Catherwood LibraryILR School

Despite the fact that the majority of Internet users are women, and that women spend as much time using as men using computers, women still make up less than twenty percent of computer science (CS) graduates. In a presentation of research for the upcoming book "Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing" yesterday, the two authors revealed important new insights into the origins of this discrepancy gained by interviewing over 100 male and female CS students at Carnegie Melon University from1994 to 1999. Their study indicates that most universities' focus on the narrow technical aspects of the field in CS classes tends to discourage female students who often have a greater interest in user interfacing and the application of technology than male students---who are more likely to be interested in the technology for its own sake.