For years, the gender gap in software engineering has been a hot-button issue. Companies ramped up diversity and inclusion efforts, all-women and women-identifying boot camps became more prominent, and the conversation about parity made it into mainstream dialogue. Yet the problem persists.
Computer science programs at universities have been growing in popularity, making introductory CS courses extremely competitive. The likelihood of success is higher for those entering college with previous programming experience, which disproportionately affects women. Without a computer science degree, a common option is a software engineering boot camp. However, companies often require or strongly favor computer science degrees and some developers harbor a negative stigma against boot camp grads.
What can these institutions — companies and universities — do to create more supportive environments for women? What can our male counterparts, whether co-workers or students, do to help?
My winding path to becoming a software engineer (which I share below) helped me better understand where there are barriers to entry and opportunities for improvement.
My top two insights for allies who want to empower women pursuing software engineering roles:
- Openly acknowledge your struggles and operate from a baseline that you were sometimes, if not often, confused or lost.
- Reaffirm that changing your mind or choosing a path that’s less comfortable sets you up for greater success down the road.
Above is a picture of the 2,000 students enrolled in Computer Science 61A, the introductory course for the Computer Science major at UC Berkeley, at the beginning of the Fall 2019 semester. (I took CS61A in Spring 2012, which looked similar.)
#diversity-in-tech #programming #data science