Women in CS

Abstract

Historically, Harvey Mudd College (HMC) has had very little success attracting women to the study of computer science: women have chosen CS less than any other field of study. In 2006 HMC began three practices in order to increase the number of women studying and majoring in CS; these practices have now been in place for 3 years. With this paper we describe these practices and present a thorough evaluation of the quantitative and qualitative differences that have accompanied them. In sum, these efforts have rebalanced our department by significantly increasing women's participation in our computer science program.