What Has Driven Women Out of Computer Science?

ELLEN SPERTUS, a graduate student at M.I.T., wondered why the computer camp she had attended as a girl had a boy-girl ratio of six to one. And why were only 20 percent of computer science undergraduates at M.I.T. female? She published a 124-page paper, ''Why Are There So Few Female Computer Scientists?'', that catalogued different cultural biases that discouraged girls and women from pursuing a career in the field. The year was 1991. Computer science has changed considerably since then. Now, there are even fewer women entering the field. Why this is so remains a matter of dispute. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]