How One College Is Closing The Computer Science Gender Gap
This story is part of our series The Changing Lives of Women.
There are still relatively few women in tech. Maria Klawe wants to change that. As president of Harvey Mudd College, a science and engineering school in Southern California, she's had stunning success getting more women involved in computing.
Harvey Mudd President Maria Klawe often uses her longboard to get around campus and chat with students like senior Xanda Schofield.
Klawe isn't concerned about filling quotas or being nice to women. Rather, she's deeply troubled that half the population is grossly underrepresented in this all-important field. Women aren't setting the agenda and designing products and services that are shaping our lives. They're getting only about 18 percent of the bachelor's degrees in computer science, and in the workplace their numbers aren't much higher.
Seated in her modest office on the Claremont, Calif., campus, Klawe, 61, reflects on the stereotype of computer scientists as anti-social nerds, saying it's out of date. But she is quick to add that women often face barriers spoken and unspoken that discourage them from entering the field.
She recalls her own experience growing up in Canada, where she was a top university math student.
"Professors would say to me all the time, 'Why do you want to be a mathematician, Maria? There are no good women mathematicians.' And it just really bugged me," Klawe says.
And that helps explain a career choice she would make decades later. Back in 2005, Klawe was thriving as dean of the engineering school at Princeton. But when Harvey Mudd College approached her about becoming the school's president, she was intrigued. She saw an opportunity to change science and engineering education.
"We're not attracting and retaining enough talent, and especially in areas like computer science. And I think what I recognized was this might be a place that could actually make a difference with that," Klawe says.
With just 800 students and an emphasis on teaching, Klawe believed that Mudd would be an ideal laboratory.
Finding A Passion In Computer Science
More than 100 students are paying rapt attention in Colleen Lewis' second-semester computer science course, and a lot of them are women.
"A lot of universities have this kind of weed-out class," says Kate Finlay, a student at nearby Scripps College who's taking Lewis' course. "The first class you take is a weed-out class, and they are shocked by the fact they don't get any women at the end. But the only people at the end are the people who have been in computer camp since they were 5."
Kate Finlay, a student at neighboring Scripps College, got hooked on computer science after taking classes at Harvey Mudd.
What Harvey Mudd recognized and explicitly addressed were ways to get women interested in computer science, so students like Finlay who've never been to computer camp have their own introductory classes. The kids with experience have theirs. Know-it-alls in any section are told to cool it so no one is intimidated. As for the content, Finlay says it's designed around problems they can relate to.
"They had all these really fun assignments — sound editing Darth Vader's voice; every single answer on the quizzes was 42, in a reference to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," Finlay says. "It was so much fun; it was so much fun."
Finlay, who had planned to study art and psychology, found a new passion in computer science.
Along with changes to the introductory courses, Mudd works hard to keep women interested in the field. First-year students attend a giant conference for women in computing. There are research opportunities and coursework that involve solving real problems for major companies. Technology experts like Alan Eustace, a senior vice president at Google, are applauding the initiatives.
"I think they're fantastic," Eustace says. He also cites Mudd's rigorous academics and the critical mass of women studying together.
"They also have great female instructors, and I think that makes a big difference. ... Harvey Mudd is an example of what I consider a model for the future," he says.
Much of this might sound pretty basic, but the approach is highly unusual in higher education, and the efforts have paid off. At Mudd, about 40 percent of the computer science majors are women. That's far more than at any other co-ed school.
As for the male students here, they seem to appreciate and value having more women in their computer science courses.
"Women and men work through problems in very different ways," says Luke Mastalli-Kelly. "Men will oftentimes just try to pound through a problem, and then one of the women will be, 'Wait, hold on, how about if I ask this question?' "
Jess Hester, a senior at Harvey Mudd, says she wants to write software for spaceships when she graduates.
Their questions can lead to further exploration and perhaps a more elegant solution. Indeed, technology companies say they want more women because diverse teams often do a better job of solving problems and creating things.
'I Want To Do That'
Senior Jess Hester was one of several female computer science students who offered their views on why there are so few women in their field. They bemoaned middle and high school math teachers who didn't engage or inspire. They recounted conversations with adults who told them, "Men are better at this." And they shared some apprehension about working in a male-dominated environment.
"If you fail, it's not just you. It is you as like a sacrificial lamb for your whole gender. It's just like a bucket of stress that we don't need," Hester says. "But I also want little kids to look up and be like, 'Awesome. I want to do that.' "
And that would be music to Klawe's ears. She says if you can make computer science interesting to women, empower them so they believe they can succeed, and then show them how their work can make a difference in the world, "that's almost enough to change everything."
Klawe is now working on a new project — a massive open online course, or MOOC, aimed at 10th-graders. It's just one more way the president of Harvey Mudd hopes to get more women at the technology table.
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Transcript
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
And I'm Melissa Block. Now, we're going to meet someone who wants to do something about the shortage of women who pursue careers in technology. Of graduates with computer science degrees, just 18 percent are women. In the workplace, their numbers aren't much higher.
And that's where Maria Klawe comes in. As president of Harvey Mudd College, a science and engineering school in Southern California, she has had stunning success getting more women involved in computing. NPR's Wendy Kaufman has her story, as part of our series on "The Changing Lives of Women."
WENDY KAUFMAN, BYLINE: There aren't many colleges where the president is a renowned mathematician and computer scientist who rides a skateboard around campus. But then, most schools don't have Maria Klawe.
(SOUNDBITE OF A SKATEBOARD)
MARIA KLAWE: This is my longboard.
