Women have made vital contributions to computer science ever since Ada Lovelace debugged the first algorithm for an actual computer (written by Charles Babbage) almost 200 years ago (more on CS4FN’s Women Portal). Despite this, women make up only a fraction (25%) of the STEM workforce: only about a fifth of senior tech roles and only a fifth of computer science students are women. The problem starts early: research by the National Centre for Computing Education suggests that female student’s intension to study computing drops off between the ages of 8 and 13. Ilenia Maietta, a computer science student at Queen Mary, talks about her experiences of studying in a male-dominated field and how she is helping to build a network for other women in tech.
Ilenia’s love for science hasn’t wavered since childhood and she is now studying for a master’s degree in computer science – but back in sixth form, the decision was between computer science and chemistry:
“I have always loved science, and growing up my dream was to become a scientist in a lab. However, in year 12, I dreaded doing the practical experiments and all the preparation and calculations needed in chemistry. At the same time, I was working on my computer science programming project, and I was enjoying it a lot more. I thought about myself 10 years in the future and asked myself ‘Where do I see myself enjoying my work more? In a lab, handling chemicals, or in an office, programming?’ I fortunately have a cousin who is a biologist, and her partner is a software engineer. I asked them about their day-to-day work, their teams, the projects they worked on, and I realised I would not enjoy working in a science lab. At the same time I realised I could definitely see myself as a computer scientist, so maybe child me knew she wanted to be scientist, just a different kind.”
The low numbers of female students in computer science classrooms can have the knock-on effect of making girls feel like they don’t belong. These faulty stereotypes that women don’t belong in computer science, together with the behaviour of male peers, continue to have an impact on Ilenia’s education:
“Ever since I moved to the UK, I have been studying STEM subjects. My school was a STEM school and it was male-dominated. At GCSEs, I was the only girl in my computer science class, and at A-levels only one of two. Most of the time it does not affect me whatsoever, but there were times it was (and is) incredibly frustrating because I am not taken seriously or treated differently because I am a woman, especially when I am equally knowledgeable or skilled. It is also equally annoying when guys start explaining to me something I know well, when they clearly do not (i.e. mansplaining): on a few occasions I have had men explain to me – badly and incorrectly – what my degree was to me, how to write code or explain tech concepts they clearly knew nothing about. 80% of the time it makes no difference, but that 20% of the time feels heavy.”
Many students choose computer science because of the huge variety of topics that you can go on to study. This was the case for Ilenia, especially being able to apply her new-found knowledge to lots of different projects:
“Definitely getting to explore different languages and trying new projects: building a variety of them, all different from each other has been fun. I really enjoyed learning about web development, especially last semester when I got to explore React.js: I then used it to make my own portfolio website! Also the variety of topics: I am learning about so many aspects of technology that I didn’t know about, and I think that is the fun part.”
“I worked on [the portfolio website] after I learnt about React.js and Next.js, and it was the very first time I built a big project by myself, not because I was assigned it. It is not yet complete, but I’m loving it. I also loved working on my EPQ [A-Level research project] when I was in school: I was researching how AI can be used in digital forensics, and I enjoyed writing up my research.”
Like many university students, Ilenia has had her fair share of challenges. She discussed the biggest of them all: imposter syndrome, as well as how she overcame it.
“I know [imposter syndrome is] very common at university, where we wonder if we fit in, if we can do our degree well. When I am struggling with a topic, but I am seeing others around me appear to understand it much faster, or I hear about these amazing projects other people are working on, I sometimes feel out of place, questioning if I can actually make it in tech. But at the end of the day, I know we all have different strengths and interests, so because I am not building games in my spare time, or I take longer to figure out something does not mean I am less worthy of being where I am: I got to where I am right now by working hard and achieving my goals, and anything I accomplish is an improvement from the previous step.”
Alongside her degree, Ilenia also supports a small organisation called Byte Queens, which aims to connect girls and women in technology with community support.
“I am one of the awardees for the Amazon Future Engineer Award by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Amazon, and one of my friends, Aurelia Brzezowska, in the programme started a community for girls and women in technology to help and support each other, called Byte Queens. She has a great vision for Byte Queens, and I asked her if there was anything I could do to help, because I love seeing girls going into technology. If I can do anything to remove any barriers for them, I will do it immediately. I am now the content manager, so I manage all the content that Byte Queens releases as I have experience in working with social media. Our aim is to create a network of girls and women who love tech and want to go into it, and support each other to grow, to get opportunities, to upskill. At the Academy of Engineering we have something similar provided for us, but we wanted this for every girl in tech. We are going to have mentoring programs with women who have a career in tech, help with applications, CVs, etc. Once we have grown enough we will run events, hackathons and workshops. It would be amazing if any girl or woman studying computer science or a technology related degree could join our community and share their experiences with other women!”
For women and girls looking to excel in computer science, Ilenia has this advice:
“I would say don’t doubt yourself: you got to where you are because you worked for it, and you deserve it. Do the best you can in that moment (our best doesn’t always look the same at different times of our lives), but also take care of yourself: you can’t achieve much if you are not taking care of yourself properly, just like you can’t do much with your laptop if you don’t charge it. And finally, take space: our generation has the possibility to reframe so much wrongdoing of the past generations, so don’t be afraid to make yourself, your knowledge, your skills heard and valued. Any opportunities you get, any goals you achieve are because you did it and worked for it, so take the space and recognition you deserve.”
Ilenia also highlighted the importance of taking opportunities to grow professionally and personally throughout her degree, “taking time to experiment with careers, hobbies, sports to discover what I like and who I want to become” mattered enormously. Following her degree, she wants to work in software development or cyber security. Once the stress of coursework and exams is gone, Ilenia intends to “try living in different countries for some time too”, though she thinks that “London is a special place for me, so I know I will always come back.”
Ilenia encourages all women in tech who are looking for a community and support, to join the Byte Queens community and share with others: “the more, the merrier!”
– lenia Maietta and Daniel Gill, Queen Mary University of London
Visit the Byte Queens website for more details. Interested women can apply here.
More on …
- CS4FN’s Women are (still) here (Portal)
- National Centre for Computing Research’s “I Belong” programme [EXTERNAL]
- Byte Queens: Network for Women in Tech [EXTERNAL]
Magazines …
- Issue 29 – Diversity
- Special Issue – The Women are here
- Issue 23 – The women are (still) here
- Issue 20 – Ada Lovelace
EPSRC supports this blog through research grant EP/W033615/1,
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