Will they stay or will they go?

The research reported here confirms and deepens our understanding of factors that affect women's confidence in their ability to complete a computer science or computer engineering (CSE) doctoral degree. Analysis of data from a longitudinal study of women participating in the Computing Research Association's Graduate Cohort for Women identifies the conditions or experiences that women perceive as influential. More importantly, we found that women who are not confident in their ability to complete their programs are about four times more likely to think about leaving CSE than those who begin confidently.