Broadening Participation and Responsible Computing

More generally, the need for a diverse computing workforce is simply that since computing creates products that affect a diverse user base, to create more effective products (or to make products that do not harm marginalized communities) one needs to have computing professionals who are diverse as well. In this section, we consider this in the narrower context of teaching responsible computing in class. Specifically, to effectively teach responsible computing in a course, a diverse student body is critical in fostering meaningful but difficult discussions in class where discussion will be hampered if a diversity of lived experiences relating to the studied topic are not present in the classroom. Finally, for students to share their lived experiences, the classroom must be welcoming and inclusive.