Linda J. Sax, Professor, GSEIS/UCLA Gender and Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Undergraduate Computer Science: A Research-Practice Partnership Linda J. Sax, Professor, GSEIS/UCLA

Women Overrepresented Across All Fields, but Underrepresented in STEM

Need to Consider Differences Across STEM Fields Biological Science Mathematics Physical Sciences Engineering Computer Science

Women’s Relative Representation in STEM Varies by Field

Why Focus on Computer Science? Computer-related careers among the fastest growing and highest paying occupations Global demand for individuals with computer science training (valuable in any field) Diversity matters – in college and beyond

% of Computing Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded to Women (1987-2014) Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 2016

% of Computing Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded to URM Students (1987-2014) Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 2016 URM defined as American Indian/Alaskan Native, Black, and Hispanic

The BRAID Initiative Building Recruiting and Inclusion for Diversity 15 universities that are committed to promoting gender and racial/ethnic diversity in undergraduate computing Key leaders: Computer science department chairs BRAID department strategies include: Revamping introductory courses Promoting interdisciplinary CS Building student community K-12 outreach

Evolution of a Research-Practice Partnership Leadership Initial Funders Research Sponsors Over $2 million in support

Goals of BRAID Research To better understand… Student exposure to and engagement in best practices in CS The impact of computing experiences (especially in introductory courses) on desired student outcomes, including: computing confidence sense of belonging in computing interest in computing careers Longer-term major pathways and career plans of intro course students How all of this varies by gender and race/ethnicity

Data Collected at Multiple Levels Institutional Enrollment Data Department Chairs Introductory Course Instructors CS Majors & Minors Intro CS Students

Close Collaboration with Institutions Key allies: Computer science department chairs Provide information on department activities Provide access to student and faculty emails for surveys Help to advertise surveys Participate in annual interviews with research team Serve as conduit to institutional registrars Handle local IRB approvals Attend annual BRAID Summit

Working with Institutions: Effective Research Strategies Be clear Avoid too much detail in requesting data; get to the point! Be mindful of unique institutional cultures Communication strategy will differ between smaller campus with quick decision-making vs. larger campus with multiple channels Adapt to variations in what constitutes computing; not one size fits all Build trust Identify common goals but also distinguish responsibilities Share results along the way

Intro CS Students: What Are We Learning? CS intro course students are more diverse than CS degree earners More women More URM students (especially among women) Women and URMs… Tend to have less prior programming experience Tend to take intro CS later than majority students Strong predictors of sense of belonging in computing include: Having a strong sense of one’s computing abilities, particularly for URM students Feeling supported by the computing department With longitudinal data, we are now examining the impact of intro course experiences on a broad range of student outcomes Emphasis on differences by gender and race/ethnicity

Broad Research Goals To conduct research to identify student experiences and institutional practices that successfully contribute to diversity in CS To disseminate these results to computing departments, research and policy community, and the tech industry To engage in new research that is continuously informed by evolving practice

More information: https://braidresearch.gseis.ucla.edu/ Questions? More information: https://braidresearch.gseis.ucla.edu/