Expanding the Pipeline Archives - Page 12 of 13

Tag Archive: Expanding the Pipeline

“Expanding the Pipeline” is a regular column in Computing Research News. The column serves both as a vehicle for describing projects and issues related to women and underrepresented groups in computing. The column is guest-authored by individuals who share their insight and experiences from their active participation in programs designed to involve women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in education and research. Patty Lopez is the column editor.

Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing: 2007 Event Strongest Ever; Next Event Planned

By: Ann RedelfsIn: March 2008, Vol. 20/No.2 /

The Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference, a biennial event sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) in cooperation with the Computing Research Association (CRA), had its most successful event to date on October 14-17, 2007 in Orlando, Florida. The conference is the premier event for the Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC), a joint organization of the ACM, CRA, and IEEE-CS. The next celebration will take place April 1-4, 2009, on the West Coast of the United States.

CRA-WPExpanding the Pipeline

2008 CRA Snowbird Session Focus: “Practical Solutions to a Continuing Problem: Sexual Harassment”

By: Lori Clarke, Susanne Hambrusch, and Martha PollackIn: January 2008, Vol. 20/No.1 /

Many believe that the problems of sexual harassment and gender discrimination have largely vanished in our computer science community. While the prevalence of explicit discrimination and open harassment has diminished, it has not gone away entirely and implicit bias continues to exist. Discussions among female researchers on on-line forums and in professional groups indicate that graduate students and junior faculty in particular have concerns, and at times experience disturbing instances. There seems to be a consensus that departmental leadership plays a crucial role in creating a better environment. With this in mind, the 2008 CRA Conference at Snowbird for department chairs and labs/centers directors will include a panel session on sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

CRA-WPExpanding the Pipeline

Networking Networking Women (N²Women)

By: Tracy Camp and Wendi HeinzelmanIn: November 2007, Vol. 19/No.5 /

As we know, women are a minority in the computer science community. Several organizations, such as CRA-W, ACM-W, the Anita Borg Institute, and the National Center for Women in Technology, have diverse efforts underway to increase the number of women in all fields of computer science. In addition to these field-wide efforts, we should assist women in finding female role models, female mentors, and/or female peers within their particular research discipline in order to reduce the isolation that many women researchers feel. This can best be achieved through communities that connect women in the same discipline, and several recent efforts have been underway to stimulate such discipline-specific communities. For example, CRA-W and CDC have, with NSF support, sponsored workshops targeted at women and under-represented minorities in computer architecture (July 2006) and in programming languages (May 2007).

CRA-WPExpanding the Pipeline

Fifteen Years Later, Caregivers Still an Issue for Conference Attendees

By: Sarita V. AdveIn: September 2007, Vol. 19/No.4 /

In January 1993, Elaine Weyuker wrote an article for this column in CRN titled “Childcare an Issue for Conference Attendees,” making a powerful case for support for childcare at conferences (see: 1993 Article). Almost fifteen years later, that article remains relevant. The original article focused on on-site childcare, but similar observations apply for caregiver support for other needs, such as those of the physically disabled.

CRA-WPGuest Article, Expanding the Pipeline

Tapia Conference to Focus on Passion, Diversity, and Innovation

By: Monica Martinez-CanalesIn: May 2007, Vol. 19/No.3 /

This October 14-17, more than 400 students, professors, and researchers will gather at the Disney Hilton in Orlando, Florida for the fourth Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference. Held every two years, the Tapia Conference provides a welcoming and supportive setting for all participants and particularly for students from under-represented groups. This year’s theme is “Passion in Computing—Diversity in Innovation.”

CRA-WPGuest Article, Expanding the Pipeline

Gender Differences: Recognizing and Developing Potential in Female Students

By: Diana FranklinIn: March 2007, Vol. 19/No.2 /

Last year, a colleague in my department approached me with the following quandary: Why did his female student have difficulty working independently on her senior project, despite her demonstrated ability in his class? When we delved further, we discovered it was merely fear of failure and the need for reassurance, not a lack of ability, that caused her to give this impression. This led me to two questions—had she not been in his class, how would he have recognized her potential? How can he develop in her the confidence and independence necessary to succeed at competitive levels in academia?

CRA-WPGuest Article, Expanding the Pipeline

CRA-W Cohort of Associate Professors

By: Mary Jane Irwin and Mary Lou SoffaIn: January 2007, Vol. 19/No.1 /

National discussions on global competitiveness often overlook the role that diversity must play: we cannot expect our nation’s IT workforce to meet its goals if we fail to fully engage most of our population in that effort. By failing to attract women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to IT, we are ceding our global position in innovation. Women make up the largest of these groups, and they are underrepresented in the workforce as a whole and at the highest ranks in particular. Women hold just 27 percent of professional computing-related positions and only 15 percent of board and executive officer positions in the top IT-related companies.

CRA-WPExpanding the Pipeline

CRA-W/CDC Launch Discipline-Specific Mentoring Programs with Computer Architecture Summer Workshop

By: Margaret MartonosiIn: November 2006, Vol. 18/No.5 /

On July 19-21, 2006, CRA-W and CDC jointly offered a summer school workshop on Computer Architecture at Princeton University in Princeton, NJ. The workshop was supported by funding from the National Science Foundation’s program on Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC), as well as generous donations from Intel Corp, IBM Research, and ACM SIGARCH (ACM’s Special Interest Group on Computer Architecture). This funding supported the participation of more than 40 attendees, including undergraduates, master’s students, Ph.D. students, research faculty, and lecturers—all interested in computer architecture. In addition, we were able to support the travel costs of the roughly 20 panelists—leading computer systems researchers from academia, industry, and government—who participated in the workshop discussions and presentations.

CRA-WPExpanding the Pipeline

Systers: The Electronic Community for Women in Computing

By: Robin Jeffries, Her Systers’ KeeperIn: September 2006, Vol. 18/No.4 /

Almost 20 years ago, in 1987, seven women met at SOSP (Symposium on Operating Systems Principles). As the only women at the conference they all felt like outsiders, so they banded together to be less isolated. At a dinner meeting, they discovered that they had many experiences in common. Anita Borg, one of those original seven, offered to host a mailing list for the group to continue their interactions. The name chosen for the group was “systers,” a wordplay on sisters and systems. As the systers list approaches its twentieth anniversary, it seems timely to reflect on its history and its current goals.

CRA-WPGuest Article, Expanding the Pipeline

CRA-W and CDC Form an Alliance for NSF’s New Program to Broaden Participation in Computing

By: Carla Ellis, Margaret Martonosi, and Jeffrey ForbesIn: May 2006, Vol. 18/No.3 /

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has always been a major source of support for activities aimed at diversifying science and engineering fields. So when NSF launched a visionary new program aimed specifically at increasing the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in computing, CRA’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W) partnered with the Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC) to submit a proposal.

Expanding the Pipeline

Geographic Shackles and the Academic Careers of Women

By: Dina Q GoldinIn: March 2006, Vol. 18/No.2 /

Last spring, three of my women friends compared life stories at our 20th college reunion. They had all chosen the academic path in mathematics and computer science. While seemingly successful, it turned out that each felt unsatisfied to some degree. The first had left her tenured position because she hated the atmosphere; a tenured position at another university requires a move, so she has settled for being an independent researcher and consultant. The second had an exhausting commute; she was pessimistically contemplating her options in finding work closer to home. The third was happy in her job at a prestigious department, but she had yet to get tenure; and, as the tenure-track rat race took precedence over her biological clock, she was still childless in her early forties.

CRA-WPGuest Article, Expanding the Pipeline