Sit With Me (SWM) is a fun, creative advocacy campaign for men and women, both technical and non-technical, to acknowledge and celebrate the critical need for women’s technical contributions. With its iconic red chair, SWM events allow everyone to participate in a meaningful conversation about the power of inclusion, which might otherwise be intimidating.
The Chair
The red chair is bold; its color grabs attention and encourages action. The red chair is symbolic; when individuals and groups sit to take a stand, they validate and recognize women in computing for their important role in creating modern innovation. The red chair is inclusive; it gives all individuals an engaging way to sit in solidarity for technical women and invite others to participate.
There are two ways to get a Sit With Me red chair:
Either way, since each chair is made out of 111 recycled plastic Coke bottles and designed to last 150 years, feel great about giving one (or more) of them a home in your organization.
Why SWM Matters
Increasing diversity in the tech workforce benefits everyone. Gender-balanced and gender-diverse technology organizations and departments: perform better financially, particularly when women occupy a significant proportion of top management positions; demonstrate superior team dynamics and productivity; produce work teams that stay on schedule and under budget; and demonstrate improved employee performance. Additionally, gender diversity expands the qualified employee pool, promotes equality, and reflects the customer base.
Yet, women are significantly underrepresented in its creation. In 2019, while women held 57 percent of all professional occupations in the U.S. workforce, they only held 26 percent of professional computing occupations. And, the numbers are even lower when considering women of color; for example, Latinas and Black women hold only 2 percent and 3 percent of these jobs, respectively. Furthermore, even fewer women are found in software development, technology leadership, or the other kinds of key roles that have a significant influence on future innovation.
SWM is a confident expression of what is true: inclusion changes what’s possible.
About NCWIT
Sit With Me is powered by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), a non-profit community of more than 1,400 universities, companies, non-profits, and government organizations nationwide working to increase girls’ and women’s meaningful participation in computing. NCWIT equips change leaders with resources for taking action in recruiting, retaining, and advancing women from K–12 and higher education through industry and entrepreneurial careers. Find out more at www.ncwit.org.
What People are Saying
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