Women’s share of intended computer-science majors fell from a 44% peak in 1980 to 12% by the mid-2000s, rebounding only to 15% by 2011 in Sax et al.'s data.

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Location PART 2 - FOUR HIDDEN CHIMNEYS CHAPTER 8: THE SHIELD OF SCREWTAPE Survivor Reset

"Women’s share of intended computer-science majors fell from a 44% peak in 1980 to 12% by the mid-2000s, rebounding only to 15% by 2011 in Sax et al.’s data."

The long-run trend gives the manuscript's ratchet image a concrete basis - women's share dropped sharply after the early-1980s peak and remained far below it through 2011.

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Source title Anatomy of an Enduring Gender Gap: The Evolution of Women’s Participation in Computer Science

Source authors Linda J. Sax, Kathleen J. Lehman, Jerry A. Jacobs, M. Allison Kanny, Gloria Lim, Laura Monje-Paulson, Hilary B. Zimmerman

Source year 2017

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