While doing better than others, only 24% of academics are female.
University of Glasgow has ranked eighth place in the UK for gender equality in its computing science department, a new study shows.
The study was conducted by cybersecurity tech company CrowdStrike, with its data finding that Glasgow ranks eighth place for female academics in its computing science department with 24% of academics being female. Glasgow also ranks third place in Scotland, beaten by the Universities of Strathclyde and St Andrews with 25.6% and 33.1% respectively. Aberystwyth University is the UK leader in computing science gender equality with 33.3% of departmental staff being women.
CrowdStrike says that research shows that female representation in computing science is “lagging behind” other STEM subjects such as mathematics, science and engineering, with other research showing only 13% of computing science undergraduates are women, and that with female role models in the sector, 52% of women are more likely to remain working in STEM fields.
The Scottish government has committed to improving female representation in STEM fields as an important initiative to close the gender skills gap. The study from Crowdstrike shows that 40% of the top 10 most gender diverse computing science departments are from Scottish universities.
JC Herrera, chief human resources officer at CrowdStrike, said: “It’s encouraging to see universities in the UK increasing female role models in the Computer Sciences to inspire the next generation and help to address the growing skills gap in technology disciplines.
“Alongside the initiatives being delivered in higher education to improve female representation in STEM, the private sector must play a pivotal role too by partnering with trailblazing organizations and charities, as well as offering scholarships and innovative apprenticeship schemes. If we want to continue driving our industry forward, we must address these inequities.”
You can find the research and data from CrowdStrike here.
