Institutional and Classroom Contexts. The talk focused on issues related to Women and Computer Science. Statistics also show that there are disproportionately small numbers of women in the computer industry and in academic computer science. Many researchers feel that girls and women are uncomfortable with the computer culture, which emphasizes almost obsessive, highly focused behavior as the key to success. Other studies note that the expectations and stereotypes of software designers are at the root of the male bias in software.
Observers contend that women view computers as tools instead of toys.
In this article, we discuss the incredible shrinking pipeline. In addition to the pipeline shrinking from high school to graduate school, the pipeline also shrinks at the bachelor's level. Furthermore, while the percentage of bachelor's degrees awarded in CS to women decreased almost every year over the last decade, the corresponding percentages of other science and engineering disciplines increased. Since the number of women at the bachelor's level affects the number of women at levels higher in the pipeline and in the job market, these facts are of great concern. In this same article, Tracy Camp points out that there is a critical demand for trained computer scientists and large numbers of information technology jobs are unfilled.