Statistics Show Computer Science Really is a Boys' Club

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the lack of women in STEM professions and in particular computer sciences. Google, after a lot of public media pressure, released a blog post with a breakdown of the company’s workforce. The results regarding the gender gap was unsurprising in that the female percentage of the workforce was significantly lower than the male.

In fact, it was found that out of Google’s 46,170 employees only 30 percent of them are female, only 21 percent of leadership positions in Google are held by women. The lowest percentage, predictably, was found in the tech sector where females hold only 17 percent of the jobs.

The problem is not just at Google as the table below shows Google and nine other large technology companies who released data after Google, showing the percentages of females working their companies.

Company	% of female employees	% of female employees in tech jobs	% of female employees in non-tech jobs	% of females in leadership positions
Google	30%	17%	48%	21%
Apple	30%	20%	35%	28%
Facebook	31%	15%	47%	23%
Twitter	30%	10%	50%	21%
Yahoo	37%	15%	52%	23%
LinkedIn	39%	17%	47%	25%
Pandora	49.2%	18%	57.8%	14%
Pinterest	40%	20%	66%	19%
eBay	42%	24%	49%	28%
HP	32.5%	18.4%	48.7%	25.6%

All data given in 2014 apart from HP which is from 2013.

Only three out of 10 of the world’s leading technology firms scrape 20 percent with eBay the highest on 24 percent. It shows that in other aspects of the company, percentages of people in non-tech fields are pretty equal, so why is there such a dramatic difference in tech?

One issue is something again that can be seen from the table; female leader numbers in the above companies are very low, which provides a lack of role models for aspiring female tech professionals. It is very difficult for women to get into managerial positions as the top firms are dominated by what the New York Times’ Claire Cain Miller describes as ‘a fraternity of chummy men.’ She states that there is a ‘sexist culture’ amongst companies in Silicon Valley. The females that work there are isolated and in some cases have been found to be harassed. A group of women working at major tech firms came out and stated that they were ‘harassed on mailing lists and called ‘whore/c—t’’ and received ‘creepy e-mails’ that haven’t been dealt with by higher powers. The ‘fraternity of chummy men’ may not be too far off the mark as many of the top firms will hire from only top schools where again, STEM courses such as computer science will be dominated by male students and teachers (14 percent of US physics professors are female); again a potentially off-putting statistic for young female scientists. 

Creating a more female inclusive tech world will not happen overnight; however steps are slowly being made. For example, many of the companies mentioned have set up initiatives and groups for their minority employees such as the Pandora Women in Business scheme. In fact, Columbia University has a group that brings together female computer science students to help expand their opportunities and provide direction. Initiatives like this will encourage more females to study computer science and by having more equal college gender ratios then the stigma of computer science being a boys club may start to fade out. I believe because these areas of study are dominated by men, when they then progress into companies also dominated by males and it becomes a culture. If computer science is seen as a unisex area of study from a younger age then it will eventually filter into the workplace too. 

About the Author: Harry Kempe, a marketing intern at IIR USA, who works on various aspects of the industry including social media, marketing analysis and media. He is a recent graduate of Newcastle University who previously worked for EMAP Ltd. and WGSN as a marketing assistant on events such as the World Architecture Festival, World Retail Congress and Global Fashion Awards. He can be reached at hkempe@IIRUSA.com.

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Is Confidence the Reason Women are the Minority in STEM Fields?

A recent study has found that women often fail to do as well in a corporate environment due to a lack of confidence in their own abilities. This ties in closely with the fact that there is a distinct gender gap in STEM fields as it has been found that women make up only 24 percent of STEM professions.

From this, a study looked into how male and female college students view their own abilities. There was found to be a gender gap in terms of confidence levels in the STEM fields and in particular computer science. This study, carried out by Piazza, created a social learning platform where students and teachers could ask questions (anonymously if they wanted) and answered by fellow students. Piazza analyzed two million questions by almost one million students from US and Canadian schools over four semesters. The confidence gap was defined as the percentage difference between the average number of questions answered by female and male students. The gap for computer sciences showed women answered 37 percent less than men and for the rest of the STEM subject’s women were 18 percent fewer.

The difference in levels was found to be biggest at the top computer science programs – females at Carnegie Mellon University answered 62 percent less than males whilst at Cornell, Stanford and Harvard there were 60 percent, 49 percent and 39 percent differences again in favor of the males. The gaps at slightly smaller institutions were a lot smaller and in the cases of Boston University and Caltech the females had higher percentages with three percent higher at Boston and 22 percent higher at Caltech.

This leads me to believe that the reason behind the disparity in confidence levels comes from the fact that STEM fields and in particular computer science are still boys clubs and this stems from college level. The top level courses themselves are still male dominated and by teachers as well as students. The top universities were found to have 14 percent female undergraduate degrees awarded in computer science.

