"I want to help middle-school girls stay interested in math and be good at it, and see it as friendly and accessible and not this scary thing. Everyone else in society tells them it's not for them. It's for nerdy white guys with pocket protectors."
- Danica McKellar
Not many women take Computer Science courses. Not here at BYU, at least. In most of the Computer Science courses I've taken, 80-100% of the students have been male. Some blame it on blatant favoritism towards male students. Others say that women don't like the abstract application of mathematics or the peculiar mix of math and creativity. The real reason, however, is the men. Women don't want to be peers and colleagues with geeks that have limited (severely, in some cases) social abilities. Men in Computer Science have tendencies to be geeky, to not work well with people, to not be able to communicate with non-geeks, to not observe principles of basic hygiene, to not keep up with modern trends, and to be unhealthily obsessed with their computers. The very thought of working with these men every day is no doubt repulsive to many women. Women won't start being attracted to Computer Science until the men in Computer Science make themselves more attractive.
An interesting point, but I think it is a little narrow minded. You are placing all men in CS into the same bucket, and I'm honestly a little offended by this statement. However, I can respect your opinion, but I also respectfully disagree with you completely.
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