Are we seeing a rising trend in women choosing Computer Science degrees?
2024 saw a record number of women starting computer science degrees in UK universities: 6,310 to be exact. This growth has led to the gap between the number of women and men choosing to study Computer Science reaching the lowest it has ever been: 4.1 males for every 1 female. 1
While this is only a marginal improvement on last year’s 4.2 to 1 ratio, it does show the gap is closing (even if it’s slow progress). For example, in 2019 it was a 5.5 to 1 ratio. 1 This trend is great news for the subject, plus, more female students could lead to more women in the tech industry – another gap that needs closing!
2024 also saw an increasing number of male and female students choosing a UK computer science degree: 7% compared with 3% for other subjects.
Additionally, 49% of UK computing degrees were taken by students in ‘two of the least advantaged groups in the UK’ (compared with 42% in other subjects) and 44% of 2024 undergraduate computing students in UK universities were Asian, Black or Mixed Race. compared with 32% as a whole in other subjects. 1 This is hopefully showing that many more gaps in computing degrees will continue to shrink, increasing diversity in the student body with more equal representation of different characteristic groups.
How do we continue to close the gap?
What can we do to shrink demographic gaps in computing degrees?
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References and further reading
- BCS The Chartered Institute for IT (2024) ‘Female computing students closed the gap on men in 2024 – new data shows’. Available at: https://www.bcs.org/articles-opinion-and-research/female-computing-students-closed-the-gap-on-men-in-2024-new-data-shows/ (Accessed: 08/01/25)
