Broadening participation in computing (BPC) has been a key focus
of the National Science Foundation (NSF) for over two decades. Its
aim is to support students and faculty from historically underrepresented
groups, including women, people with disabilities, and
certain racial and ethnic groups. Within these communities, the
diverse range of gender and sexual identities remains overlooked
in computing education research (CER). To address this invisibility,
this panel will discuss the benefits of integrating LGBTQIA+ perspectives.
The moderator will provide context, define relevant terms,
and set ground rules for discussion. The panelists will offer insights
from a variety of perspectives, including: a discussion of the policy
landscape impacting LGBTQIA+ students and the importance of
incorporating their perspectives as researchers and participants;
the erasure of queer history in computer science and advocate
for LGBTQIA+ inclusion, considering the humanitarian calling for
the field and CS educators in our tech-driven world; the current
resistance to supporting LGBTQIA+ scholarship in computing, advocating
for an inclusive approach; and finally, the experiences
of marginalized individuals in CS education and ways to support
them, emphasizing inclusivity through storytelling and personal
narratives. The panel aims to increase visibility, understanding, and
collaboration between the computing education research community
and LGBTQIA+ individuals. By acknowledging and integrating
diverse perspectives, we can begin to create a more inclusive, equitable
computing landscape.
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Revealing the queer-spectrum in STEM through robust demographic data collection in undergraduate engineering and computer science courses at four institutions
Queer identities are often ignored in diversity initiatives, yet there is a growing body of research that describes notable heterosexist and gender-normative expectations in STEM that lead to unsupportive and discriminatory environments and to the lower persistence of queer individuals. Research on the experiences of queer-spectrum individuals is limited by current demographic practices. In surveys that are queer-inclusive there is no consensus on best practices, and individuals with queer genders and queer sexual, romantic, and related orientations are often lumped together in a general category (e.g. LGBTQ+). We developed two queer-inclusive demographics questions and administered them as part of a larger study in undergraduate engineering and computer science classes (n = 3698), to determine which of three survey types for gender (conventional, queered, open-ended) provided the most robust data and compared responses to national data to determine if students with queer genders and/or queer sexual, romantic, and related orientations were underrepresented in engineering and computer science programs. The gender survey with queer-identity options provided the most robust data, as measured by higher response rates and relatively high rates of disclosing queer identities. The conventional survey (male, female, other) had significantly fewer students disclose queer identities, and the open-ended survey had a significantly higher non-response rate. Allowing for multiple responses on the survey was important: 78% of those with queer gender identities and 9% of those with queer sexual, romantic and related orientations selected multiple identities within the same survey question. Queer students in our study were underrepresented relative to national data. Students who disclosed queer gender identities were 7/100ths of the expected number, and those with queer orientations were under-represented by one-quarter. Further work developing a research-based queered demographics instrument is needed for larger-scale changes in demographics practices, which will help others identify and address barriers that queer-spectrum individuals face in STEM.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1726268
- PAR ID:
- 10335166
- Editor(s):
- Grinnell, Frederick
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- PLOS ONE
- Volume:
- 17
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 1932-6203
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- e0264267
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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:Data show that science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) postsecondary training programs lack gender and racial/ethnic diversity. Recent policy efforts are aimed at creating more inclusive environments for underrepresented groups in STEM and several national reports highlight progress. We argue that prior analyses have not considered institutional contexts and changes in the demographics of students enrolled in higher education more broadly. We propose new measures of gender and racial/ethnic parity in the computing fields. Using these measures, we find that while computing fields have made progress in the number of female students and students of color receiving degrees, gender and racial/ethnic parity has changed little and, in some cases, declined. We conclude with recommendations for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264267
