Race and gender trends in computer science in the Silicon Valley from 1980-2015

CEPA Test — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 18:55:50 +0000

Author/s:

Year of Publication:

2017

We analyze race and gender trends in the Silicon Valley technology industry from 1980 to 2015, with a focus on computer science. In the technology industry, there has been a rapid growth of Asians among professionals and, to a lesser extent, among managers, coincident with a decrease in the proportion of Whites, particularly White females. There continues to be low participation of Hispanics and Blacks, especially Black females. These race trends are even more salient among programmers; in addition, we document a stable or increasing gender gap across all races in the programmer labor force and in computer science higher education. However, these demographic shifts are not always consistent with either a pipeline argument that there are insufficient supplies of potential underrepresented programmers or a wage difference explanation. Findings suggest that policies to increase the number of programmers in underrepresented groups should differ by race and gender groups.

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Primary Research Area:

Poverty and Inequality

Topic Areas:

Educational Equity

Education Level:

Higher Education

The Role of Application Assistance and Information in College Decisions: Results from the H&R Block Fafsa Experiment

Hiep Ho — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:01:12 +0000

Author/s:

Eric P. Bettinger

Bridget Terry Long

Philip Oreopoulos

Lisa Sanbonmatsu

Year of Publication:

2012

Publication:

Quarterly Journal of Economics

Volume/Issue:

127(3)

Pages:

1205-1242

URL:

http://qje.oxfordjournals.org/content/127/3/1205

Growing concerns about low awareness and take-up rates for government support programs like college financial aid have spurred calls to simplify the application process and enhance visibility. This project examines the effects of two experimental treatments designed to test of the importance of simplification and information using a random assignment research design. H&R Block tax professionals helped low- to moderate-income families complete the FAFSA, the federal application for financial aid. Families were then given an estimate of their eligibility for government aid as well as information about local postsecondary options. A second randomly-chosen group of individuals received only personalized aid eligibility information but did not receive help completing the FAFSA. Comparing the outcomes of participants in the treatment groups to a control group using multiple sources of administrative data, the analysis suggests that individuals who received assistance with the FAFSA and information about aid were substantially more likely to submit the aid application, enroll in college the following fall, and receive more financial aid. These results suggest that simplification and providing information could be effective ways to improve college access. However, only providing aid eligibility information without also giving assistance with the form had no significant effect on FAFSA submission rates.

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