The disparity means females are less likely to be able to find friends to help with work and mentoring as the males tend to group together. Male teachers as well are more likely to bond with male students as they will have also worked or studied in a male dominated environment. Studies have also shown that males are also more likely to receive more positive classroom attention from teachers than females.  It is similar in other courses such as business where it is found at Harvard Business School between 2006 and 2007 a third of the junior female faculty left. Trends like this show that females have less female mentoring so often feel excluded and intimidated. Another study shows that at Carnegie 53 percent of male college freshmen rated themselves as highly prepared for their computer science exams whilst zero percent of females said the same. However at the end of the year 86 percent of the females interviewed received A or B grades which shows the extreme difference in confidence levels despite actually having no need to be worried.  

From this evidence it is not surprising that females feel less confident to firstly go into these professions or courses where they are the minority and secondly when there, they are less likely to want to speak up. If there is less of a social stigma surrounding these STEM fields being for men then maybe there would be a positive change in more women taking up STEM professions and succeeding. 

About the Author: Harry Kempe, a marketing intern at IIR USA, who works on various aspects of the industry including social media, marketing analysis and media. He is a recent graduate of Newcastle University who previously worked for EMAP Ltd. and WGSN as a marketing assistant on events such as the World Architecture Festival, World Retail Congress and Global Fashion Awards. He can be reached at hkempe@IIRUSA.com.

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Staying in STEM: Nurturing a Career Path for Girls

Did you know that jobs in STEM make up the second fastest growing job sector in the next 10 years? More reason for us to help girls and young women stay in STEM. Check out the infographic below which outlines why it is hard to keep girls and young women in STEM, and how we can encourage them to stay.

Why Women Are Opting Out of STEM

More and more qualified, intelligent women are opting out of working in STEM, according to Catalyst’s latest research. These women are taking their talents elsewhere and we need to start asking why.

The global study of MBA graduates found that just 18 percent of women opted for a business role in a technology-intensive industry, compared to 24 percent of men. Additionally, over half of women (53 percent) who started out in a business role in a tech industry left to take a position in another industry, compared to just 31 percent of men.

Even though they have the exact same level of education as their male colleagues, women are more likely to start in entry-level positions and are therefore paid less, according to the study. And, a problem in tech-intensive industries is that women remain in the minority throughout the pipeline, which can lead to feelings of alienation. With fewer female role models than other industries and fewer senior women to serve as sponsors, the feeling of being an outside affects access to development opportunities and ultimately career aspirations.

In addition, from the “brogrammer” culture in high-tech firms to the “Old Boys’ Club” in oil and gas, automotive and manufacturing, women are faced with a culture of exclusivity that can be difficult to break in to. Catalyst asked for advice from women working in the field: One said she tells young women to use a black coffee mug because it doesn’t show lipstick marks, and another,  said she tells young women not to bring notebooks to meetings because people will assume they’re secretaries.

So, these talented women look at these industries, realize they’ll be the only woman in the room and turn elsewhere. To make STEM more attractive to women, organizations need to ensure that companies are sponsoring promising women, making performance criteria transparent and concrete, while promoting flexible work options.

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10 Quotes to Inspire You From Women in STEM

Here are inspirational quotes from 10 ladies with the world's coolest jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), according to CNN.

Karen Nyberg, Astronaut

"When I was in high school, I was certain that being an astronaut was my goal. It was a very important time -- Sally Ride was making her first flight into space and she had a real impact on me. Those 'firsts' kind of stick in your head and really become inspirations for you."

Zaha Hadid, Architect

"I used to not like being called a 'woman architect.' I'm an architect, not just a woman architect. The guys used to tap me on the head and say 'you're OK for a girl.' But I see an incredible amount of need from other women for reassurance that it can be done, so I don't mind anymore."

Fabiola Gianotti, Higgs Boson Physicist

"This job is a great scientific adventure. But it's also a great human adventure. Mankind has made giant steps forward. However, what we know is really very, very little compared to what we still have to know."

Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo (Former Engineer at Google)

"People ask me all the time: 'What is it like to be a woman at Google?' I'm not a woman at Google, I'm a geek at Google. And being a geek is just great. "I'm a geek, I like to code, I even like to use spreadsheets when I cook."

Nichelle Nichols, former NASA Ambassador and Actress

"Science is not a boy's game, it's not a girl's game. It's everyone's game. It's about where we are and where we're going. Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain't stopped yet. There's more exploration to come."

Danica McKellar, Mathematician, Writer and Actress

"If you're beautiful, you're led to believe that you can't also be smart. But you can be fun and fit and social and be really smart. And the smarter you are, the more capable you'll be to handle whatever challenges come up in life."

Regina Agyare, Founder of software company Soronko Solutions

"When I was young I was very interested in science and technology, and my dad brought home the first computer. I played Pac Man and I was hooked! By learning to create technology, girls learn to speak up."

