2000 and 2008 this group has only earned a total of seven Ph. D.s. 2

 

The “Inside the Double Bind” Study Policies aimed at increasing women of color in computing should be based on empirical research on this population. Unfortunately, not much research exists. While there have been many studies since 1970 on the experiences of women in STEM and on those of minorities in STEM, the unique experiences of women of color, who encounter the challenges of race and gender simultaneously, are often excluded from the research agenda. Studies that do exist have been difficult to find because they are scattered throughout journals, book chapters, reports, and unpublished dissertations.

The NSF-funded project, “Inside the Double Bind: A Synthesis of Empirical Literature on Women of Color in STEM,” aimed to gather, analyze, and synthesize empirical research that had been produced between 1970 and 2008. The project team, co-led by Gary Orfield (UCLA) and myself, identified 116 works of empirical research literature produced since 1970 on women of color in STEM higher education and careers. The resulting “Inside the Double Bind” synthesis3, 4 highlights general empirical findings and identifies research gaps in STEM. Specific findings on women of color in computer science are summarized here.

We identified 19 sources on wom-
en of color in computer science—
not many at all, considering that our
search covered nearly 40 years’ worth
of literature. Studies in computing are
relatively new: 16 of the works have
been produced since 2002. Most of
the literature focuses on higher educa-
tion, and the research covers an array
of topics, including the “digital divide”
that separates girls and women of col-
or from others, social challenges for
women of color students, the roles of
minority-serving institutions, and non-
traditional pathways to CS degrees.
The reader should be forewarned that
our searches were thorough but not
exhaustive, and with only 19 identi-
fied works, there are many gaps and
incomplete descriptions about the
status and experiences of women of
color in computing. Some policy im-
plications and future directions for re-
search in this area are discussed later
in this column.

Computer sciences degrees awarded to u.S. citizens and permanent residents (2008).

Female

White Asian/Pacific islander black hispanic American indian/Alaska native other or unknown race/ethnicity

Bachelor’s Degrees
6,473 ( 17.4%)
3,235 ( 8.7%)
597 ( 1.6%)
1,338 ( 3.6%)
551 ( 1.5%)
55 (0.1%)
697 ( 1.9%)

Ph.D.s
153 ( 22.9%)

89 ( 13.3%)

17 ( 2.5%) 12 ( 1.8%) 2 (0.3%) 0 (0.0%) 33 ( 4.9%)

Male 30,639 ( 82.6%) 514 ( 77.1%)

White 19,954 ( 53.8%) 357 ( 53.5%)

Asian/Pacific islander 2,536 ( 6.8%) 70 ( 10.5%) black 2,673 ( 7.2%) 12 ( 1.8%) hispanic 2,372 ( 6.4%) 14 ( 2.1%) American indian/Alaska native 166 (0.4%) 0 (0.0%)

other or unknown race/ethnicity 2,938 ( 7.9%) 61 ( 9.1%) source: national science Foundation, 2011. note: Percentages reflect the proportion of the total number of Cs bachelor’s degrees and Ph.d.s awarded, respectively, to u.s. citizens and permanent residents.