Retaining Women in Computer Science: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly Sides

Abstract

In many societies the chain between women and Computer Science has seemed, until now, one that has often asked for intermediaries. It is a reality supported by statistics, but by taking realistic measures for medium and long term, we can change the current situation. The present paper conducts an extensive study on women engaged in study or work at MSc, PhD and academic staff level in the CS field. Multiple factors that support or prevent women in Romania from attending advanced studies or pursuing an academic career in Computer Science have been identified and analyzed. Thus, through the obtained results, we aim to make an impact on decision-makers at the local level of higher education institutions, while good practices can constitute a starting point for other institutions interested in tackling this gender gap. CCS Concepts • Social and professional topics → Women; Computing education; Employment issues; Geographic characteristics. ACM Reference Format: Simona Motogna, Lenuţa Alboaie, Ioana Alexandra Todericiu, and Catrinel Zaharia. 2022. Retaining Women in Computer Science: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly Sides. In Third Workshop on Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Software Engineering (GE@ICSE’22), May 20, 2022, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 8 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3524501.3527598