The gender gap in computing jobs has gotten worse in the last 30 years, even as computer science job opportunities expand rapidly, according to new research from Accenture and Girls Who Code.

In 1984, 37 percent of computer science majors were women, but by 2014 that number had dropped to 18 percent, according to the study. The computing industry's rate of U.S. job creation is three times the national average, but if trends continue, the study estimates that women will hold only 20 percent of computing jobs by 2025.

The study offers insight into factors that create either positive and negative associations with computer science for girls at the middle school, high school and college levels, as well as strategies for educators to make computer science more appealing to girls.

Researchers found that computing appeal for girls peaks in middle school, where having an inspiring teacher and thinking that coding is "for girls" are instrumental in sparking interest. The appeal dips in high school in what researchers call the "high school trap" because of a lack of friends in coding classes or the lack of those classes at all. Interest then spikes in college, where having inspiring teachers and positive role models is key.

(Courtesy Accenture Research)

Girls are much more likely to be engaged in computer science if they have female teachers, while the gender of the instructor doesn't influence boys' interest, according to the study.

"I think for girls, you cannot be what you cannot see," CEO and founder of Girls Who Code Reshma Saujani says. "And so when they have positive role models teaching them computer science, talking about the pioneers of computer science ... the impossible seems possible, and they then can imagine a place in that field for themselves."

And though government and schools have placed more importance on coding and rolled out initiatives such as the White House's Computer Science for All program, universal computer science education is not the answer, the study says.

Instead, it is critical to intentionally target girls in order to keep them interested, says Julie Sweet, Accenture's group chief executive for North America. The content of coding projects is typically less engaging for girls, who often prefer health and real-world problem solving challenges, she says.

She references University of California—Berkeley, which redesigned a course previously known as "Introduction to Symbolic Programming" to "Beauty and the Joy of Computing." Women now outnumber men in the course for the first time in 20 years, the study found.

"You can teach a course with engaging content that will engage both genders when you are deliberate about it," Sweet says. "We see the same link in terms of how we're teaching courses and who's in those courses."

The study particularly focuses on middle school, where kids are often first exposed to coding. While Saujani says it's never to early to start learning, middle school is where educators need to spark some passion for coding in order to create a tangible difference in the professional world. Of women working in computing, 74 percent were exposed to coding in middle school.

(Courtesy Accenture Research)

"We want to overinvest in middle school," Saujani says. "We want to make sure that we really get exposure, to get girls to really really fall in love with computer science in middle school."

Sweet says the initiatives focused on middle schoolers are what sets this study apart from others. The study suggests generating coding enthusiasm through fun hands-on experiences like computer games, and supporting parents and teachers as they educate young girls about coding. It is also easier to challenge the "geeky" or "boys only" associations of computing at a younger age, according to the study.

"As the gap is getting worse ... I think we really need to think about the role of gender and how we're making sure that we're not just expanding the pool of young men who are already interested," Saujani says.

According to the study, if implemented right away, the three-stage road map could triple the number of women working in computing in the U.S. by 2025, bringing the total number to 3.9 million and boosting women's cumulative earnings by $299 billion over the next 10 years.

If successful, this would help fill the job deficit for computer science jobs. In 2015, there were more than 500,000 open computing jobs, while in 2014, fewer than 40,000 computer science majors graduated.

"We cannot, as a business matter, meet the demands if we're essentially writing off half the population," Sweet says. "So I think this really provides companies with private sector insights as well as what we need to do from an educational perspective."

(Courtesy Accenture Research)

Sweet says the other business draws of getting more women in the computer science industry include fostering diversity and innovation - as well as stronger financial performance. The earning power of gender-diverse companies is 15 percent higher than national industry medians, according to management consulting firm McKinsey.

Accenture and Girls Who Code conducted the research by first interviewing 150 girls aged 12 to 18 as well as undergraduate students, young workers, parents and teachers in New York and Atlanta. The interviews helped researchers create a survey of more than 8,000 people, whose responses shaped a model that researchers then used to test changes in female participation in the computer science industry.

The study was released Thursday in conjunction with a panel Accenture and Girls Who Code are hosting at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing event, which is the largest gathering of female technologists in the U.S.