Caring about connections: gender and computing

Introduction Do women approach the study of computer science differently from men? And does that difference work against their involvement in the field as it currently exists? Although substantially more women than men attend college, only 15-20% of undergraduate computer science majors at leading U.S. departments [Kozen & Zweben, 1998] and only 17% of high school computer science Advanced Placement test takers [College Board, 1998] are female. This is a matter of concern not only for women who may be forgoing opportunities for economic success and personal satisfaction, but also for an industry in the grip of a shortage of skilled workers, and a society deprived of a broader set of perspectives in the design of its increasingly critical information systems.