Georjeana Swartout works on her AP Computer Science Principles project at Iron Mountain High School.

IRON MOUNTAIN — According to 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, women represent just 24% of the five million people in computing occupations.

But looking into Renee Yake’s Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles class at Iron Mountain High School, you may be surprised to see the class majority is female.

Iron Mountain High School was one of 760 recognized institutions to achieve either 50% or higher female representation in the AP CSP class in the 2020-2021 school year, earning the College Board AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award. Last school year, Yake’s enrollment was 50 percent female. This year, enrollment by female students has increased to 72 percent.

“It has always been a top priority for me to encourage young women in the math field. Showing high school girls the many STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) career opportunities out there is so important. I love helping all students gain confidence in both math and coding,” Yake said.

Yake has been teaching high school math for 28 years, and the AP Computer Science Principles course for five years at IMHS.

In 2021, Norway High School was also one of 760 schools recognized in the category of AP Computer Science Principles.

“We’re thrilled to congratulate our female AP computer science students and their teachers on this step toward gender parity in computer science education,” said Joe Tinti, NHS principal. “We’re honored that our school earned this distinction and look forward to seeing these young women and others pursue and achieve success in computer science education and careers.”

Natalie Dykhuis, a 2019 Iron Mountain graduate, was a student of Yake’s, and speaks highly of the course. She now attends St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis., and will be graduating with her degree in computer science education in 2023.

“CSP introduced me to the basics of computer science while making me feel equal to everyone. With the knowledge I gained from this class and the encouragement of Mrs. Yake, I realized that computer science was my passion,” Dykhuis said.

Yake loves “teaching AP CSP through code.org’s outstanding curriculum, which provides equitable teaching practices and empowers students to learn new things.”

College Board research says female students who take AP CSP in high school are more than five times as likely to major in computer science in college, compared to female students of similar background and academic preparation who did not take CSP.

The first year of AP Computer Science Principles in 2016-17 attracted more students than any other AP course debut, and participation is on the rise. In 2021, more than 116,000 students took the AP CSP Exam–more than double the number of exam takers in the course’s first year.

In 2021, 39,218 women took the AP CSP Exam, nearly three times the number who tested in 2017.

Providing female students with access to computer science courses is critical to ensuring gender parity in the industry’s high-paying jobs and to driving innovation, creativity, and representation.

The median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $91,250 in May 2020. However, a code.org analysis of 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics data finds women represent just 24% of the five million people in computing occupations.

Computing jobs are the number one source of new wages in the U.S., although 67% of all new jobs in STEM are in computing, only 11% of STEM bachelor’s degrees are in computer science.