As a disclaimer, perhaps I should add that I won’t ramble about the need to balance genders in computer-related fields. These days, everyone speaks of under-representation of women in computer science. This is a true fact, but it is important to look at interests and qualifications rather than gender.
What we need is not just more women; what we need is for more women to be aware of what computer-science fields really are about so that they can perhaps find interest in it.
If our goal is to eliminate the misconception that computer science is reserved for men, then our mission is to inform girls honestly about what computer science is and what it can offer them.
I entered Computer Engineering because I like computers, programming and I was interested in understanding the complexities of hardware systems. Of course, I was also uncomfortable the first day of classes, even the first semester. Why? Because of all those horror stories I heard from people trying to discourage me from going in computer engineering. Yet throughout my degree, I never felt any prejudice from the part of male students.
If I had a magic wand, I would not change that 3:25 ratio. Instead, I would use that wand to let every woman on this planet know what Computer Engineering is so they can make an educated decision. The ratio of women to men may increase, stay the same or even decrease but regardless, my goal is not to do an exercise in handwaving statistics alarmingly, but to hope that more women enter or leave a field because of an informed decision, and not stereotypes