Reviewed Papers


inroads – The SIGCSE Bulletin 75 Volume 37, Number 2, 2005 June



Professional Development Workshop
for Female Software Engineers


Orit Hazzan
Department of Education in Technology and Science
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Haifa 32000, Israel
oritha@techunix.technion.ac.il


Abstract
This article presents a perspective on the professional development of software engineers, with a focus on
women in the field. Specifically, a professional development workshop for female software engineers is
presented. The article starts by explaining the need for such a workshop. Then, the workshop purpose and
objectives, workshop structure, workshop activities and a possible workshop format are presented.

Keywords: gender, computer science education, software engineering education


1. Introduction
This article presents a perspective on the professional
development of software engineers, with a focus on women
in the field. Based on the distinction between software
engineering and computer science, the article first explains
the need for such a perspective (Section 2), followed by a
description of one of many possible initiatives intended to
support the professional development of software
engineers. Specifically, a professional development
workshop for female software engineers is presented
(Section 3). This description is based on a workshop,
facilitated by the author at the School of Computer Science
of Carnegie Mellon University in December 2003. The
workshop website is located at
http://edu.technion.ac.il/Faculty/OritH/HomePage/SEPD_
Workshop.htm.
Throughout the workshop, participants are guided in
the construction of their personal professional perception as
software engineers. This professional perception is
composed of the participants' conception of the field of
software engineering, the way in which they envision their
own position in the field, and an analysis of software
development environments in which they wish to cooperate
in software development processes.

2. Why Professional Development in Software
Engineering?
While the Incredible Shrinking Pipeline ([2]) is a very well
known phenomenon with respect to computer science,
gender-related issues are not, as far as I know, discussed in
depth with respect to software engineering. Several
reasons may explain the relative lack of attention given to
the topic of women in software engineering. First, the
software engineering track in many universities is part of
the computer science department. Consequently, statistics
on computer science students include, in fact, data on
software engineering students as well. Second, some
universities offer only a Masters degree in software
engineering and thus, the issue of women in software
engineering education receives less attention than it would
have had been an undergraduate program with a large
number of students enrolled in it. Third, in many
workplaces computer scientists and software engineers
serve in similar positions. Consequently, in many cases,
specific data on software engineers is not called for.
The intention of this article is not to convince the
readers that the percentage of women in software
engineering is relatively low. For the purpose of this
article, we will assume this is true, based on the easily
accessible and available data on the relatively low
representation of women in computer science (cf. the June
2002 special issue of Inroads – the SIGCSE Bulletin on
Women and Computing).
A reasonable question that should be raised at this
point is: Why is a separate professional development
program needed for women in software engineering? One
answer is that software engineering is not computer
science. While computer science is concerned with theory
and fundamentals, software engineering is concerned with
the application of scientific knowledge in the development,
delivery, and maintenance of useful software systems. In
practice, the kind of work performed by professionals in
the two fields is different. The work of a computer
scientist consists mainly of theoretical investigation,
whereas software engineers work with people: customers
and teammates. This naturally implies that computer

Reviewed Papers


inroads – The SIGCSE Bulletin 76 Volume 37, Number 2, 2005 June

scientists are chiefly accountable to other scientists,
whereas software engineers are chiefly accountable to the
public.
Clearly, the different essences of the two disciplines
require different skills. While computer scientists should
know how to extend knowledge in their field, software
engineers should know how to apply the scientific
knowledge they acquired to the construction of reliable and
useful software systems.
In general, Parnas ([7]) notes that engineers require a
different kind of education than do scientists. Engineering
education should focus on the application of a core body of
knowledge to the production of reliable products, as
opposed to learning how to extend our knowledge of what
is true. Several authors specifically discuss this issue with
respect to software engineering education (e.g., [9, 10]).
In this article, based on the above distinctions, I
propose that the guidance of software engineers in their
professional development should differ from that of
computer scientists. Specifically, this article focuses on the
professional development of women in software
engineering.

3. Workshop for the Professional Development of
Female Software Engineers
Various possible approaches towards the professional
development of women in software engineering exist. The
present article focuses on a workshop that aims to guide
female software engineers in the construction of their
professional perception as software engineers, as well as in
their professional development in the field. The workshop
attempts to address the profession of software engineering
from its engineering, scientific and human perspectives.
The workshop can be attended by software engineering
graduate and undergraduate students, as well as by female
software engineers already working in industry. Although
the workshop emphasizes issues related to the professional
development of women in software engineering, the
participation of students from related fields (computer
science, for example) and of men in the workshop is
possible as well.

3.1 Workshop Goal and Objectives
The workshop goal is to expand the perspective of software
engineers regarding the various careers they may develop
in the field of software engineering. The following
objectives are derived from the goal mentioned above:
ƒ Participants will become aware of ways in which they
can develop a professional career in software
engineering;
ƒ Participants will become familiar with the software
industry in their country and consequently increase their
awareness with respect to the opportunities open to them
in the profession of software engineering;
ƒ Participants will increase their awareness to ways in
which they can create development environments that
appeal to their values and to their communication and
management styles;
ƒ Participants will prepare a personal professional
development plan.

3.2 Workshop Structure
The workshop consists of three components: individual
professional development, theory, and practice. These
components are interconnected, but, as seen in Figure 1, the
theory and practice components support the individual
professional development component. In what follows, the
themes addressed in each component are outlined.




Figure 1: The three components of the workshop


A. Individual Professional Development
ƒ Participants' personal story in software engineering
ƒ Specific actions to further the participants' professional
development
ƒ Follow-up program

B. Theory
ƒ The profession of software engineering: Characteristics
of software engineering as a profession, possible
professional careers within the field of software
engineering.
ƒ Data on software engineering in the participants' country
ƒ Women in the software industry

C. Practice
Individual and team projects, such as: Plan and carry out an
interview with a woman with a successful career in
software engineering (in industry or in academia), develop
a website that will facilitate ongoing networking in the field
of software engineering.

Theory
Personal
experience in
order to feel
what can be
achieved with
awareness and
motivation
Familiarity
with the
profession of
software
engineering
and with the
Individual
professional
development

Practice