Untapped computer scientists

 Black Americans, Latina Americans, Native Americans, and Indigenous Pacific Islanders—have long been underrepresented among Ph.D. recipients in computer science. The number of computer science Ph.D. degrees annually awarded to UWOC is miniscule. Moreover, even when compared with white women, the discrepancies are overwhelming. The Computer Research Association's Taulbee Survey revealed that in 2019, only seven UWOC (U.S. citizens) received Ph.D. degrees in computer science—a mere 0.43% of all computer science doctorates attained that year and only 2.1% of the doctorates awarded to all women.

A sincere will to increase the number of UWOC in computer science graduate programs may be effective in getting more undergraduate UWOC to enroll. A start would be to encourage undergraduate UWOC to engage in computer science research and then to pursue a computer science graduate degree. Another tactic is to establish communication with other computer science departments to identify UWOC who are Ph.D. prospects and recruit them to graduate programs. Once enrolled, they must be provided financial support, effective mentoring, and a supportive environment. To reduce the sense of isolation, faculty leaders should avoid putting UWOC in situations where they are the only underrepresented persons of color. In addition, faculty and students should ensure that their what is computer engineering colleagues engage with and build relational networks within the computer science academic and professional communities. This will require institutions and departments to understand the existing systems in which UWOC are minoritized and marginalized, and a commitment to dismantling them.