Technology increasingly permeates every aspect of society, yet girls and women in the U.S. are significantly underrepresented in its creation. Girls' lack of participation in this important and growing area has serious consequences, not only for them but for the future of technology innovation.
» Girls comprise 56% of all Advanced Placement (AP) test-takers and 46% of all AP Calculus test-takers, but only 19% of all AP CS test-takers.
» Women earn 57% of all undergraduate degrees, 42% of all undergraduate math and statistics degrees, and 40% of all undergraduate physical sciences degrees; but only 18% of all undergraduate computer and information sciences degrees.
» Inadequate computing education shortchanges all kids, especially girls and youth of color who are less likely to have informal opportunities for computing experience outside of school. Just 14 states and the District of Columbia allow computer science to count as a math or science graduation requirement, and the number of high schools offering AP Computer Science is down 35% since 2005.
» Computing jobs are among the fastest-growing and highest-paying: the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that by 2022 there will be more than 1.4 million computing-related job openings. At current rates, however, we can only fill about 39% of those jobs with U.S. computing undergraduates.
» Girls represent a valuable, untapped talent pool.
» If technology is mostly designed by the half of our population that's male, we're missing out on the innovations, solutions, and creations that 50% of the population could bring.
(See http://www.ncwit.org/infographic/3435 for more statistics.)
» Girls comprise 56% of all Advanced Placement (AP) test-takers and 46% of all AP Calculus test-takers, but only 19% of all AP CS test-takers.
» Women earn 57% of all undergraduate degrees, 42% of all undergraduate math and statistics degrees, and 40% of all undergraduate physical sciences degrees; but only 18% of all undergraduate computer and information sciences degrees.
» Inadequate computing education shortchanges all kids, especially girls and youth of color who are less likely to have informal opportunities for computing experience outside of school. Just 14 states and the District of Columbia allow computer science to count as a math or science graduation requirement, and the number of high schools offering AP Computer Science is down 35% since 2005.
» Computing jobs are among the fastest-growing and highest-paying: the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that by 2022 there will be more than 1.4 million computing-related job openings. At current rates, however, we can only fill about 39% of those jobs with U.S. computing undergraduates.
» Girls represent a valuable, untapped talent pool.
» If technology is mostly designed by the half of our population that's male, we're missing out on the innovations, solutions, and creations that 50% of the population could bring.
(See http://www.ncwit.org/infographic/3435 for more statistics.)