Cultural differences of female enrolment in tertiary education in computer science

Since the establishment of computer science courses, over the last 30 to 40 years both female enrolment and its progression differ strongly between various continents, countries, cultures, religions and languages. It is remarkable that female participation is extremely low in German (and Dutch) speaking countries, in Scandinavian countries and Great Britain, compared to the other European countries. In many Western countries female participation in computer science courses has dropped since 1970 by more than 50 percent. This has not occurred in semi-developed countries, like those in South America, the rich Arab countries, the Tiger states or India, nor has it occurred in the developmental countries in Africa. In this paper I give explanations and theories for these differences. It will be shown that there is no evidence for natural explanations of competence and interest in computing, mathematical and technical subjects. The findings in turn may give hints abut how to change the situation of women entering computing within our culture.