Here is a brief round-up of information and news that crossed NCWIT’s radar recently and which we think will be of interest to you. The practices or content of the news gathered (while not endorsed or vetted by NCWIT) is meant to spark new conversations and ideas surrounding the current diversity statistics and trends in the tech workforce. We encourage you to add your two cents on this month’s topics in the comments below.
EngageCSEdu Announce Editors in Chief
NCWIT Research Scientist and EngageCSEdu Director Beth Quinn revealed ‘what’s next’ for EngageCSEdu, a platform where instructors can find and share high quality, engaging course materials for introductory college and high school computing courses, in ACM Inroads. Among the plans for taking EngageCSEdu to the next level is the appointment of two Editors in Chief, Dr. Briana Morrison (University of Nebraska Omaha) and Professor Michelle Craig (University of Toronto), as a first step in establishing an editorial process fully aligned to a peer review journal.
In accepting their appointments, Dr. Morrison noted that, “in moving fully to a journal model our goal is for EngageCSEdu to become the place where computing educators go to find the best possible resources for their courses; ones that promote good practices and are inviting for all.” Professor Craig added, “We also want to build a way for teaching faculty — and all faculty — to demonstrate excellence in teaching. We envision faculty at all levels listing EngageCSEdu publications as evidence of their teaching excellence. In this, EngageCSEdu can be of real service to the CS education community.”
The Editors in Chief will also increase the capacity to keep the NCWIT Engagement Practices Framework relevant, accurate, and useful. Engagement Practices are teaching practices that faculty can use to help broaden participation in computing, focused on growing an inclusive student community, making it matter, and building student confidence and professional identity. These practices are especially impactful in early courses when students are deciding whether to pursue a computing major.
Learn more about Engagement Practices, and search through more than 800 materials from CS0, CS1, and CS2 courses (with more submissions by and for high school computing teachers coming soon) at https://www.engage-csedu.org/.
And, should you happen to be at SIGCSE, be sure to stop by the EngageCSEdu booth and panel. Get all of the details at www.ncwit.org/NCWITatSIGCSE.
Sponsoring Matters for Women and for Business
Women are over-mentored and under-sponsored, relative to their male peers. (Men are 45 percent more likely to have a sponsor than women across industry sectors.) What’s the difference between sponsors and mentors? While mentors advise, sponsors act. As outlined in the NCWIT Sponsorship Toolkit, sponsors connect proteges to career opportunities, advocate for protégé’s advancement, support risk-taking, publicly endorse protégés, expect high performance in return, and help protégés confront and interrupt bias.
As noted by AnitaB.org CEO and President Brenda Darden Wilkerson, “a sponsor has a space at the table and not only advocates for the women they are helping, but they also push to hire, retain, and advance more diverse talent… The reason sponsorship is so important is the measurable differences on career development and advancement than mentorship alone.”
Sponsors can make a world of difference in anyone’s career, but research shows that they can be especially important for female or other employees who are a minority in a majority-group environment. The facts in the NCWIT “Sponsors vs. Mentors: What’s the Difference? (Infographic)” emphasize the impact of sponsorship. Compared to unsponsored women, sponsored women get better pay, more high profile assignments, and improved advancements, while sponsored mothers are more likely to stay employed.
Ready to identify potential protégés and become an effective sponsor? Check out 10 recommendations to start you off on the right path: www.ncwit.org/top10sponsortips.
- 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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