How Does Combating Overt Sexism Affect Women's Retention?
Sexism has measurably harmful effects, but sexist behavior can be minimized. Instructors and supervisors can practice zero tolerance and facilitate positive peer interactions, and they can provide highly visible leadership, policies, and procedures that go beyond legalities to explicitly denounce sexism.
How Can Leader-Member Relationships Promote Women's Retention and Advancement?
Positive leader-member relationships are characterized by exchanges of trust, respect, and low formality. They measurably improve performance, job satisfaction, and commitment.
Comparing U.S. K-12 Students' Math and Science Performance Internationally: What are the facts, what do they mean for educational reform, and how do I talk effectively about the issues?
In the popular press and in public debate, one often hears that U.S. students are performing poorly in math and science in comparison to other countries. What is the basis for these claims? What are students' actual scores and rankings? How should we interpret and use these scores? A better understanding of the evidence is important for making effective policy decisions that affect computer science and other STEM fields.
How Can REUs Help Retain Female Undergraduates?
Undergraduates with positive research experiences feel more confident and motivated to enter graduate programs. To facilitate successful REUs, supportive faculty advisors or graduate mentors should clearly communicate goals to students and allow them to spend a large amount of time on research, increasing independence as the project progresses.
Institutional Barriers & Their Effects: How can I talk to colleagues about these issues?
Institutional barriers (IBs) are policies, procedures, or situations that systematically disadvantage certain groups of people. IBs exist in any majority-minority group situation. When an initial population is fairly similar (e.g., in male-dominated professions), systems naturally emerge to meet the needs of this population. If these systems do not change with the times, they can inhibit the success of new members with different needs. IBs often seem natural or "just the way things are around here."
Award for Aspirations in Computing, 2009 Winners
Pair Programming-in-a-Box: The Power of Collaborative Learning
Pair programming is a collaborative learning method in which students program in pairs instead of individually. This approach significantly improves college students' programming competency and increases the likelihood that both male and female students become and remain computer science majors. During pair programming, students work in tandem at one computer while completing regular programming assignments. The "driver" controls the mouse and keyboard while the "navigator" makes suggestions, points out errors, and asks questions.
Communicating for Change: Persuade Colleagues to Get on Board
Changing the culture of an organization to one that promotes women's participation in computing requires that members reach new understandings and act in new ways. Enlisting allies in this process requires persuasive communication. This resource provides guidance on the four distinct and necessary steps for the long-term process of effective persuasion.
For more information on the Extension Services program, visit ncwit.org/extensionservices.
Pipeline-in-a-Box: Promoting Advancement of CS/IT Students from Two-Year to Four-Year Institutions
Are you ready to transform the lives of community college students and diversify the computer science (CS) and information technology (IT) student body at four-year institutions? Let Pipeline-in-a-Box: Promoting Advancement of CS/IT Students From Two-Year to Four-Year Institutionsease the way.
How Can Companies Attract and Retain Mid-Career Female Employees?
Flexible work arrangements and career paths, along with re-entry training and support, can attract and retain mid-career female employees.
How Can Companies Promote Innovation with Diverse Employees?
Diverse work teams can improve innovation, problem-solving, and productivity.
Gearing Up for Change: Institutional Reform in Undergraduate Computing Programs
Change agents must understand and consider their organization's complex and interlocking systems. Plans for change must ensure that subsystems work in harmony with each other to reinforce the envisioned change. This resource outlines the prerequisites to transforming for diversity in undergraduate computing and explains NCWIT's Extension Services for Undergraduate Programs (ES-UP).
Evaluating Promising Practices in Informal Information Technology (IT) Education for Girls
Award for Aspirations in Computing, August 2008 Winners
Information Technology Business Advocacy Roundtable Report: June 19, 2008, Washington D.C.