Women in computing in Saudi Arabia

Women are generally under-represented in tertiary computer science education in most countries around the world, especially in the West. The most recent report of the National Science Foundation in 2014 shows that only 14% of woman study CS in USA, and that the country the holds lowest proportion of women receiving Bachelor degrees of all the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) [1]. At UK universities, in 2014, 16% of CS students were female, despite initiatives to get more women into (STEM) subjects. Also a significant proportion of students in (STEM) are international students some of whom are from Arab countries. The percentage of women in CS in Europe and the US is significantly lower than in other countries such as India, Malaysia and the Arab region. In India, CS has been perceived as a womanfriendly field. Women in India believe that CS provides good opportunities for future employment [3]. In Malaysia, there is a large number of women in CS, which is considered also a womanfriendly space and a safer environment. The cultural setting of the eastern peoples however, is considered one of the primary factors [4]. In 2014, 59% of students enrolled in CS-studies in government universities in Saudi Arabia were women [8]. Women have been encouraged to study CS through various factors such as the distribution of CS colleges across the kingdom, gender separation, and culture. Fayiq Alghamdi is a member of the Uppsala Computing Education Research Group (UpCERG) that conducts research in learning and teaching computing in higher education. Among the group’s interests is to study globalization and cultural aspects in CS learning. Alghamdi originates from Saudi Arabia and has worked at Albaha University and is therefore familiar with the Saudi Arabian culture and educational system. His current position at Uppsala University has allowed him to experience another culture and educational system.