gender gap in perception of computer science “New Image for
Computing” recently released a report in their first wave to
understand the image of computing among youth. Funded by WGBH
and ACM, this report examines both race/ethnicity and sex-based
differences in perceptions of computing. What they found was
that there is little race/ethnicity-based differences in how
youth perceive CS but there are HUGE gender based differences in
perception. While 67% of all boys rated computer science as a
“very good” or “good” career choice, only 9% of girls rated it
“very good” and 17% as “good.” Digging down deeper, it is
fascinating to note that there’s a gender gap between boys and
girls when it comes to feeling that “being passionate about your
job” is “extremely important” (F: 78%, M: 64%), “earning a high
salary” is “extremely important” (F: 39%, M: 50%), and “having
the power to do good and doing work that makes a difference” is
“extremely important” (F: 56%, M: 47%). These all play into how
these youth perceive com