• Swindon & Wiltshire Tech
• Monday February 26 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Women are applying for computing degrees in record numbers and slowly narrowing the diversity gap – BCS

Women are applying for computing degrees in record numbers and slowly narrowing the diversity gap, according to new data released by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.

The Swindon-headquartered professional body for computing said the number of young women in the UK applying to start computing degrees in 2024 has risen by 10 per cent on last year.

In total there were 18,880 applications from UK 18-year-old women to study computing at university this year, up from 17,140 in 2023.

BCS analysed January deadline application data (released 15 February) from university admissions service, UCAS.

While male applicants still outnumber females in computer science by 4.1-to-1 this year, the gap has closed slightly from 4.4-to-1 at the same stage in the application cycle in 2023, BCS found.

Applications to study computing from all UK young people (aged 18) rose by seven per cent to a total of 99,710.

This mirrored strong growth in STEM subjects, with maths 11 per cent up, engineering 10 per cent up, and physical sciences 8eight per cent up.

Computing degrees at UK universities continue to be attractive to students outside the UK. Over one-fifth of applications (21 per cent) came from non-UK students, a slight decrease from 2023/24 (23 per cent).

Computing is now the 7th most popular subject for UK 18-year-old applicants, and fifth for all UK applicants.

This is the sixth consecutive year of growth for computing applications from 18-year-olds with this year’s figure being 70 per cent higher than in 2019 – and 113 per cent higher for women.

BCS said the rise in women applying for computing was good news for the future safety and fairness of AI.

BCS president Gillian Arnold said: “More and more young women understand that taking a computing degree can help them change the world and that is shown by these UCAS application figures.

“There’s still a long way to go until we have the truly diverse tech profession we need to ensure emerging technology like AI benefits everyone. That also includes creating a more inclusive culture across the tech profession itself.

“Diversity is more than just a concept when it comes to teams creating AI – reducing bias is a critical factor in all teams if we are to get more innovation in areas like medical diagnosis.

“People from every background need to be encouraged by the demand for computing and know that the tech profession needs them.”

Earlier research from BCS in partnership with Coding Black Females found issues such as micro-aggressions, lack of flexible working and a ‘tech bro culture’ were some barriers to women progressing in IT careers.