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Abstract

Context: Computer science, even now, attracts a small number of women, and the proportion of women in the field decreases through advancing career stages. Consequently, few women progress to PhD studies in computer science after completing master’s studies. Empowering women at this stage in their careers is essential, not just for equality reasons, but to unlock untapped potential for society, industry, and academia.

Objective: This paper aims to identify students’ career assumptions and information related to PhD studies focused on gender-based differences. We propose a program to inform female master students about PhD studies that explains the process, clarifies misconceptions, and alleviates concerns.

Method: An extensive survey was conducted to identify factors that encourage and discourage students from undertaking PhD studies. The analysis identified statistically significant differences between those who undertook PhD studies and those who didn’t, as well as statistically significant gender differences. A catalogue of questions to initiate discussions with potential PhD students which allowed them to explore these factors was developed. These were structured into a \textit{Women’s Career Lunch} program where students can explore and discuss the benefits of PhD studies.

Results: Encouraging factors toward PhD study include interest and confidence in research arising from a research involvement during earlier studies; enthusiasm for and self-confidence in computer science in addition to an interest in an academic career; encouragement from external sources; and a positive perception towards PhD studies which can involve achieving personal goals. Discouraging factors include uncertainty and lack of knowledge of the PhD process, a perception of lower job flexibility, and the requirement for long-term commitment. Gender differences highlighted that female students who pursue a PhD have less confidence in their technical skills than males, but a higher preference for interdisciplinary areas. Female students are less inclined than males to perceive the industry as offering better job opportunities and more flexible career paths than academia.

Conclusions: The insights collected from the survey facilitated the development of a questions’ catalogue structured into the Women Career Lunch program to help students make a more informed decision concerning whether they should pursue a PhD in computer science. Localised versions of this program, in 8 languages, were created to support its adoption in different countries and assist in mitigating the female under-representation challenge.

Recommended citation: Erika Ábrahám, Miguel Goulão, Milena Vujošević Janičić, Sarah Jane Delany, Amal Mersni, Oleksandra Yeremenko, Özge Büyükdağlı, Karima Boudaoud, Caroline Oehlhorn, Ute Schmid, Christina Büsing, Helen Bolke-Hermanns, Kaja Köhnle, Matilde Pato, Deniz Sunar Cerci, and Larissa Schmid, Journal of Systems and Software, August, 2025. http://arxiv.org/abs/2507.22161