New AAUW Report: Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing

Important new report from the American Association of University Women (AAUW).  I particularly like the detailed analysis of what happened at Harvey Mudd, with a lot of credit to Christine Alvarado as well as the other excellent faculty who created initiatives there.  As Maria Klawe keeps saying, it wasn’t just her.

More than ever before, girls are studying and excelling in science and mathematics. Yet the dramatic increase in girls’ educational achievements in scientific and mathematical subjects has not been matched by similar increases in the representation of women working as engineers and computing professionals. Just 12 percent of engineers are women, and the number of women in computing has fallen from 35 percent in 1990 to just 26 percent today.

The numbers are especially low for Hispanic, African American, and American Indian women. Black women make up 1 percent of the engineering workforce and 3 percent of the computing workforce, while Hispanic women hold just 1 percent of jobs in each field. American Indian and Alaska Native women make up just a fraction of a percent of each workforce.

via Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing : AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881.