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When it comes to computer science, it is predominantly a man’s world but it looks as though womankind is fighting back and ready to... Women Finally Outnumber Men On Berkeley Computer Science Course

When it comes to computer science, it is predominantly a man’s world but it looks as though womankind is fighting back and ready to prove a point. For the first time women are outnumbering men on an introductory computer science course at the University of California in Berkeley.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “It was the first time since at least 1993 — as far back as university enrollment records are digitized — that more women enrolled in an introductory computer science course.” 106 women enrolled, versus 104 men.

Computer science courses and women

Although the course is not designed for people who want to major in the subject,  women taking that first step in learning how to program is definitely a step in the right direction and could have a big impact on the industry’s future.

Due to the increase in women on the course, Berkley has made changes to the curriculum, which involved adding  sections that related to the real-world ramifications of computing. And it’s not just Berkley that is seeing an increase but other universities too. In 2012 Stanford University announced that its computer science course had almost an equal number of women and men. Although the number of women going on to study computer science following the introductory course remains quite low, the figures are rising slowly; 20 percent of students graduating with a computer science degree from Stanford in 2011 were female.

There may still be a way to go in gaining a bigger female presence in the industry but seeing more women on these courses is certainly a positive move.

[Image via Huffington Post]

SOURCE: http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2014/02/berkeley-women/