Intersectionality in Computer Science: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Gender equality, as well as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), in computer science (CS) is primarily limited to binary gender diversity. It is known that women are heavily underrepresented in CS, but substantial parts of the DEI issues are still unexplored. Intersectionality provides a more nuanced perspective of equality as it acknowledges exclusion and discrimination coming from overlapping layers of people’s identities, e.g. gender, ethnicity, dis/ability, nationality, socioeconomic status, age, religion, and sexuality, in combination. It is important to address systemic barriers, bias, and stereotypes in CS through the lenses of intersectionality. There is a growing literature on challenges of women and binary gender diversity in CS, but a limitation to many of these investigations is that they look at only one dimension of discrimination rather than the complexity of intersectional challenges. That is why the research objective of this study is to provide information on the relation of intersectionality and CS, using the Systematic Literature Review methodology. The results show that there is still scarce research explicitly connected to the concept of intersectionality in CS, but awareness is increasing. The SLR also reveals various challenges and success factors related to intersectionality, which call for further attention.