This study examines an aspect of gender and racial/ethnic gaps in undergraduate computing by focusing on sense of belonging among women and underrepresented minority (URM) introductory computing students. We examine change in sense of belonging during the introductory course as well as the predictors of belonging, with attention to conditional effects by gender and URM status. Results show that sense of belonging outcomes are a product of both incoming student characteristics and college environments and experiences, highlighting the important role the computing faculty play in fostering belonging. These and other findings are discussed, focusing on sense of belonging among women, URM students, and URM women.

This theoretical paper explores the need for enhanced, intersectional computing identity theory for the purpose of developing a diverse group of computer scientists for the future. Greater theoretical understanding of the identity formation process specifically for computing is needed in order to understand how students come to understand themselves as computer scientists. To ensure that the next generation of computer scientists is diverse, this paper presents a case for examining identity development intersectionally, understanding the ways in which women and underrepresented students may have difficulty identifying as computer scientists and be systematically oppressed in their pursuit of computer science careers. Through a review of the available scholarship, this paper suggests that creating greater theoretical understanding of the computing identity development process will inform the way in which educational stakeholders consider computer science practices and policies.

As computing fields aim to both expand and diversify, narrowing representation gaps in undergraduate computing majors requires focus on retaining women and racially/ethnically minoritized students ...

Although many undergraduate computing students participate in internships, little research explores these experiences. Using survey data from 1,018 undergraduate computing students at 15 U.S. research institutions and Social Cognitive Career Theory as a theoretical framework, this study explores the experiences of computing undergraduates who participated in computing internships and the extent to which their internship experiences shaped their reported interest in pursuing computing-related careers after graduation. The study investigates how students' experiences in their primary computing internship may vary by gender and racial/ethnic identities. Findings indicate that a large majority of computing students felt that their internship experiences increased their professional skills and awareness of the skills most valued in the workplace; these findings held across gender and racial/ethnic groups. However, women, particularly white and Asian women, were more likely to report that their internship helped them increase their technical skills than their male peers. Indeed, growth in one's professional skillset was the strongest predictor of students' increased interest in a computing career. Also, identifying as a woman or gender non-conforming individual, working in an internship environment with same-gender peers, and having strong computing self-efficacy were positively associated with increased interest in a computing career. These findings highlight the key role that internships can play in retaining undergraduate women and non-binary students in computing as they transition from college to career.

Interdisciplinarity has been touted as a means to recruit more racially and gender-diverse students to computing. In this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, we investigated demographic characteristics among a sample of undergraduate students pursuing interdisciplinary computing major and minor combinations at 15 institutions in the United States who completed a survey at the end of their introductory course. Descriptive analyses of responses to this survey of introductory computing students revealed that enrollment in interdisciplinary major and minor combinations was limited and did not appear to disproportionately attract women or Black/African American, Latine, Indigenous, and/or Multiracial students. We then conducted a directed content analysis of departmental websites to examine the language and policies that may have precluded or encouraged students to pursue interdisciplinary computing major and minor combinations. Findings revealed that departmental offerings of such programs were limited, and, among those that did offer such programs, communication about their goals and requirements was often lacking. Implications for research and practice, especially as they pertain to efforts to broaden participation in computing, are discussed.

In response to the enrollment surge that started in many CS depart- ments around 2006, the Computing Research Association published a report on "Generation CS", which named a pervasive theme in computing education: more and a greater diversity of students are seeking computing education, even if not as traditional CS ma- jors. However, our curricula and departments have stayed much the same. We still mostly prepare students for software develop- ment jobs in the technology industry, while we rarely identify the damage that same industry has caused in our democratic societies. How do we do better? How do we change to meet the needs of a changing society? What strategies should we apply? We know that large-scale change will require structural shifts, but such shifts are likely to be slow and expensive, whereas smaller, "boots on the ground" initiatives can positively impact individuals but do little to change the systems that underlie the deeper-seated problems in computing. Navigating this paradox is imperative to our success as a field. Our panel will address the big questions about how to make structural changes in computing education in order to meet the greater needs of Generation CS.