Challenges for women in computing in Bangladesh considering the learning and workplace environment over a period of eight years

This work presents a series of longitudinal studies aiming to explore challenges and opportunities for women pursuing education or profession in the field of computing. The work is based on the Naila Kabeer’s framework that considers access, agency and achievement as elements of women’s empowerment. Methods: This study incorporates data from two in-person surveys ( N = 120, F = 85), ten one-to-one interviews ( N = 10, F = 10), eight focus group discussions ( N = 46, F = 34), four seminars with 239 female members ( N = 239, F = 239) and two observations on more than one thousand participants (students, educators and other stakeholders) in competitive programming settings ( N = 1402, F = 1402). Results and Conclusion: Our research work exhibits the necessity of policy level strategies to initiate institutional support, technological solutions to accommodate non-participating women and cautious attention to put an end to socially ingrained challenges at familial and interpersonal levels.