By the year 2020, it is estimated there will be 1.4 million computing jobs with only 400,000 computer science students to fill them, according to Code.org, a nonprofit aiming to increase minority participation in computer sciences.
The organization also found that while 57 percent of bachelor’s degrees are earned by women, only 12 percent of those are for computer science.
UF is focusing on not only bringing in more science, technology, engineering and mathematics students but also working to attract more female students. UF President Kent Fuchs said in January during his speech at the Engineering Leadership Summit that this responsibility rests with major research institutions like UF.
However, he said the College of Engineering has already made strides in diversity.
Donna Winchester, the UF strategic communications director, wrote in an email that the College of Engineering boasted a 25.5 percent female enrollment in 2013, when the national average was 19.9 percent.
That same year, 23.1 percent of undergraduate engineering degrees went to women, when the national average was 19.1 percent. This is the latest information from the American Society for Engineering Education, she said.
A 2008 study published in the Harvard Business Review found that about 52 percent of women working in science, engineering and technology leave their jobs due to hostile work environments, like adverse male culture and isolation.
A follow-up study in 2014 showed the reasons haven’t changed much.
Fuchs said the college has put effort into creating a welcoming and supportive climate for women, and some female engineering students are experiencing it firsthand.
Michelle Palumbo, a UF computer science freshman, said she loves her major despite how intimidating the male-dominated field is at first.
“You get to UF, and you realize how encouraging the staff and faculty are, especially the advisers,” Palumbo, 19, said.
Sara Lichtenstein, 20, said there are about six to eight women in her data structures and algorithm course, a core class for computer science majors, in which about 200 are enrolled.
“It’s the ratio I was expecting,” the UF computer science sophomore said. “It’s not as scary as everyone thinks it is. Gender or not, it shouldn’t stop you.”
Winchester said UF’s College of Engineering has a female dean, two female associate deans and numerous award-winning female faculty members, like Linda Parker Hudson, who received an honorary doctorate in science from UF.
The college also offers various clubs and programs specifically for young women such as Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Society of Women Engineers.
Palumbo said she hopes to one day pursue a career in software development.
“Personally, I would try to ignore it, especially the oppression from peers that are males who are trying to make me feel bad because I’m a woman,” Palumbo said. “It’s important to keep yourself encouraged and to keep working hard.”
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 3/8/2015 under the headline “UF working to keep women in computer science”]
