The representation of women and those from the underrepresented communities has increased in Computer Science (CS) over the past decade. However, in many disciplines of computing, such as data science and cyber security, it is vastly underrepresented. Fewer women have been elected to IEEE Fellows than men, when it should be around 50%. In addition, fewer women are in positions of power in academic institutions (e.g., Engineering Deans) and in the C-Suite in corporations and corporate boards. This is partly due to the fact that the number of women at say first-level management is far fewer than men. Then you have to rise up the ladder from that pool, so women are already at a disadvantage. One solution to this problem is to engage women at a much earlier age, perhaps even in elementary school, and focus on CS. We urgently need mentors to support and promote girls and women. For example, senior researchers and practitioners have to support women in getting promotions and awards such as IEEE and ACM Fellows and various technical recognition awards. We need to explain the benefits of having a career in computing early.

This article will discuss the benefits of having a career in computing for a woman and the challenges involved in developing a successful career. One such challenge I will focus on is the lack of mentorship for women. We are living in a complex world that is rapidly evolving due to technology. While there are numerous career opportunities in areas like data science and cyber security, the competition is also extremely intense around the globe. It is almost impossible for a person to succeed in their career without the advice and mentorship of senior managers, researchers, developers, and technologists. I will discuss the importance of mentoring, especially for women, and give examples of my personal experiences on how lack of mentoring was initially tough on my career and how I chose mentors who have then supported me and helped me to thrive in my career. I will also give some advice to both mentors and mentees. Finally, I will provide some directions on how we could proceed to empower and motivate women in computing.

While my main focus in this article is on women, many of the points I have raised apply to those from underrepresented communities. This article is a version of the keynote presentation I gave virtually during the plenary session at the IEEE International Conference on Data Engineering (ICDE) in May 2022. It is commendable that IEEE Computer Society’s premier ICDE Conference gave me a prominent platform to discuss such an important topic that concerns everyone in computing.

Status of Women in Computer Science

Even though there has been much emphasis over the past decade to increase the representation of women in computing and some progress has been made, the status of women in Computer Science is disappointing for many of us. Here are some quotes from recent articles.

“20% of those in Computer Science are Women.”

“Women hold just 18 percent of data science jobs, and the problem is worse in most lower-income countries, where women are less likely to have access to the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education that provides a gateway to a career in data science.”
“In its March 28, 2019 research article, Cybercrime Magazine concludes that women now make up approximately 20 percent of the global infosec payrolls. This is, of course, an encouraging improvement from six years ago, but still woefully shy of the 50 percent range that would represent parity.”
The question is, why are the numbers of women in computing so dismal? I believe it starts at the very beginning as a little girl and continues throughout a woman’s life. In many families, male children are given preference and their education is given the highest priority. If the female children do well, then it’s a bonus. I find that in many cultures (including western cultures) women are not encouraged to excel in STEM and there is a lot of peer pressure for teen-aged girls to dress up and look good mainly for the boys. Marriage is still considered a high priority for a woman. When I was in high school and college, education and other accomplishments (e.g., playing a musical instrument) were considered to be important for a woman to get an eligible husband. This mentality is still common in many cultures, perhaps influenced by 18th century and novels like Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Women are already behind when they start their careers, and the gap between men and women often widens in the workplace. More importantly, women do not have enough role models and especially mentors who can guide them throughout their careers. In the meantime, a woman’s job continues to be the caregiver of the children, spouse, aging parents, and even grandchildren.

But all is not lost; the future could not be brighter for women in computing. The human understanding and empathy women have gained over the centuries through caregiving and the compassionate nature of most women together with the increasingly strong support we have been receiving over the past decade is putting us in a strong position to thrive in our careers. Women are not only achieving the highest levels of education in computing, but they are also excelling in research and thriving in their careers. Furthermore, the number of female CEOs, Executives, Presidents, Provosts, and Deans is increasing. For example, we had our first female Provost in 2017 and since then we have had the first three female Deans, including the Dean of Engineering. There are numerous programs from K-12 and beyond and organizations such as Girls Who Code, AnitaB.org, Women in Cyber Security, and Women in Data Science are motivating and encouraging women. Women now have more role models and numerous opportunities open to them. However, women are still vastly underrepresented in computing. The percentage of female faculty in many CS departments is around 20% when it should be around 50%. This is partly because the pool of female PhD in CS is still small compared to men. There is also a lack of information about the benefits of pursuing a career in computing for a woman. So, the question is, why a career in computer science for a woman? I will attempt to answer this question in the next section.

Why a Career in Computer Science for a Woman?

Back in 2017, I gave a keynote address at Cyber-W (Women in Cyber Security Research) Workshop at an ACM Cyber Security Conference. At that address, I mentioned ten reasons why a woman should pursue a career in cyber security. Since then, I have adapted the ten reasons as appropriate for different fields in computing. I provide the key points of the 10 reasons below.

Given the opportunity, women can excel in any computing field, including cyber security and data science. Computer science is a very exciting field with so many innovations and developments happening so rapidly, and it is important for women to take advantage of these opportunities.
Computing can be integrated with many areas including the arts, humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, psychology, engineering, business, medicine, and law. Women have excelled in various application areas, especially in social sciences and therefore they can integrate computing into their specific application areas.
There are many options in computing, from research and academia to product development to start-ups with substantial funding.
Millennial women and beyond have the flexibility and freedom to choose careers and have female role models and mentors in the field that we baby boomers never had.
In many research areas in computing, you can work from home most days (as all you need is a laptop and an internet connection), making it ideal especially for women to have a family and career (although the recent pandemic has shown us that many careers can flourish from home due to advances in computing; but this is changing post-pandemic).
Many computing jobs cannot be overtaken by robots; there will always be a demand for computing professionals.
Computing systems are everywhere from North to South and East to West. These systems can be attacked by hackers. You can make the world a better and safer place, specializing in areas like cyber security.
“Data Science/AI for Good” is gaining momentum globally. It is now possible to address issues like “Violence against Women and Children” and “Climate Change” through Data Science/AI technologies.
Computer science is a highly paid field with numerous job opportunities. Why not Women take advantage of these benefits?
Women can be financially independent with a career in Computing. Financial independence means self-respect, less stress, confidence, and having more choices. I strongly believe that financial independence is a must for everyone, especially for a woman.

The Importance of Mentoring

Why do Women and Underrepresented Communities Struggle in their Careers?

Now that I have discussed the challenges faced by women in computing and the benefits of computing as a career, I would like to address the question of why women and underrepresented communities often struggle in their careers. Since women make up around 50% of the population, is it sufficient to just increase the number of women in computing to say 50%? While it is necessary for around 50% of the computing professionals to be female, it is not sufficient. It is important that we have female leaders in computing. This means we must have around 50% of the department heads, deans, provosts, chancellors, directors, vice presidents, and presidents of both academia, industry, and government to be female. It is crucial that we have many women in positions of power so that they can increase the number of women at every level in computing. So, why are there so few women in computing at senior levels? For example, only 32% of presidents of universities are women; but to my knowledge, there are less than a handful of university presidents who are computer scientists (e.g., Prof Maria Klawe at Harvey Mudd College and Prof. Martha Pollock at Cornell) and a few female computer scientists who are engineering deans (which is even more disappointing especially when CS is part of an engineering college/school and is the largest department in the college). Why is this case? One main reason I believe is the lack of mentorship due to the fact that not many computer scientists are in positions of power. Mentorship has been one of the effective tools for promotion and tenure, and often women and those from the underrepresented communities are left out. Read More...