Navigating the Path of Women in Software Engineering: From Academia to Industry

TL;DR

This paper investigates the experiences of women in software engineering from academia to industry, highlighting persistent challenges like bias and harassment, and offers recommendations to foster inclusivity, with a focus on Brazilian women.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the journey of Brazilian women in software engineering, emphasizing systemic challenges and proposing actionable strategies for organizations.

Findings

Women face gender bias, harassment, and work-life imbalance.

Challenges persist from university to professional careers.

Organizational commitment is essential for change.

Abstract

Context. Women remain significantly underrepresented in software engineering, leading to a lasting gender gap in the software industry. This disparity starts in education and extends into the industry, causing challenges such as hostile work environments and unequal opportunities. Addressing these issues is crucial for fostering an inclusive and diverse software engineering workforce. Aim. This study aims to enhance the literature on women in software engineering, exploring their journey from academia to industry and discussing perspectives, challenges, and support. We focus on Brazilian women to extend existing research, which has largely focused on North American and European contexts. Method. In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional survey, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, focusing on women's experiences in software engineering to explore their journey from university to the software industry. Findings. Our findings highlight persistent challenges faced by women in software engineering, including gender bias, harassment, work-life imbalance, undervaluation, low sense of belonging, and impostor syndrome. These difficulties commonly emerge from university experiences and continue to affect women throughout their entire careers. Conclusion. In summary, our study identifies systemic challenges in women's software engineering journey, emphasizing the need for organizational commitment to address these issues. We provide actionable recommendations for practitioners.