[Gendergap] Cosmo Mag 1967: The Computer Girls

[Moka Pantages]

Hi, all.

I don't remember seeing this in the digests, so apologies if this work
has already been posted.

I came across an historical article from a 1968 edition of
Cosmopolitan, The Computer Girls [1] and this amazing add targeted at
female programmers [2].

This was cited in a recent Washington Post [2] story exploring the
absence of women in tech. The writer talks about women who worked as
Keypunch girls in the 60s and the ebb and flow of women programers
ever since. I think this kind of story is common knowledge, as I
remember reading similar things in the past, but I've never actually
seen the original Cosmo story or some of the stats that were included.

Like Sue experienced during her CBC interview, there's a common
misconception that the STEM gender gap is closing. This article helps
support what this list already knows:

In 1967, when Cosmo’s “The Computer Girls” article ran, 11 percent of
computer science majors were women. In the late 1970s, the percentage
of women in the field approached and exceeded the same figure we are
applauding today: 25 percent. The portion of women earning computer
science degrees continued to rise steadily, reaching its peak — 37
percent — in 1984. Then, over the next two decades, women left
computer science in droves — just as their numbers were increasing
steadily across all other science, technology, engineering, and math
fields. By 2006, the portion of women in computer science had dropped
to 20 percent.

I'm still fascinated by the Cosmo story! Hope this is useful.

[1] http://thecomputerboys.com/?tag=gender#
[2] http://thecomputerboys.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/susie-meyer.jpg
[3] http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/when-computer-programming-was-womens-work/2011/08/24/gIQAdixGgJ_story.html

--

-- 
Cheers,
Moka

Moka Pantages
415.839.6885 x 635
@moka