Gender Issues in Computer Science Research, Education, and Society

Women are underrepresented in Computer Science disciplines at all levels, from undergraduate and graduate studies to participation and leadership in academia and industry. Increasing female representation in the field is a grand challenge for academics, policymakers, and society. [1]. The lack of women is among the core reasons for the huge skills and talent gap existing between the number of graduates in higher education institutions and the number of job positions available in the ICT Industry in Europe. The main questions are: How to have more girls choosing computer science as their higher education studies and profession; How to retain female students and assure they finish their studies and start successful careers in the field; How to encourage more female Ph.D. and postdoctoral researchers to remain in the academic career and apply for professorships in computer science departments; How to support and inspire young women in their careers and help them to overcome the main hurdles that prevent women from reaching senior positions in industry and public sector. Which communication and dissemination strategy to adopt in this field. The lecture presents statistics about female presence in education, research and industry. Moreover, it presents research issues from projects at NTNU and other from other international partners mainly in EUGAIN.