There Are Too Few Women in Computer Science and Engineering

Only 20 percent of computer science and 22 percent of engineering undergraduate degrees in the U.S. go to women. Women are missing out on flexible, lucrative and high-status careers. Society is also missing out on the potential contributions they would make to these fields, such as designing smartphone conversational agents that suggest help not only for heart attack symptoms but also for indicators of domestic violence. Identifying the factors causing women's underrepresentation is the first step towards remedies. Why are so few women entering these fields?