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Weekly UpdatesWhile there, I attended several meetings at the annual conference--and 5th anniversary celebration of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (full disclosure, I am on the Entrepreneurial Alliance at NCWIT). And here is a bit of information from the folks at NCWIT that I think is super helpful in removing, understanding and eradicating stereotypes of women in IT (MUCH needed):
1. Avoid reinforcing stereotypes about what women "like" and what they are good at. Stereotype threat harms both performance and motivation by reducing our feelings of competence, belonging and trust in our colleagues. For examples of stereotype threat from computing education and ideas for avoiding stereotyping messages, please read NCWIT's Promising Practices: How Do Stereotype Threats Affect Retention?
2. Consider incorporating ICT (information and communication technologies) for underserved communities into curriculum and outreach experiences for U.S. computing students. It is creative and multidisciplinary, with a noble cause and a sense of adventure.
3. When it comes to women's progress in technology among countries, we have much to do and many factors to consider. Efforts are under way to systematically assess the myriad issues, but it is too early to see results. Sophia Huyer, executive director of Women in Global Science and Technology, gave an afternoon talk on "Gender, Access, and Use of ICTs: a Socioeconomic, Cultural and Educational Perspective."
4. Why are more than half of computing students women in Malaysia? For one thing, working indoors aligns well with traditional women's roles and a safe environment. Also, parents widely believed that computing jobs would flourish, so they encouraged both sons and daughters to pursue computing degrees. Aligning computing with female students' goals
and encouragement by parents could be successful strategies in the U.S., too.
5. Students and employees "bring their culture" with them when they join organizations. We need to understand the implications of these transplanted cultures. For example, some cultures view computer science as a masculine discipline and others as a women-friendly field. In some cultures, women are not allowed to choose their profession, but rather their parents, their government or their husband have a strong influence.
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