Did you know that African American women, though considered a “double-minority,” aren’t necessarily penalized the same way as either women or African American men when it comes to leadership? While cultural norms expect white men to be assertive and aggressive leaders, black men and white women often experience backlash for that kind of behavior in the workplace.
A new study has found that rather than being viewed similarly to black men and white women, black women seem to be expected to act assertively. “Black women leaders occupy a unique space,” said one of the study’s authors. “These findings show that just because a role is prescribed to women in general doesn’t mean that it will be prescribed for black women.”
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Did you know that the graduation rate for Latinos in U.S. colleges is the highest it’s been in seven years? A recent report from Excelencia in Education says that nationally, Latinos make up 22 percent of the K-12 public school population and 15 percent of the U.S. population overall; by the year 2025, it’s estimated that nearly one-quarter of the nation’s college-age population will be Latino.
Does your department have strategies in place for attracting and retaining Latinos, such as summer bridge programs, community college articulation agreements, student communities or cohorts, or faculty advising and mentoring? For additional ideas, check out the “Growing What Works” database from Exelencia in Education.
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Did you know about ilearnedtoprogram.com? The site was created by Ben Chun, a computer science graduate of MIT and a teacher at San Francisco’s Galileo Academy, to give people a place to share their one-sentence experiences of learning to program.
On his blog, Ben shares some of the themes the site has uncovered: in a word cloud he created from the submissions, some of the most prominent words include “make,” “wanted”, “Commodore”, and “Dad” — and the submissions are moving, familiar, and even humorous (“I learned to program…because the guy I shared an office with only talked about Phil Collins and Lingo — and I really didn’t want to learn about Phil Collins — Katie”).
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Did you know that 8 in 10 people believe creativity is essential to innovation and economic growth, but only one in four people feel like their workplace values it? Fully three-quarters of respondents in a recent survey said they feel their employers value productivity over creativity. This makes sense, given how most businesses work and the need to get things done, but research also illustrates that problems are “often solved by people working at the margins of their fields, who were able to think outside the box.”
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Did you know that 25% of large U.S. companies have peer-mentoring programs? Recently it seems mentoring has trended towards more goal-oriented sponsorship programs, where a senior employee takes responsibility for a younger employee’s success track; and reverse-mentoring programs, where young people co-mentor their more senior colleagues.
Fortune magazine this week has a look at two big companies, Microsoft and KPMG, whose programs focus on peer mentoring. Peer mentoring is designed to match managers with others of similar rank across departments and with varying levels of tenure. Microsoft’s program has been so successful that it has developed a waiting list. “The goal is ultimately to drive it down deeper into the organization,” said a KPMG representative about its program. “It really helps with retention – and gives folks a line of sight to a number of opportunities across the firm.”
Did You Know? is a brief round-up of information and news that crossed NCWIT’s radar this week that we think might be of interest to you. Practices or content of the news presented are not vetted or endorsed by NCWIT.
- K-12
- K-12
- I Want To
- K-12 Resources
K-12 Resources
Act and advocate for more inclusive computing learning experiences. Encourage and inspire students to explore computing pathways that match their interests and abilities.
- K-12 Programs
K-12 Programs
Inspire and encourage individuals of all backgrounds, equip K-12 and higher education influencers, and foster virtual and in-person communities at local, regional, and national levels.
- K-12 Alliance
K-12 Alliance
Mobilize year-round alongside formal and informal educators and other adult influencers nationwide working together to create lasting impact.
- Get Involved
- Higher Education
- Higher Education
- I Want To
- Higher Ed Resources
Higher Education Resources
Build consensus for action amongst colleagues, leaders, and advisors to create momentum for measurable, sustainable change within computing departments and institutions.
- Higher Ed Programs
Higher Education Programs
Recognize students’ computing aspirations, honor faculty for their outstanding mentorship, secure strategic buy-in for lasting change, and more.
- Higher Ed Alliance
Higher Ed Alliance
Mobilize year round alongside faculty, staff, administrators, department heads, and other mentors nationwide working together to create lasting impact.
- Get Involved
- Workforce
- Workforce
- I Want To
- Workforce Resources
Workforce Resources
Employ strategic approaches that avoid the typical pitfalls of traditional diversity, equity, and inclusion interventions.
- Workforce Programs
Workforce Programs
Volunteer to engage with the next generation of technologists, amplify the bottom-line benefits of diverse technological contributions, and more.
- Workforce Alliance
Workforce Alliance
Mobilize year round alongside corporate seniors, executives, and team leaders nationwide working together to create lasting impact.
- Get Involved
- Resources
- Resources
- Programs
- Programs
- Aspirations in Computing
Aspirations in Computing
Aspirations in Computing (AiC) provides encouragement, enables persistence, opens doors, and changes lives for women in technology from K-12 through career.
- BridgeUP STEM
BridgeUP STEM
BridgeUP STEM provides opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds to learn the skills of computer science and research methodology within a research university setting.
- Color of Our Future
Color of Our Future
The Color of Our Future focuses on broadening the meaningful participation of underrepresented women and girls of color (Black, Latinx, and Native American).
- Conversations for Change
Conversations for Change
Conversations for Change is an online thought leadership series that presents research-based recommendations and prompts peer-to-peer discussions to further inclusivity in computing.
- Counselors for Computing
Counselors for Computing
Counselors for Computing (C4C) offers professional development to school counselors, positioning them to effectively guide ALL students in exploring computing pathways.
- Higher Ed Programs
Higher Ed Programs
Higher Ed programs recognize students’ computing aspirations, honor faculty for their outstanding mentorship, secure strategic buy-in for lasting change, and more.
- NCWIT Recognitions
NCWIT Recognitions
NCWIT Recognitions foster great potential that otherwise may have gone unrecognized, and foster great ideas that might never have come to fruition.
- Regional Initiatives
Regional Initiatives
NCWIT’s Regional Initiatives bundle research-backed programs and practices to increase the local participation of women and girls in tech fields and careers. To understand local computing ecosystems, and cater content and programming to needs on the ground, NCWIT partners with community stakeholders to build awareness, inspire participation, and connect women to like-minded peers, role models, and opportunities.
- Sit With Me
Sit with Me
Sit With Me uses its iconic red chair to create in-person and virtual spaces where everyone can reflect on the value of diversity and inclusion.
- Tech Inclusion Journey
Tech Inclusion Journey
The Tech Inclusion Journey (TIJ) is a unique, scalable software platform that empowers change leaders to implement systemic, sustainable approaches to the creation of inclusive cultures.
- Aspirations in Computing
- News & Events
- News & Events
- NCWIT Summit
NCWIT Summit
The NCWIT Summit: where conversations lead to change is the world’s largest annual convening of change leaders focused on significantly improving diversity and equity in computing.
- News
News
Check out NCWIT’s latest press releases, press mentions, newsletters, blogs, and articles we are talking about!
- Events
Events
NCWIT offers various in-person and virtual events throughout the year and is also present at many other industry events. Find out about past and upcoming items here.
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