Friday News Roundup

The University of Arizona published an article this week about its new report, “Addressing Core Equity Issues in K-12 Computer Science Education: Identifying Barriers and Sharing Strategies” which it produced in cooperation with CSTA and the Anita Borg Institute.  The report is a concise and valuable read. It addresses a long-standing problem evident to all of us, but suggests a novel approach:
“Too often, when discussing educational reform, a top-down approach is the norm, with both private and government policy experts pushing change onto K-12 educators without engaging them in the design of the change model. As a result, efforts to implement systemic and sustained change prove ineffective. We propose a model of cross-sector information and strategy sharing where the teachers are not just equal partners in the design and implementation of change initiatives, but are the acknowledged experts on effective change strategies for their classrooms.”
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At The Faster Times, Allyson Kapin of WomenWhoTech continued the conversation about women and VC funding with speaker and entrepreneur Cindy Gallop, who agrees that VCs underestimate women entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, at TechCrunch Europe, the conversation was heating up over a blog post from Eileen Burbidge, who believes it’s women entrepreneurs who underestimate themselves.  What do you think?
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The Clayman Institute for Gender Research this week interviews Martina Schraudner, a visiting scholar at the Institute and professor for Gender and Diversity of Organizations at the Technical University of Berlin. Schraudner “sees opportunities to build new markets using gender as a tool for applied research – starting with consumer understanding,” and gives several examples of how an understanding of gender can benefit both women and men and lead to innovative new products and services.
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Did you know that between 2001 and 2005, the number of women elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) increased each year and topped out at nearly 30 percent of NAS membership (a recent historical high); but that since then women’s representation has declined, to about 15 percent in 2009? An article at Inventor’s Digest discusses the challenges for women in STEM education in an interview with Joan Hebers, current president of the Association of Women in Science.
“Science Needs a Woman’s Touch”:
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This month’s Esquire magazine features a profile of Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo!, in which it describes her as “aggressive, foulmouthed, and utterly likeable” (warning: expletives ahead.)  It’s a thought-provoking piece for comparing the leadership styles of men and women, and considering how traditionally gendered personality traits (and the double standards they elicit) affect our perceptions of leaders and their effectiveness.
“Hi, I’m Carol Bartz … Are You an “A-hole?”
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Have a great weekend, everyone!