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11 Facts about Women and Technology

Welcome to DoSomething.org, a global movement of millions of young people making positive change, online and off! The 11 facts you want are below, and the sources for the facts are at the very bottom of the page. After you learn something, Do Something! Find out how to take action here.

  1. While engineering and computer-related fields as some of the fastest growing fields in the United States, women only hold about one-quarter or less of those positions.^[Lacey & Wright, 2009; National Science Board, 2010]
  2. U.S. women working in science and high-tech fields are 45 percent more likely than their male peers to leave the industry within a year, often due to gender bias and feelings that they are being weighed against male counterparts.^[McGregor, Jena. "Keeping Women in High-tech Fields Is Big Challenge, Report Finds." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2014. Web. .]
  3. The average percentage of women working in the tech industry is 30%, based on diversity reports published by 11 of the world's largest tech companies in 2014.^[Cheng, Robert. "Women in Tech: The Numbers Don't Add up." CNET. N.p., 6 May 2015. Web. .]
  4. In the mid-1980s, 37% of computer science majors were women; in 2012, 18%.^[Gilpin, Lyndsey. "The State of Women in Technology: 15 Data Points You Should Know." TechRepublic. N.p., 8 July 2014. Web. .]
  5. Women only earn about 12% of computer science degrees nationally.^[Gilpin, Lyndsey. "The State of Women in Technology: 15 Data Points You Should Know." TechRepublic. N.p., 8 July 2014. Web. .]
  6. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki, and Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer were all listed as some of the most powerful Women in the Tech industry by Forbes Magazine in 2015.^[Vinton, Kate. Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 26 May 2015. Web. .]
  7. Asian, African American, and Hispanic women only made up 5%, 3% and 1% of the computing workforce respectively in 2014.^["By the Number." National Center for Women & Information Technology, 3 Apr. 2015. Web. .]
  8. Between 2000 and 2014, the number of first-year undergraduate women interested in majoring in Computer Science declined by 7%.^["By the Number." National Center for Women & Information Technology, 3 Apr. 2015. Web. .]
  9. In 2014, only 20% of students who took the Advanced Placement Computer Science test were women, although women comprised 56% of all Advanced Placements testtakers that year.^["By the Number." National Center for Women & Information Technology, 3 Apr. 2015. Web. .]
  10. Only about 7% of investor money goes to women-led startups.^["Resources | Women Who Tech." Women Who Tech. N.p., n.d. Web. .]
  11. 11% of Sillicon Valley executives are women.^["Resources | Women Who Tech." Women Who Tech. N.p., n.d. Web. .]
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