An official website of the United States government
Despite the increasing number of women receiving bachelor’s degrees in computing (i.e., Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, etc.), a closer look reveals that the percentage of Black women in computing has significantly dropped in recent years, highlighting the underrepresentation of Black women and its negative impact on broadening participation in the field of computing. The literature reveals that several K-16 interventions have been designed to increase the representation of Black women and girls in computing. Despite these best efforts, the needle seems to have barely moved in increasing the representation or the retention of Black women in computing. Instead, the primary goals have been to recruit and retain women in the CS pipeline using gender-focused efforts intended to increase the number of women who also identify as members of racialized groups. However, these gender-focused efforts have fallen short of increasing the number of Black women in computing because they fail to acknowledge or appreciate how intersectionality (the overlapping social constructs of gender, race, ethnicity, class, etc.) has shaped the lived experiences of Black women navigating the computing pipeline. Without honest dialogue about how power operates in the field of computing, the push for racial equality and social justice in CS education remains an elusive goal. Leveraging intersectionality as a critical framework to address systemic oppression (i.e., racism, gender discrimination, power, and privilege), we interview 24 Black women in different phases of the computing pipeline about their experiences navigating the field of computing. An intersectional analysis of Black women’s experiences reveals that CS education consists of saturated sites of violence in which interconnected systems of power converge to enact oppression. Findings reveal three primary saturated sites of violence within CS education: (1) traditional K-12 classrooms; (2) predominantly White institutions; and (3) internships as supplementary learning experiences. We conclude the article with implications for how the field of CS education can begin to address racial inequality that negatively impacts Black girls and women, thus contributing to a more equitable and socially just field of study that benefits all students.
more »
« less
Real Talk: Saturated Sites of Violence in CS Education
Despite numerous CS education pedagogical interventions, the pipeline of Black women in Computing has not increased, which illustrates the need to address structural issues (such as racism, sexism, power, and privilege) that impact Black women’s inter- sectional identities. Without honest conversations about power relations within the field of Computing, one cannot expect to en- gender social change that equates to equity for all CS students. Leveraging intersectionality as a critical framework, we interview 18 Black women about their experiences navigating the comput- ing education ecosystem. Intersectional analysis of Black women’s experiences reveals that CS education consists of saturated sites of violence in which interconnected systems of power converge to enact oppression. Findings reveal three saturated sites of violence within CS education: 1. traditional K-12 classrooms; 2. predom- inantly White institutions; and 3. internships as supplementary learning experiences.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1937759
- PAR ID:
- 10489062
- Publisher / Repository:
- ACM
- Date Published:
- ISBN:
- 9781450380621
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 802 to 808
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Intersectional Computing Black women epistemic violence
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Virtual Event USA
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
We aim to understand, from a motivational perspective, how Black undergraduate women in computing make sense of their intersectional computing experiences. We examine their motivation to major in computing, their experiences as Black women in computing, and how these vary across institutional contexts. A sample of 77 Black undergraduate women in computing programs (computer science, computer engineering, information systems, information technology, and software engineering) from diverse college settings was recruited to participate in the study. Participants responded to an online survey that included several Likert-scale measures for identity, motivation and retention variables, demographic questions, and two open-ended questions:andWhat is it like for you to be a Black female student in computing? Findings.Key themes that emerged from our quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed the range of motivational factors driving Black undergraduate women to study computing and the nuances across their intersectional experiences in the computing education context. Additionally, Black undergraduate women located in HBCU computing education contexts demonstrated both similar and unique perspectives and experiences compared to their counterparts in non-HBCU settings. Conclusions.In addition to the isolation, pressure, power dynamics and epistemic violence experienced by Black women in the intersectional computing education context, the findings of this study display the unique cultural-social-psychological strengths of Black women in their positive valence and resilience, as well as their joy, empowerment, and achievement in computing. Increasing and complicating our knowledge of the motivations and intersectional experiences of Black women in undergraduate computing education, as well as understanding when and how their beliefs and perspectives vary across institutional context, will better inform efforts to retain them and promote their success both in college and into their careers.more » « less
-
Although it is well known that Black women are underrepresented in computing, less is known about their pre-college experiences. We hypothesize that inequities at the K-12 level result in Black women's underrepresentation in computing, because Black women have accumulated less social capital and are less embedded in courses and organizations related to computing prior to college. This paper reports the initial findings from the first round of a survey designed to gather the pre-college computing experiences of Black women and their peers. Black women in our sample were less likely to report participating in formal computer science (CS) education in school, slightly more likely to report participation in outside-of-school computing programs, about equally as likely to pursue computing experiences independently, and more likely to have had no pre-college computing experiences at all. We found that Black women were less likely to report that they were told they would be a good computer scientist, especially by friends, teachers, and guidance counselors, thus reflecting weaker social connections and lower levels of social capital. These findings suggest that organizational embeddedness or social ties from pre-college computing experiences may indeed be a factor in Black women's underrepresentation in computing and that access to these experiences outside of the formal classroom may be particularly important. The survey is one part of a study that will feature a second round of data collection in another state, analysis of state-level longitudinal data, and interviews with Black women.more » « less
-
Despite the emergence of intersectional computing and increased scholarship that utilizes the concept of intersectionality, there is a lack of consensus about the appropriation of intersectionality as a critical framework within the computing education community. Intersectionality provides a critical lens for understanding and analyzing the complexity in human experiences that are shaped by multiple social constructs (race, gender, class, etc.) in mutually influencing ways. What lies at the heart of the matter is acknowledging the humanity of intersectional populations to create safe spaces and a sense of belonging in the computing community. However, using Eurocentric research methods when working with intersectional populations tends to further marginalize them. Calling into question the validity of Eurocentric methods, we argue for alternative ways of knowing in CS education research that affirm intersectional populations. Applying critical autoethnography to our own body of computing education research, we leverage Black feminist epistemologies or Black women’s ways of knowing to differentiate intersectional studies from studies of intersectional populations.more » « less
-
Black women remain severely underrepresented in computing despite ongoing efforts to diversify the field. Given that Black women exist at the intersection of both racial and gendered identities, tailored approaches are necessary to address the unique barriers Black women face in computing. However, it is difficult to quantitatively evaluate the efficacy of interventions designed to retain Black women in computing, since samples of computing students typically contain too few Black women for robust statistical analysis. Using about a decade of student survey responses from an National Science Foundation–funded Broadening Participation in Computing alliance, we use regression analyses to quantitatively examine the connection between different types of interventions and Black women’s intentions to persist in computing and how this compares to other students (specifically, Black men, white women, and white men). This comparison allows us to quantitatively explore how Black women’s needs are both distinct from—and similar to—other students. We find that career awareness and faculty mentorship are the two interventions that have a statistically significant, positive correlation with Black women’s computing persistence intentions. No evidence was found that increasing confidence or developing skills/knowledge was correlated with Black women’s computing persistence intentions, which we posit is because Black women must be highly committed and confident to pursue computing in college. Last, our results suggest that many efforts to increase the number of women in computing are focused on meeting the needs of white women. While further analyses are needed to fully understand the impact of complex intersectional identities in computing, this large-scale quantitative analysis contributes to our understanding of the nuances of Black women’s needs in computing.more » « less
