Born to Code: Mitigating the Computer Science Gender Gap with Online Learning and Socialization

Abstract

The lack of women pursuing the STEM disciplines hinders computer science academia, the technology industry, and society as a whole. Attempts to mitigate it have thus far been inadequate. This paper presents a new strategy for addressing the gender gap in computer science. Specifically, it describes the design and implementation of a social network that targets known sources of gender inequality by introducing users to basic programming, catering to a middle-school demographic, providing forums for discussion and collaboration, and discrediting common misconceptions about computer science. Results were largely positive and point to several strategies for future progress.