Girls In Tech

As published on their website, Computing in the Core Coalition announces CSEdWeek 2011 from December 4 to 10, 2011. CSEdWeek is a highly distributed celebration of the impact of computing and the need for computer science education.

Last year, with leadership from Congressman Vernon Ehlers and Congressman Jared Polis, the US House of Representatives endorsed December 5 to 11, 2010 – the week of Grace Hopper’s birthday (December 9, 1906) – as Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) to recognize the critical role of computing in today’s society and the imperative to bolster computer science education at all levels.  Going forward, CSEdWeek will always be held the week containing December 9th.

Kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) education has fallen woefully behind in preparing students with the fundamental computer science knowledge and skills they need for 21st century careers. Click here to learn more about how your state is doing.

Computer Science is:

• Computing
• Computer Engineering
• Informatics
• Information Technology
• Software Engineering
• Information Systems

CSEdWeek recognizes that computer science is ubiquitous:

• It touches everyone’s daily lives and plays a critical role in society
• It drives innovation and economic growth
• It provides rewarding job opportunities

Computer science education is essential for:

• Exposing students to critical thinking and problem solving
• Instilling understanding of computational thinking for success in the digital age
• Preparing students to attack the world’s most challenging problems from a computation perspective

As the role and significance of computing has grown, the teaching of computer science has dramatically declined:

• There is insufficient innovative computing curricula for students at all levels
• Few students have the opportunity to study computer science in an engaging and rigorous way
• The lack of ethnic and gender diversity among those who take computer science courses is unacceptable
• Teachers have few opportunities for professional development in computing
• Certification for computer science teachers is virtually nonexistent nationwide

Tags: Adriana Gascoigne, Computing in the Core Coalition, CS, CSEdWeek, development, girls in tech, NCWIT, women in tech
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Late last month May 23-25, 2011, NCWIT kicked off its Summit on Women and IT in New York City. NCWIT mission is a national community of change-leader organizations working to significantly increase the meaningful participation of girls and women in IT. The yearly summit brings in together leaders, change agents, and stakeholders to focus on research-driven practices and ideas that can strengthen the computing workforce and promote technology innovation by increasing the participation of girls and women.  The NCWIT Summit on Women and IT convenes prominent leaders from corporations, K-12 and higher education, non-profits, startups, and government organizations. Topics to be addressed during the summit include:

• How an increasingly diverse U.S. population impacts the future of IT
• How to develop diversity in open source
• Ways to better inform and educate girls about IT career choices
• How diversity impacts innovation and how stereotype threat affects underrepresented groups in particular environments
• What organizations can do to promote a diverse work environment, retain talent and avoid high attrition

The Department of Labor estimates that the U.S. workforce will add 1.4 million technology jobs by 2018, yet universities will produce fewer than half of the technology-trained candidates needed to fill these jobs. Research shows that the number of women in IT is dwindling; in 2009, only 25% of U.S IT professionals were women, compared to 36% in 1991.

check out NCWIT’s Alliances

Check out NCWIT BLOG |   Photos from the NCWITSummit |   Schedule of the prominent speakers/panelist |  Don’t forget to read all of the coverage #NCWITSUMMIT @NCWIT, And last but not least, like their Facebook page |   Fun digital photo booth on the last night hosted at MTV HQ for Symons Innovator Award |   Press Release for media

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Tags: 24notion, Computing, diversity, education, girls in technology, innovation, IT, Ivo Lukas, NCWIT, ncwitsummit, New York, tech, technology, women in technology
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In the report, “Women in IT: The Facts” published on October 14, the latest findings from recent research on technical women was presented by NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology), sponsored by the Workforce Alliance. The report also lays out the “business case” for increasing women’s participation in the technology industry, (which we know was needed all along!).

The report endeavors to be used by change agents and advocates for gender reform in order to raise awareness and promote action in addressing the key barriers for women in information technology careers. It includes statistics, such as the fact that only 24% of professional IT-related occupations are held by women – down from 36% in 1991.

To find out more, we hope you will all read this visually-appealing report for yourself at:
www.ncwit.org/thefacts.
Pass it on!

Tags: Christine Oneto, NCWIT, women in technology
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Last week I spent the better part of three days in Palo Alto at the annual meeting for the National Center of Women in Technology (NCWIT). Over the three days, the speaker that inspired me most was Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva, the world’s first micro-lending marketplace for the working poor.

Kiva works by connecting entrepreneurs in the developing world with lenders (people like you and me) who provide interest-free loans via the Kiva.org website. Millions of dollars in loans are provided each month to the working poor in over 50 developing countries. With a loan of only a few hundred dollars, the working poor are able to invest in a self-staining future. Examples of types of investments include the purchase of a cow to plow land, or purchase of materials to build a fruit stand.

Jessica emphasized four principles that have been key to Kiva’s success.

Know Your Mission – Kiva’s mission is to connect people through lending for poverty alleviation.

Stay Open – Kiva adopted crowdsourcing, which opened up the opportunity for volunteers to log onto Kiva’s site and translate people’s stories from all over the world. Everyone can give in their own way.

Iterate – Kiva took a simple idea and launched in 2005 with a site that consisted of only three pages. Today Kiva offers individual stories and profiles in many languages and provides a myriad of ways for people to build community and contribute.

Focus on Individuals – Kiva empowers individuals on both sides of the equation. Borrowers gain hope for a better, self-sustaining life, while the site gives lenders tools to easily build lending teams and spread the word about Kiva organically.  Kiva’s intense focus on individuals also allows it to have a loan pay-back rate in the high 90s.

Kiva’s growth has been phenomenal and these principles can certainly be applied to for profit and non-profit businesses alike.

It is amazing how the areas of microfinance and social good have become so sexy while traditional businesses are struggling to stay alive. It’s a tough time for a lot of us, but overall, perhaps the massive disruption of wealth will help us appreciate the important things in life, and replace our emphasis on wealth with that of meaning. Technology has powerfully transformed the way we live, breathe and do business. Why not harness technology as Kiva does — to disrupt poverty and advance social good.  That’s what I call having your cake and eating it too.

Tags: Kiva, microfinance, NCWIT, Social Good, Tina Tran
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