Every organization, whether for- or non-profit, lives for the success story: the testimonial from a happy client or customer served that tells you in first-hand terms how effective and influential your organization has been. In rare cases, you might hear that you’ve been integral in helping a person make significant and positive changes; in even rarer cases, you cause a person to shed tears of joy.
The note below is from a high school computer science teacher who adopted some NCWIT recruiting and outreach practices after participating in a tapestry workshop run by Joanne Cohoon, Jim Cohoon, and Mary Lou Soffa at UVA this summer. His efforts to recruit girls into his computing class have been wildly successful: he has 29% female students enrolled this fall, a marked increase from the 12% he had previously.
“I was at the tapestry workshop. After the workshop I did what you said and appealed to a gaggle of girls. I got 51 in AP Computer Science and 15 of them are girls. The 15 girls are all in the student government. I had my kids build the student government stuff for a convention they are having (we built a 40-foot Hot Wheels track and some carnival games). Before the summer I had 5 girls.
“Next year I will get more from word of mouth!”
Then, he describes his reaction to realizing that he could have overlooked an exceptional student had he not begun to explicitly encourage girls.
“I have three girls on my programming team. (two on one team, and one on another team). One of my girls whom I have taught for three years made me cry in my car on the way home (where no one could see me). She solved a recursion problem that I tried to do for about 4 hours and could not solve.
“Without me pushing for girls on the team, I would have just thought she was an ‘A’ student. With a little push she became my brilliant A student. I should have pushed her last year.
“(And for the record, it wasn’t an all-out boo-hoo cry. It was like a single tear that a man would do if there was something in his man eye.)”
Teachers from a similar workshop the previous summer also have given testimonials to the positive effects of NCWIT recruitment recommendations. One teacher had been in danger of not having her computing course run at all due to lack of enrollment. Following recruitment efforts, the principal told her to desist because there was too much demand for her classes, and now other courses were in danger of not running.
The bottom line? Planned, targeted recruitment, like that described in NCWIT’s resources, works. Ready to get started? Visit our practices page to find out which ones are best for you.
- 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.
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News
Check out NCWIT’s latest press releases, press mentions, newsletters, blogs, and articles we are talking about!
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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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