Motivating girls to enroll in computer science (CS) courses is critically important. Stereotypes that girls are less interested than boys in CS may deter girls. Three preregistered experimental studies (N = 1,053) examined causal links between gender-interest stereotypes and middle school students' CS motivation. Experiment 1 showed that…

Women are underrepresented in the field of computer science. The presence of female computer scientists has changed over time, with a downward trend in the past few decades, with only 18% of women compared to men earning their degrees in computer science. Increasing the numbers of female students who pursue computer science not only will lead to…

Experience is necessary but not sufficient to cause girls to envision a future career in computing. This study investigated the experiences and attitudes of girls who had taken three years of mandatory computer science classes in an all-girls setting in middle school, measured at the end of eighth grade. The one third of participants who were open…