Better Balance in Informatics: An Honest Discussion with Students

TL;DR

This paper discusses structured student discussions at UiT to identify strategies for reducing gender imbalance in computer science education and academia, offering actionable recommendations and a roadmap for other institutions.

Contribution

It introduces a structured discussion approach to identify gender balance strategies and provides a practical roadmap for implementation in academic departments.

Findings

Identified key factors affecting gender balance in CS education.

Proposed specific actions to improve gender representation.

Provided a replicable framework for other institutions.

Abstract

In recent years, there has been considerable effort to promote gender balance in the academic environment of Computer Science (CS). However, there is still a gender gap at all CS academic levels: from students, to PhD candidates, to faculty members. This general trend is followed by the Department of Computer Science at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. To combat this trend within the CS environment at UiT, we embarked on structured discussions with students of our department. After analyzing the data collected from these discussions, we were able to identify action items that could mitigate the existing gender gap at our department. In particular, these discussions elucidated ways to achieve (i) a balanced flow of students into CS undergraduate program, (ii) a balanced CS study environment, and (iii) a balanced flow of graduates into higher levels of the CS academia (e.g., PhD program). This paper presents the results of the discussions and the subsequent recommendations that we made to the administration of the department. We also provide a road-map that other institutions could follow to organize similar events as part of their gender-balance action plan.