Gender gap perception of computer science students in Costa Rica: A case study in two public universities

Abstract

Gender equality is among the objectives of governments, companies, public institutions and other different entities. There are various challenges related to the gender gap that affect different parts of society. In particular, the gender gap associated with the technology sector is a well-known problem for which organizations are looking for solutions. It starts in primary education and continues into the professional field. The number of women who start and finish higher education programs related to computer science and informatics shows alarming figures in most countries and regions worldwide. In Costa Rica, the number of women enrolled in these programs in 2017 was around 20% despite the fact that this country is well ranked in the Global Gender Gap Index, both globally and in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. This study aims to analyze the perception of computing students concerning the gender gap in computer science studies in two public universities in Costa Rica. We applied a validated instrument that identifies computer engineering students’ perceptions of gender and diversity issues divided into three dimensions: academic perception, social perception and professional competence. The results indicate the gender influences in most of the items related to academic perception and people who experienced discrimination, themselves or a relative, are more sensitive to the inequalities (N=228).