Why are there so few women studying programming language implementation?
Probably because their friends aren't doing it. Because of the way the world worked at the time, most of the early implementers of programming languages were men. They brought their friends in the field and also developed a language for talking about programming language implementation that makes sense to their those friends. Most of those friends were also men. At this point, getting into programming language implementation as a woman can be like moving to a foreign country where you don't know anyone. You have to get your bearings and learn the language without much help from people who really "get" you. And I don't mean to suggest that men and women can't be friends. By "friends" here I really mean the people that you identify with, that you see as equals, that you have intellectual discussions with, that you trust to identify good things to do, and that you trust to ask vulnerable I-have-no-clue-what-I'm-doing kinds of questions to. For most people I know, these friends tend to be of the same gender. As for me, I'll tell people that I got into programming language implementation because I thought it was the most foundational and interesting subject in computer science, but there were many social factors involved. I had a couple of professors, Greg Morrisett and Norman Ramsey, who inspired me, explained things to me, and made me feel like I was part of the community. (I also suspect they went out of their way to make me feel included because of my gender.) It also helped that I had a female friend, Yao Yu, who was learning about these ideas at the same time and with whom I could explore this space. These things really helped, because even though I had male classmates who were in a similar situation, they often talked in a way that made me feel like they were insiders and I was an outsider. (Of course, it's not just about gender but about culture and social factors, but it's what happens.) I was really determined to learn everything I could about programming languages, but I'm not sure that even I would have stuck with it if it hadn't been for these people helping to draw me in.
[Collected Answer]
Jean Yang
CS PhD student at MIT.
Harvard CS '08; MIT CS PhD TBD.