Gendered microbehaviours in the UK computer science student community

This report describes a research project investigating the nature of gendered microbehaviours as experienced by computing students studying in UK Universities. We define the term microbehaviours as a catch-all term to include deliberate or unconscious use of slights and insults. This includes activities referred to in the literature as microinequities, microaggressions, microassaults, microinsults, and microinvalidations. The research phase ran over two academic years, (2022/23 and 2023/24) and involved focus groups with students (Spring term 2022-23), a questionnaire open to students and staff (Summer term 2022-23) and interviews with students (Summer term 2022-23, Autumn term 2023-24). These were followed by a workshop with staff in November 2023. From the survey data there are two major findings: women respondents experienced significantly more gendered microbehaviours than other genders and men who responded observed fewer microbehaviours than both women and those identifying as a gender minority e.g. non-binary. This means that not only do women experience more of these kinds of behaviours, but it would seem that often, men do not notice that it is happening. From our questionnaire data, these gender differences are shown to be statistically significant. Qualitative findings reinforce our concerns about the extent and the nature of microbehaviours experienced by some of our students, particularly given the current discussions around sense of belonging as one of the main drivers for women moving away from computing. This document reports our findings, both quantitative and qualitative, and goes on to discuss ways in which we might mitigate the extent and the effect of these microbehaviours on our students.