LWMOOCS). pp. 7–14 (2019)
Seo, D., Lawrence, M.: Workshop to Increase Women’s Enrollment in Technology Discipline at the Community College. In: 2019 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC). pp. 160–164 (2019)
Peña, J., Rosson, M.B.: Reaching out to Diverse Learners with Non-Formal Workshops on Computing Concepts and Skills. In: Proceedings of IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing, VL/HCC. pp. 193–197 (2019)
Zimmerman, H.B., Toven-Lindsey, B., Sax, L.J., Lehman, K.J., Blaney, J.M.: Building Momentum: How Department Chairs Lead Initiatives to Broaden Participation in Computer Science. In: 2019 Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT). pp. 1–8 (2019)
Burnette JL, Hoyt CL, Russell VM, Lawson B, Dweck CS, Finkel E (2020) A Growth Mind-Set Intervention Improves Interest but not academic performance in the field of computer science. Social psychological and personality science. 11:107–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550619841631
de Carvalho CV, Cerar Š, Rugelj J, Tsalapatas H, Heidmann O (2020) Addressing the Gender Gap in Computer Programming Through the Design and Development of Serious Games. IEEE Revista Iberoamericana de Tecnologias del Aprendizaje. 15:242–251. https://doi.org/10.1109/RITA.2020.3008127
Lawlor, G., Byrne, P., Tangney, B.: “CodePlus”-Measuring Short-Term Efficacy in a Non-Formal, All-Female CS Outreach Programme. ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTING EDUCATION. 20, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1145/3411510
Rover, D.T., Mina, M., Herron-Martinez, A.R., Rodriguez, S.L., Espino, M.L., Le, B.D.: Improving the Student Experience to Broaden Participation in Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering. In: 2020 IEEE frontiers in education conference (FIE 2020). IEEE (2020)
Spieler, B., Grandl, M., Ebner, M., Slany, W.: Bridging the Gap: A Computer Science Pre-MOOC for First Semester Students. Electronic journal of e-learning. 18, 248–260 (2020). https://doi.org/10.34190/EJEL.20.18.3.004
Kröhn, C., Groher, I., Sabitzer, B., Kuka, L.: Female Computer Scientists Needed: Approaches For Closing The Gender Gap. In: 2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE). pp. 1–4 (2020)
Grass, B.-E., Coto, M., Collazos-Ordonez, C.-A., Paderewski, P.: Learning about Programming and Epistemic Emotions: A Gendered Analysis. REVISTA FACULTAD DE INGENIERIA, UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGOGICA Y TECNOLOGICA DE COLOMBIA. 29, (2020). https://doi.org/10.19053/01211129.v29.n54.2020.12034
Ordóñez, P., Ortiz-Zuazaga, H., Ramírez-Lugo, J.S.: Broadening Participation in Computing through a Biology Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates. In: 2020 Research on Equity and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT). pp. 1–2 (2020)
Ying, K.M., Rodríguez, F.J., Dibble, A.L., Martin, A.C., Boyer, K.E., Thomas, S.V., Gilbert, J.E.: Confidence, Connection, and Comfort: Reports from an All-Women’s CS1 Class. In: SIGCSE 2021 - Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education. pp. 699–705 (2021)
Marcher, M.H., Christensen, I.M., Grabarczyk, P., Graversen, T., Brabrand, C.: Computing Educational Activities Involving People Rather Than Things Appeal More to Women (CS1 Appeal Perspective). In: ICER 2021 - Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research. pp. 145–156 (2021)
Ouhbi, S., Awad, M.A.M.: The Impact of Combining Storytelling with Lecture on Female Students in Software Engineering Education. In: 2021 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON). pp. 443–447 (2021)
Groher, I., Sabitzer, B., Demarle-Meusel, H., Kuka, L., Hofer, A.: Work-in-Progress: Closing the Gaps: Diversity in Programming Education. In: Klinger, T., Kollmitzer, C., and Pester, A. (eds.) Proceedings of the 2021 IEEE global engineering education conference (EDUCON). pp. 1455–1459. IEEE (2021)
Faenza, F., Canali, C., Colajanni, M., Carbonaro, A.: The Digital Girls Response to Pandemic: Impacts of in Presence and Online Extracurricular Activities on Girls Future Academic Choices. EDUCATION SCIENCES. 11, (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11110715
C. Murphy, A. Mushakevich, Y. Park: Incorporating Readings on Diversity and Inclusion into a Traditional Software Engineering Course. In: 2021 Conference on Research in Equitable and Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT). pp. 1–5 (2021)
