GSE/SGER: Cross-National Differences in Women's Participation in Computer Science Education between India and the United States

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

In the United States, the percentage of women earning bachelor's degrees in computer science (CS) is relatively low. Alarmingly, the proportion of women who considered a major in CS has recently fallen to never-before-seen levels. However, contrary to the situation in the United States, most indicators suggest that there has been a significant increase in the number of women pursuing a bachelor's degree in information technology (IT) related fields including CS in India. This is despite the prevalence of Indian patriarchy--a system of male dominance legitimized within the family and society through superior rights, privileges, authority, and power granted to men. This study will examine female participation in CS education in India and compare it with the situation in the United States. It builds on previous NSF-funded research in the United States by using similar measures for a population in India. This current effort is co-funded by the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE). The study is an international collaborative effort with faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) and the University of Delhi. This international collaborative effort will be combined with an interdisciplinary approach to link expertise in social sciences with expertise in CS. CS faculty at the University of New Mexico, IIT Chennai, IIT Bombay, and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai will serve as consultants. Combining insights from the American and Indian perspectives on the one hand and social science and CS disciplines on the other hand will improve our understanding of complex issues on gender and CS education in both countries more thoroughly than would be afforded by working within the confines of a single national perspective and discipline. Intellectual Merit Intellectually, this project will be the first study to address gender issues in CS education from a cross-national perspective. It will shed light on how the wide disparities in the careers of men and women from different countries in CS come about, are maintained, and reduced. Broader Impact Broader impacts include strengthening bonds between the United States and India as they build upon their national expertise toward furthering joint research. The project will demonstrate how CS instruction and curriculum can be restructured to improve the participation of women in the United States as well as in India.