Women in technology: meeting the challenge for the next generation

With the fall semester well underway, many students are assessing their academic strengths and interests, measuring them against possible majors and long-term plans. Unfortunately, most young women will rule out paths leading to careers in technology and computer science, areas where jobs will be plentiful and creativity in demand for the foreseeable future. Gender diversity among leadership teams and the broader workforce offers demonstrated advantages for innovative thinking, job satisfaction, and corporate bottom lines. Computer science jobs provide intellectual challenges and opportunities for meaningful and well-paid work for men and women alike. Yet despite recent surges in college-level computer science enrollment, just 16 percent of bachelor's degrees in computer science were. The percentage of women in computing jobs has actually declined over the last 25 years, and now stands at roughly 25 percent in both industry and academia. Causes for this gender gap vary.