Vujovic, M., Hernandez-Leo, D.: How Do Table Shape, Group Size, and Gender Affect On-Task Actions in Computer Education Open-Ended Tasks. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON EDUCATION. https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2022.3143715
Kovaleva, Y., Happonen, A., Mbogho, A.: Towards gender balance in modern hackathons: literature-based approaches for female inclusiveness. In: Proceedings of the Third Workshop on Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Software Engineering. pp. 19–26. ACM, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (2022)
Kovaleva, Y., Happonen, A., Hasheela-Mufeti, V.: Pros and Cons of running educational hackathons in a gender-neutral fashion. In: Proceedings of the Third Workshop on Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Software Engineering. pp. 27–34. ACM, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (2022)
Kovaleva, Y., Happonen, A., Kindsiko, E.: Designing gender-neutral software engineering program. stereotypes, social pressure, and current attitudes based on recent studies. In: Proceedings of the Third Workshop on Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Software Engineering. pp. 43–50. ACM, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (2022)
Kovaleva Y, Hyrynsalmi S, Saltan A, Happonen A, Kasurinen J (2023) Becoming an entrepreneur: A study of factors with women from the tech sector. Inf Softw Technol 155:107110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infsof.2022.107110
Ghoreishi, M., Happonen, A.: Key enablers for deploying artificial intelligence for circular economy embracing sustainable product design: Three case studies. Presented at the 13TH INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH CONFERENCE (13TH EURECA 2019) , Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia (2020)
Santti, U., Happonen, A., Auvinen, H.: Digitalization boosted recycling: Gamification as an inspiration for young adults to do enhanced waste sorting. Presented at the 13TH INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH CONFERENCE (13TH EURECA 2019) , Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia (2020)
Happonen, A., Ghoreishi, M.: A Mapping Study of the Current Literature on Digitalization and Industry 4.0 Technologies Utilization for Sustainability and Circular Economy in Textile Industries. In: Yang, X.-S., Sherratt, S., Dey, N., and Joshi, A. (eds.) Proceedings of Sixth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology. pp. 697–711. Springer Singapore, Singapore (2022)
Garcia, M.B., Benedic R. Enriquez, J., Adao, R.T., Happonen, A.: ‘Hey IDE, Display Hello World’: Integrating a Voice Coding Approach in Hands-on Computer Programming Activities. In: 2022 IEEE 14th International Conference on Humanoid, Nanotechnology, Information Technology, Communication and Control, Environment, and Management (HNICEM). pp. 1–6. IEEE, Boracay Island, Philippines (2022)
Vaddepalli, K., Palacin, V., Porras, J., Happonen, A.: Taxonomy of Data Quality Metrics in Digital Citizen Science. In: Nagar, A.K., Singh Jat, D., Mishra, D.K., and Joshi, A. (eds.) Intelligent Sustainable Systems. pp. 391–410. Springer Nature Singapore, Singapore (2023)
Tereshchenko E, Happonen A, Porras J, Vaithilingam CA (2023) Green Growth, Waste Management, and Environmental Impact Reduction Success Cases From Small and Medium Enterprises Context: A Systematic Mapping Study. IEEE Access. 11:56900–56920. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3271972
Tereshchenko E, Happonen A, Hasheela-Mufeti V (2023) Barriers for females to pursue stem careers and studies at higher education institutions (HEI). A closer look at academic literature
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Kovaleva, Y., Happonen, A., Kindsiko, E. (2024). Literature-Based Practices for Designing Female-Inclusive Software Engineering and Computer Science Programs. In: Nagar, A.K., Jat, D.S., Mishra, D.K., Joshi, A. (eds) Intelligent Sustainable Systems. WorldCIST 2023. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 828. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8111-3_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8111-3_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-99-8110-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-99-8111-3
eBook Packages: Intelligent Technologies and RoboticsIntelligent Technologies and Robotics (R0)