Computer Science - women and computing

Women in computing / Computer Science Table: Recruiting and hiring technical women

stone — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:30:22 +0000

At this Friday's session of Women in Computing / CS Table, we'll discuss efforts to recruit and hire technical women. We will consider a variety of resources related to this issue.

First, two popular press articles on Etsy's efforts to build its staff of women technologists:

“How Etsy grew their number of female engineers by almost 500% in one year”
Brett Berson, First Round Capital, February 26, 2013
http://firstround.com/article/How-Etsy-Grew-their-Number-of-Female-Engineers-by-500-in-One-Year
“In a male-dominated field, Etsy is trying a different approach to hiring new talent”
Alison Overholt, Fortune, February 19, 2013
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/02/19/etsy-women-coders/

Second, an article on “affirmative effort”:

“Let's call it ‘affirmative effort’”
Nancy Hopkins, The New York Times, September 30, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/09/30/breaking-the-bias-against-women-in-science/lets-call-it-affirmative-effort

Finally, we will consider a series of short approaches from the National Center for Women in Technology's “Pacesetters” program:

“2010-2012 pacesetters”
National Center for Women & Information Technology
http://www.ncwit.org/programs/pacesetters/2010_2012_pacesetters

Computer Science Table is a weekly meeting of Grinnell College community members (students, faculty, staff, etc.) interested in discussing topics related to computing and computer science. CS Table meets Fridays at noon in the Day PDR (the first PDR at the top of the stairs in the Marketplace/Cafeteria, also known as Rosenfield 224A). Faculty, staff, and students on meal plans are expected to pay the cost of their meals. Students not on meal plans can charge their meals to the department.

Computer Science Table / Women in computing: "Adria Richards"

stone — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:05:23 +0000

At this Friday's session of Women in Computing / CS Table, we'll discuss the recent Adria Richards fiasco. If you don't know about it, any of the readings below will give you a quick overview.

Our primary reading is

“I have a few things to say about Adria”
Sarah Milstein, Dogs and shoes, March 24, 2013
http://www.dogsandshoes.com/2013/03/adria.html

This reading includes a number of forum comments. You should take the time to read some of them. Since the case involves the way people behave publicly and using online communication tools, forum comments are particularly relevant.

This reading also includes a number of links which you may find it useful to follow.

Computer Science Table / Women in computing: "K-12 CS Ed"

stone — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:17:33 +0000

At this Friday's session of Women in Computing / CS Table, we'll discuss elementary and secondary education in computer science. The readings are

“Why Estonia has started teaching its first-graders to code”
Parmy Olson, Forbes, September 6, 2012
http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2012/09/06/why-estonia-has-started-teaching-its-first-graders-to-code/
“Why your 8-year-old should be coding”
Jolie O'Dell, Venture beat, April 12, 2013
http://venturebeat.com/2013/04/12/why-your-8-year-old-should-be-coding/
“Can Obama convince high schools to each kids to code?”
Anthony Wing Kosner, Forbes, February 14, 2013
http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2013/02/14/can-obama-convince-high-schools-to-teach-kids-to-code/

Computer Science Table: "Women and games"

stone — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:29:14 +0000

At this Friday's session of Women in Computing / CS Table, we'll discuss issues relating to women and video games. The readings are

Brown, Janelle. “Girl gamers: sugar, spice, everything profitable?” Wired, November 19, 1996.
Williams, Dmitri, Nicole Martins, Mia Consalvo, and James D. Ivory. “The virtual census: representations of gender, race and age in video games.” New media & society, 2009.
Jenson, Jennifer, and Suzanne de Castell. “Gender, simulation, and gaming: research review and redirections.” Simulation & gaming, 2010.

Women in computing / Computer Science Table: "Perceptions of (under)enrollment in computer science"

stone — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:50:28 +0000

At this Friday's session of Women in Computing / CS Table, we'll discuss perceptions of the underrepresentation of women in computer science. The readings are

Lori Carter. 2006. Why students with an apparent aptitude for computer science don't choose to major in computer science. SIGCSE Bull. 38, 1 (March 2006), 27-31.
Roli Varma. 2010. Why so few women enroll in computing? Gender and ethnic differences in students' perception. Computer Science Education 20, 4 (December 2010), 301-316.

Women in Computing / Computer Science Table: "People who make a difference"

stone — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:33:12 +0000

The reading for this Friday's session of Women in Computing / CS Table is

Gloria Childress Townsend. 2002. People who make a difference: mentors and role models. SIGCSE Bull. 34, 2 (June 2002), 57-61. DOI=10.1145/543812.543831

Computer Science Table: "Women and computing"

stone — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 19:13:56 +0000

This semester, the focus of CS Table is “Women and computing.” We will read and discuss a wide variety of articles that explore issues of gender in computing, particularly the underrepresentation of women in computing. Students may choose to register for CS Table as a one-credit special-topics course. Students should also feel free to attend discussions without registering.

At this Friday's CS Table, we will consider three articles by Maria Klawe that explore the changing status of women in computer science. The articles span nearly fifteen years, giving us a chance to look at how things change and how things stayed the same.

Maria Klawe and Nancy Leveson. 1995. Women in computing: where are we now? Commun. ACM 38, 1 (January 1995), 29-35. DOI=10.1145/204865.204874
Maria Klawe. 2002. Girls, boys, and computers. SIGCSE Bull. 34, 2 (June 2002), 16-17. DOI=10.1145/543812.543818
Maria Klawe, Telle Whitney, and Caroline Simard. 2009. Women in computing---take 2. Commun. ACM 52, 2 (February 2009), 68-76. DOI=10.1145/1461928.1461947

Copies of the reading are available online using the DOI links. Printed copies should be available outside Professor Rebelsky's office (Noyce 3824).