Project Title
Promoting Women in Technology: A Community-based Engaged Learning Project
Faculty Mentor(s) Name(s)
Caroline Collier, Joy Godin
Abstract
Abstract The urgency and inevitability of transformation in modern times demands action from institutions of influence, such as corporations and universities. Innovation is a characteristic of the technology industry, but not in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Women in technology continue to experience adversity on a multitude of levels: discrimination, compensation inequality, and gender-bias which separate and deter them from the field (Kaspersky, 2021). In schools, only 16% of female students are suggested a career in tech (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2017). In the United States, only 21% of Computer Science bachelor’s degrees are held by women; 34% of computer science-based jobs are held by women as well (National Girls Collaborative Project, 2023). In Fall 2022 at Georgia College & State University, 17% of Computer Science undergraduate majors were female and 18% of Management Information Systems graduates were female (Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness, 2022). The Women In Technology (WIT) Day was held to better technology education opportunities for local junior and senior high school women. A key driver in improving underrepresentation of women in the technology field is providing mentorship and support from those already in the field. Therefore, the Georgia College WIT organization invited five local high schools with five student attendees from each school to participate in several engaging technology-related events. The participants heard from guest speakers about career paths, participated in virtual reality, robotic process automation training, and an enterprise resource planning competition simulation. Through this captivating and team-oriented day, the high school students were opened to potential that may have been unnoticed. The Women In Technology Day proved to be beneficial to both the high school students and college students who hosted the event. Keywords: diversity, technology, education, equity, inclusion, women, leadership References Chang, J. (2023, February 13). 52 Women in Technology Statistics: 23 Data on Female Tech Employees. Finances Online. https://financesonline.com/women-in-technology-statistics/ Kaspersky. (2021, January). Women in Tech Report: Where are We Now? Understanding the Evolution of Women in Technology.https://media.kasperskydaily.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2021/01/18101159/Kaspersky-Women-in-Tech-2021-Report-V2-Final.pdf National Girls Collaborative Project. (2023, March). The State of Girls and Women in STEM [Infographic]. https://ngcproject.org/sites/default/files/downloadables/2023-02/NGCP-TheStateofGirlsinSTEM-March2023-FINAL.pdf Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness. (2022) Demographics of Enrolled Students by Program and Term [Data set]. https://irout.gcsu.edu/progplan20/PANDP-1001.3.html PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2017, February). Women in Tech Time to Close the Gender Gap [Infographic]. https://www.pwc.co.uk/women-in-technology/women-in-tech-report.pdf
Promoting Women in Technology: A Community-based Engaged Learning Project
Abstract The urgency and inevitability of transformation in modern times demands action from institutions of influence, such as corporations and universities. Innovation is a characteristic of the technology industry, but not in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Women in technology continue to experience adversity on a multitude of levels: discrimination, compensation inequality, and gender-bias which separate and deter them from the field (Kaspersky, 2021). In schools, only 16% of female students are suggested a career in tech (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2017). In the United States, only 21% of Computer Science bachelor’s degrees are held by women; 34% of computer science-based jobs are held by women as well (National Girls Collaborative Project, 2023). In Fall 2022 at Georgia College & State University, 17% of Computer Science undergraduate majors were female and 18% of Management Information Systems graduates were female (Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness, 2022). The Women In Technology (WIT) Day was held to better technology education opportunities for local junior and senior high school women. A key driver in improving underrepresentation of women in the technology field is providing mentorship and support from those already in the field. Therefore, the Georgia College WIT organization invited five local high schools with five student attendees from each school to participate in several engaging technology-related events. The participants heard from guest speakers about career paths, participated in virtual reality, robotic process automation training, and an enterprise resource planning competition simulation. Through this captivating and team-oriented day, the high school students were opened to potential that may have been unnoticed. The Women In Technology Day proved to be beneficial to both the high school students and college students who hosted the event. Keywords: diversity, technology, education, equity, inclusion, women, leadership References Chang, J. (2023, February 13). 52 Women in Technology Statistics: 23 Data on Female Tech Employees. Finances Online. https://financesonline.com/women-in-technology-statistics/ Kaspersky. (2021, January). Women in Tech Report: Where are We Now? Understanding the Evolution of Women in Technology.https://media.kasperskydaily.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2021/01/18101159/Kaspersky-Women-in-Tech-2021-Report-V2-Final.pdf National Girls Collaborative Project. (2023, March). The State of Girls and Women in STEM [Infographic]. https://ngcproject.org/sites/default/files/downloadables/2023-02/NGCP-TheStateofGirlsinSTEM-March2023-FINAL.pdf Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness. (2022) Demographics of Enrolled Students by Program and Term [Data set]. https://irout.gcsu.edu/progplan20/PANDP-1001.3.html PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2017, February). Women in Tech Time to Close the Gender Gap [Infographic]. https://www.pwc.co.uk/women-in-technology/women-in-tech-report.pdf