GUEST EDITORIAL Roli Varma
Special Issue on Women and Minorities in Information Technology
declined about 4% between 1993 and 1999. The percentage of women earning their bachelor’s degrees in IT-related fields has been dropping steadily since the mid-1980s in contrast with the general trends in graduation rates as well as those in science and engineering. For instance, women earning baccalaureate degrees in computer science peaked at 15 126 in 1986 and came down to 7063 by 1995. Since then the number has stabilized. Of incoming freshman in 2002, only 0.7% of women planned to major in computer science compared to 4.2% of men. At the graduate he revolution in information technology (IT) level, higher percentages of men earn computer scihas had a profound impact on the technologi- ence degrees (4.5%) as compared to women (1.4%). Underrepresented minorities (African-Americans, cal progress, globalization, and growth of the U.S. economy. The consequences of IT are part of Hispanics, and native Americans) make up 24% of the what has been called the information age, information U.S. population and over 21% of the U.S. labor force but comprise less than 8% of U.S. comsociety, digital era, or informationputer/math scientists. Further, a bachebased economy. IT has contributed to lor’s degree is more likely to be the America’s structural shift from manuhighest degree achieved for underreprefacturing to a service economy. Further, sented minority computer/math scienthe IT-producing sector has been growtists than for white or Asian computing faster than the economy as a whole. er/math scientists. Among the small IT has also contributed to an increased number of underrepresented minority demand for labor, as well as an overall students pursuing higher education, a skill upgrade in the workplace. The larger percentage tends to earn degrees U.S. Bureau of Labor has projected that in the social sciences, psychology, and between 2000 and 2010, the number of biological sciences than in computer IT-related jobs would grow over 80%, science. For instance, from 1985 to exceeding an overall job growth of 1999, underrepresented minorities earnabout 15%; science and engineering Roli Varma ing bachelor’s degrees increased only by expects job growth of about 47%. While the IT-based economy is expanding, women 1% annually in computer science; in contrast, the annuand minorities are underrepresented in U.S. IT educa- al increase for the social sciences was almost 10%. tion as well as in the American IT workforce. Women Trends for master’s degrees show only modest growth make up 51% of the U.S. population and 47% of the in computer science (from 305 in 1985 to 583 in 1998) U.S. labor force, but women comprise only 27% of for underrepresented minorities. Underrepresented U.S. computer/math scientists. Since the early 1990s, minorities are earning doctoral degrees in computer the percentages of women in most science and engi- science starting at such a low base that they are barely neering occupations have gradually increased except visible on a graph compared to other racial/ethnic in computers/math in which the percentage of women groups. For instance, in 1999, whites earned 854 doctoral degrees in computer science/math, Asians earned Guest Editor Roli Varma is with the School of Public 145, and underrepresented minorities earned 59. Administration, University of New Mexico, AlbuIf we are to improve the representation of women querque, NM 87131. Email:
[email protected]. and minorities in IT education and the IT workforce, we
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have to identify factors that deter women and minorities from pursuing education in IT and joining the IT workforce. This special issue is a humble attempt in that direction. It’s purpose is to raise discussion. In this issue, Aspray gives a short history of the important role the Computing Research Association has been playing to promote diversity in IT. Wardle presents government initiatives by the National Science Foundation to improve the status of women and minorities in IT. Margolis et al. focus on disparities in
IT education at the high school level by race and ethnicity. Katz et al. deal with race and gender differences in computer science learning at the undergraduate level. Cohoon and Baylor address the issue of women’s enrollment in graduate computer science programs. Leggon focuses on often-neglected populations, African-American and Hispanic women, in IT. Galpin et al. give a global perspective by studying the relationship between self-efficacy and participation in IT in South Africa.
Will Small Be Beautiful?: Social and Policy Issues of Nanotechnology Special Issue of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine Guest Editor: Edward Woodhouse, Associate Professor of Political Science, Department of Science & Technology Studies, Faculty of Information Technology, and Center for Ethics in Complex Systems, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Mail address: STS Dept, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, U.S.A. Email:
[email protected].
Call for Contributors For this special issue of T&S, the guest editor aims to publish serious scholarship on social and policy aspects of nanotechnology, to raise the issue on academic and public agendas. I also want to use the emerging controversy to take a fresh look at perennial shortcomings in governing innovation wisely and fairly – and to assess prospects for doing better. I expect to emphasize social and policy matters more than purely ethical issues, but there is room for some of the latter. Nanotechnology supporters, critics, skeptics, and agnostics are equally welcome. Exact topics obviously depend on contributors’ interests, but possible topics include: military potentials/threats; nanotechnology and law; media coverage, interest groups, and/or public opinion; nanohealth potentials and risk analysis; congressional hearings and proposed legislation; moratoria and other anticipative strategies; nanotech and environment; commercialization; Crichton’s Prey and other “literary” treatments.
Deadlines: September 15, 2003 - Reviewable draft November 15, 2003 - Feedback to authors January 15, 2004 - Revised drafts due Expected special issue publication date - Summer 2004 T&S
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Fall 2003
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