Reviews of Recent Publications by Aspray and Nelson

William Aspray, Women and Underrepresented Minorities in Computing: A Historical and Social Study. Springer, 2016. 271 pp. ISBN: 9783319248097.

There has been almost exponential growth in computing and information technology (CIT) employment opportunities. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in CIT occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2016 to 2026, faster than the average for all occupations. People employed in CIT occupations tend to earn higher salaries than in other occupations. For instance, the median annual wage for CIT occupations was $82,860 in 2016, which was higher than the $37,040 median annual wage for all occupations. Furthermore, computing has become ubiquitous in daily life, including social interaction via media. Yet, CIT fields continue to have a major problem with diversity.

Women's share of baccalaureate degrees in computer science (CS) peaked at 15,126 in 1986, dropping to 7,063 by 1995. Since then, the proportion of women in CS has fluctuated. In 2013, women earned a mere 18 percent (9,209) of bachelor's degrees in CS, which is less than what they earned in the mid-80s. Currently, women make up 47 percent of the civilian workforce but only 27 percent of the CIT workforce. Similarly, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans/Alaska Natives make up over 24 percent of the US population, but the number either training or working in CIT occupations is low. For instance, African Americans and Hispanics account for 11 and 15 percent of the civilian workforce, respectively; however, they make up only 7 and 6 percent of the CIT workforce, respectively. These ratios have remained low despite numerous initiatives by government, private companies, and nonprofit organizations to significantly increase women's and minorities' participation in computing. So, what's going on?

The underrepresentation of women and minorities in computing has intrigued scholars, university administrators, policymakers and corporate leaders for some time. Scholars have identified a number of factors that have led to lack of diversity in computing. Typically, studies have focused either on women or on minorities. Aspray's book considers both demographic groups whose representation in computing is much weaker than their representation in the US population as a whole. Instead of focusing on why some groups continue to be underrepresented in computing, Aspray provides a social history of activities aimed at increasing the proportion of women and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and computing in higher-education institutions. He presents such historical activities within the context of transformations that occurred in American society in the 1960s, including the Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements.

The first part of the book provides an overview of the social science literature on the general issue of women's and minorities' participation in STEM. Aspray appropriately observes that such literature specific to computing, while growing, is still scant in contrast to the literature on STEM. Most of the information provided in the book is historical, discussing various milestones. For women, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, the author reviews select historical literature on higher education and STEM education with a specific focus on engineering; for African Americans, Hispanic, and Native Americans, the rise of specific institutions devoted to these minorities and funding opportunities to support their careers are reviewed as well. This part provides many references in the literature for the reader; in this sense, it is very informative.

The second part of the book is devoted to case studies about attracting and retaining more women and underrepresented minorities in computing. There is a chapter on the historical evolution of each of the prominent organizations that help women get into STEM disciplines (SWE, AWIS, WEPAN, MentorNet) as well as computing (ABI, CRA-W, ACM-W, NCWIT). Similarly, Aspray summarizes the efforts of various STEM (NSBE, NACME, GEM, SACNAS, MAES, SHPE, AIHEC, AISES) and computing organizations (BDPA, ADMI, CDC, CMD-IT) that have contributed to the broadening of underrepresented minorities' participation in STEM and computing disciplines. Some of the issues facing these organizations as they strive to be more effective are also discussed. This section of...