Weili Dai, Co-founder of Marvell Tech

"I believe every single woman could accomplish what I've accomplished."

Peta Clarke, Technical Lead at Black Girls Code

"Now we're in an age where technology is mandatory, and we wanted young girls to have this understanding and know how to build an app."

Dr. Sarah Parcak, Space Archaeologist

"When I was a kid we'd rent Indiana Jones movies on VHS tapes. It inspired a whole generation of scholars because we saw the excitement, and the passion, and the drama. What's amazing to me about archaeology is the stories are even better than what you see in a Hollywood movie."

#SmartIsBeautiful Campaign Encourages and Inspires Women in STEM

Recently, a group of female information technology executives introduced a brand new initiative designed to encourage women in technology to become mentors to young women interested in high-tech careers.

“Actions speak louder than words,” said Teresa Carlson, vice president for Amazon Web Services’ global public sector at FedTalks, according to FedScoop. “Today, we decided that, starting right now, starting right here, we’re going to adopt and mentor either one girl, one woman, one classroom, one school.”

She actually encouraged more than 1,000 members of the audience to commit to participating in the campaign as well by tweeting #SmartIsBeautiful. TrendsMap, which monitors trending topics on Twitter, tweeted that the slogan was trending after the announcement was first made last week.

Touching on some of the challenges of encouraging girls to pursue careers in STEM, Jennifer Sanchez, assistant director of the IT Customer Relationship and Management Division at the FBI, said, “Obviously women are underrepresented in the technical fields. We have to figure out how we can reach girls before they disengage.”

According to Carlson, while college women outnumber college men, women only make up about a quarter of the tech workforce. She also pointed to a project from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that predicts in 2020 there will be 1.4 million computer science jobs in the U.S. “We need to play catch up here in the U.S.,” she said.

Vicki Schmanske, vice president for IT and security solutions at Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Solutions, feels that for women who are already achieving at a high level in the tech world, it’s important to find a voice. “I see too many women in industry who try to change who they are to fit in,” she added. “I say be authentic because being yourself is very impactful.”

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STEM Chat with Jaren Landen

chat with Jaren Landen
October 27, 2014 Jaren Landen, Ph.D., Pfizer Global Research and Development, Director, Clinician, Global Innovative Pharma
The person who inspired me the most when I was growing up is my grandmother. She is a mother of six, grandmother of 20, great grandmother of five so far including my four, became a realtor at 55 and lied about her age to get her first job because she thought she was too old to work. At 93 years old, she is still working today and does not miss a beat. Keeping her mind and body active has been the greatest blessing to our family. I had no idea I would be part of at least half a dozen major acquisitions and still with the same company I started with a dozen years ago in a field where the average employment is approximately two years, and in many cities like Cambridge you can change jobs and keep your parking space. My dream project is to work on a team that impacts disease progression of Alzheimer's Disease. The best advice I ever received was to do a great job at whatever you are doing today no matter what the task and the next great thing will come your way. I always worry but not too much about what is next because when colleagues/supervisors take note of a job well done and positive working relationships, the next opportunity always comes. In my free time I am too boring to describe. Life is about soccer, baseball, softball game, swim meets, dance lessons, and playmates. Because I have chosen to have such a large family, work has become my hobby. It is the part of my life that I look forward to because it is for me filled with stimulating adult conversations about interesting cutting edge science topics and challenges.	If I had a one year sabbatical, I would take my entire family on a global health fellows tour. Pfizer offers a six month sabbatical to do amazing things throughout the world through an application process. My children are too young at the moment and it is hard to imagine a time when we could stop time and do something like this; however, I imagine it would offer extreme personal and professional growth. Now that I have stated this here, I am hoping to be held accountable to doing a fellowship at some point in the future. My tools of the trade are interpersonal skills. Never underestimate that the key to getting anything done well is not how smart you are, but how well you work with others, manage others as appropriate, and are sensitive to the needs and pressures of others in the workplace. Likeability makes teams work harder towards a common goal and is more likely to lead to team success than a great idea alone. I'm proud that I stayed in the workplace while having four children. I cannot underestimate how important staying in the workplace has been for me. This is such a personal decision. Although I will always have some regrets about never being in a mothers group or attending Gymboree class, my children are starting to understand what I do and the contributions that I have made in my workplace. I have taught them by example how to prioritize and develop time management skills. They have learned how to entertain themselves in the evenings or weekends during the occasional emergency work call. For me, staying in the work place has kept my knowledge in my field current in an ever changing science field, ensured that I maintained industry contacts, and developed a very powerful camaraderie among other working women in the industry. I still hope to participate in an eMBA program.
Jaren will be speaking at The Women in STEM Idea Exchange Summit in Boston. Find out more at www.womeninSTEMsummits.com © 2014 IIR Holdings, LTD. All Rights Reserved.