KAUFMAN: We caught up with her outside the dinning hall at Harvey Mudd College.
KLAWE: I started - learned to skateboard shortly after I got to Mudd. Then, I thought, if they can do it, I can do it.
KAUFMAN: That same determination is driving Klawe to change the status quo, crushing the stereotype of computer science as something for antisocial nerds, and getting more women to embrace it. She wants them thinking like Mudd senior Xanda Schofield.
XANDA SCHOFIELD: Computer science is building our world right now. And it should just be inherently obvious to everyone that that's a fantastic place to work, and to be.
KAUFMAN: Klawe couldn't agree more. She isn't concerned about filling quotas or being nice to women. Rather, she's deeply troubled that half the population is grossly under-represented in this all-important field. Women aren't setting the agenda and designing products and services that are shaping our lives.
Seated in her modest office on the Claremont, Calif., campus, the 61-year-old Klawe recalls her own experience growing up in Canada, where she was a top university math student.
KLAWE: Professors would say to me all the time, why do you want to be a mathematician, Maria? There are no good women mathematicians. And it just really bugged me.
KAUFMAN: And that helps to explain a career choice she would make decades later. Back in 2005, Klawe was thriving as dean of the engineering school at Princeton. But when Harvey Mudd College approached her about becoming the school's president, she was intrigued. She saw an opportunity to change science and engineering education.
KLAWE: We're not attracting and retaining enough talent, and especially in areas like computer science. And I think what I recognized was this might be a place that could actually make a difference with that.
KAUFMAN: With just 800 students and an emphasis on teaching, Klawe believed that Mudd would be an ideal laboratory.
(SOUNDBITE OF CLASS LECTURE)
COLLEEN LEWIS: So have people seen this problem? In one direction, there's a lot of chocolate, which is my primary goal; and another direction, there's doom.
(LAUGHTER)
LEWIS: And I need to figure out...
KAUFMAN: More than a hundred students are paying rapt attention in Colleen Lewis' second-semester computer science course - and a lot of them are women. Kate Finlay, a student at nearby Scripps College who took the first-semester course and is now taking the second, offers this explanation.
KATE FINLAY: A lot of universities have this kind of weed-out class. The first class you take is a weed-out class, and they are shocked by the fact that they don't get any women at the end; that the only people at the end are the people who have been in computer camp since they were 5.
KAUFMAN: Typically, guys. What Harvey Mudd recognized, and explicitly addressed, were ways to get women interested in comp-sci. So students like Finlay, who've never been to computer camp, have their own introductory courses. The kids with experience have theirs. Know-it-alls in any section are told to cool it, so no one is intimidated. As for the content, Finlay says it's designed around problems they can relate to.
FINLAY: They had all these really fun assignments - sound editing Darth Vader's voice. Every single answer on the quizzes was 42, in a reference to "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." And it was so much fun. It was so much fun.
KAUFMAN: Finlay, who had planned to study art and psychology, found a new passion in computer science.
Along with changes to the introductory courses, Mudd works hard to keep women interested in the field. First-year students attend a giant conference for women in computing. There are research opportunities, and course work which involves solving real problems for major companies.
Technology experts like Alan Eustace, a senior vice president at Google, are applauding the initiatives.
ALAN EUSTACE: I think they're fantastic.
KAUFMAN: He also cites Mudd's rigorous academics, and the critical mass of women studying together.
EUSTACE: They also have great female instructors, and I think that makes a big difference. So Harvey Mudd is an example of what I consider a model for the future.
KAUFMAN: Much of this might sound pretty basic. But the approach is highly unusual in higher education, and the efforts have paid off. At Mudd, about 40 percent of the computer science majors are women - that's far more than at any other co-ed school. As for the male students here, they seem to appreciate and value having more women in their comp-sci courses.
LUKE MASTELLI-KELLY: Women and men work through problems very different ways.
KAUFMAN: That's Luke Mastalli-Kelly.
MASTELLI-KELLY: Men will oftentimes just try and pound through a problem. And then, one of the women will be: Wait, hold on, how about if I ask this question. It's like oh, a question - oh, that changes things.
KAUFMAN: Their questions can lead to further exploration, and perhaps a more elegant solution. Indeed, technology companies say they want more women because diverse teams often do a better job of solving problems and creating things.
JESS HESTER: I'm Jess Hester and when I graduate, I'm going to be working on writing software for spaceships. It's my life dream to eventually go to Mars.
KAUFMAN: Senior Jess Hester was one of several female computer science students who offered their views on why there were so few women in their field. They bemoaned middle- and high-school math teachers who didn't engage or inspire. They recounted conversations with adults who told them, men are better at this. And they shared some apprehension about working in a male-dominated environment. Here's how Jess Hester put it.
HESTER: If you fail, it's not just you. It is you as like, a sacrificial lamb for your whole gender. It's just like a bucket of stress that we don't need.
(LAUGHTER)
HESTER: But like, I also want little kids to look up to me and be like, awesome; I want to do that.
KAUFMAN: And that would be music to Maria Klawe's ear. She says if you can make computer science interesting to women, empower them so they feel they can succeed, and then show them how their work can make a difference in the world...
KLAWE: That's almost enough to change everything.
KAUFMAN: Right now, Klawe is working on a new project, a MOOC - a massive, open, online computer class aimed at 10th graders. It's just one more way that the president of Harvey Mudd College hopes to get more women at the technology table.
Wendy Kaufman, NPR News.
BLOCK: And you can see Harvey Mudd President Maria Klawe on her skateboard as well as images of some of the young computer scientists she's inspiring. That's at our website, npr.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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