Background: The goal of affirmative action programs (AAPs) is to increase the representation of people from historically underrepresented groups (HUGs) in the workforce. AAPs can unintentionally signal that a person from a HUG was selected for a position based on their gender or race/ethnicity rather than their merit. We call this signal the diversity-hire narrative. In computing, prior work has found that women hear the diversity-hire narrative during their computer science (CS) internships, but women’s experiences surrounding the narrative have not been thoroughly explored.

Objectives: We seek to understand the (1) sources, (2) impacts, and (3) how women respond to the diversity-hire narrative.

Methods: We conducted 23 semi-structured interviews with third and fourth year undergraduate CS students. We analyzed these interviews qualitatively.

Results: Women and non-binary students reported hearing the diversity-hire narrative from family members and peers. Our work illustrates that undergraduate women in CS appear to be affected by the diversity-hire narrative in two. In particular, our participants reported (1) feeling self doubt and (2) having their success attributed to their identity. Participants responded to the diversity-hire narrative by stating that (1) their peers are jealous, (2) ignoring the narrative, (3) diversity-programs address equity issues, (4) working harder, and (5) believing that CS is meritocracy.

Implications: Our results expand our understanding of the experiences that may negatively impact women in undergraduate CS programs while they are transitioning to the workforce.