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The Diversity Crisis in Software Development

Authors:

Khaled Albusays,

Pernille Bjorn,

Emerson Murphy-Hill,

Alexander Serebrenik,

Margaret-Anne StoreyAuthors Info & Claims

IEEE Software, Volume 38, Issue 2

Pages 19 - 25

https://doi.org/10.1109/MS.2020.3045817

Published: 01 March 2021 Publication History

Abstract

This special issue of IEEE Software focuses on diversity and inclusion in software development, presenting research results and best practices for making the field equitable for all. It is well documented that the industry does not provide evenhanded participation conditions. Research has shown that implicit gender biases significantly impact hiring decisions,<sup>1</sup> women disengage faster than men,<sup>2</sup> Palestinian tech entrepreneurs do not have access to Internet-based distribution and payment platforms,<sup>3</sup> software developers with a visual impairment lack tools to navigate code editors,<sup>4,5</sup> and women are sometimes less likely to get their code accepted.<sup>6</sup> Tools, processes, products, and education are not inclusive. Dimensions such as geography, gender, socioeconomic politics, age, ethnicity, and disability shape who can participate in creating technology.

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Cited By

Hyrynsalmi SBaltes SBrown CPrikladnicki RRodriguez-Perez GSerebrenik ASimmonds JTrinkenreich BWang YLiebel G(2025)Making Software Development More Diverse and Inclusive: Key Themes, Challenges, and Future DirectionsACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology10.1145/3711904Online publication date: 16-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1145/3711904
Mason SKuttal S(2024)Diversity’s Double-Edged Sword: Analyzing Race’s Effect on Remote Pair Programming InteractionsACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology10.1145/369960134:1(1-45)Online publication date: 7-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3699601
Nguyen TBaldassarre Mde Lima Lde Souza Santos R(2024)From Literature to Practice: Exploring Fairness Testing Tools for the Software Industry AdoptionProceedings of the 18th ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement10.1145/3674805.3695404(549-555)Online publication date: 24-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3674805.3695404
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Index Terms

The Diversity Crisis in Software Development
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Management of computing and information systems
2. Software and its engineering
  1. Software creation and management

Index terms have been assigned to the content through auto-classification.

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cover image IEEE Software

IEEE Software Volume 38, Issue 2

March-April 2021

127 pages

ISSN:0740-7459

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Copyright © 2021.

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IEEE Computer Society Press

Washington, DC, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 March 2021

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Cited By

Hyrynsalmi SBaltes SBrown CPrikladnicki RRodriguez-Perez GSerebrenik ASimmonds JTrinkenreich BWang YLiebel G(2025)Making Software Development More Diverse and Inclusive: Key Themes, Challenges, and Future DirectionsACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology10.1145/3711904Online publication date: 16-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1145/3711904
Mason SKuttal S(2024)Diversity’s Double-Edged Sword: Analyzing Race’s Effect on Remote Pair Programming InteractionsACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology10.1145/369960134:1(1-45)Online publication date: 7-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3699601
Nguyen TBaldassarre Mde Lima Lde Souza Santos R(2024)From Literature to Practice: Exploring Fairness Testing Tools for the Software Industry AdoptionProceedings of the 18th ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement10.1145/3674805.3695404(549-555)Online publication date: 24-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3674805.3695404
da Rocha Tde Souza CTeran LMota M(2024)Effective Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Software Development TeamsProceedings of the 18th ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement10.1145/3674805.3690749(447-453)Online publication date: 24-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3674805.3690749
Silva KBarcomb ASantos Rd'Amorim M(2024)Paths to Testing: Why Women Enter and Remain in Software Testing?Companion Proceedings of the 32nd ACM International Conference on the Foundations of Software Engineering10.1145/3663529.3663822(4-9)Online publication date: 10-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663529.3663822
Cutrupi C(2024)Human-Centered Interventions to Empower Gender Diversity in Software EngineeringProceedings of the 28th International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering10.1145/3661167.3661182(494-499)Online publication date: 18-Jun-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3661167.3661182
Ehsani RImran MZita RDamevski KChatterjee PSpinellis DConstantinou EBacchelli A(2024)Incivility in Open Source Projects: A Comprehensive Annotated Dataset of Locked GitHub Issue ThreadsProceedings of the 21st International Conference on Mining Software Repositories10.1145/3643991.3644887(515-519)Online publication date: 15-Apr-2024
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Hyrynsalmi SPeltonen EVainionpaa FHyrynsalmi S(2024)The Second Round: Diverse Paths Towards Software EngineeringProceedings of the 5th ACM/IEEE Workshop on Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Software Engineering10.1145/3643785.3648494(29-36)Online publication date: 20-Apr-2024
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Sánchez-Gordón MColomo-Palacios RSanchez Gordon AGraziotin DNolte A(2024)Characterizing Role Models in Software Practitioners' Career: An Interview StudyProceedings of the 2024 IEEE/ACM 17th International Conference on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering10.1145/3641822.3641883(164-169)Online publication date: 14-Apr-2024
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Cha YJackson VFigueira IBranham Svan der Hoek AGraziotin DNolte A(2024)Understanding the Career Mobility of Blind and Low Vision Software ProfessionalsProceedings of the 2024 IEEE/ACM 17th International Conference on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering10.1145/3641822.3641872(170-181)Online publication date: 14-Apr-2024
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