Women in Technology...A Career on the Rise!
 At Girls Get IT!
we have one mission: get girls, parents and teachers excited about
science, math, engineering, and technology! As of 2006, there are
more IT job openings than ever. Careers in these fields are becoming
more desirable to women for a number of reasons. Today companies are
trying hard to change the face of IT, level the playing field for
women and create a more balanced, diverse, and versatile workforce.
The need for women is even more apparent since IT has become an
integral part of many departments and requires employees who
communicate well, and women, by nature, are collaborative builders.
The key is
to keep in mind how IT is evolving, survey your current roster, and
hire strategically to achieve a balanced set of tangible and
intangible skills. Larry Lang, vice president and general manager of
the mobile wireless group at Cisco Systems, Inc. and, notably, a
male member of the Society of Women Engineers said, "To get the
blend right, you have to think beyond
stereotypes."
Women at IBM have tried to take an uncommon approach, "We
decided as a group of women inside IBM that saying we're different,
or that we need different things, is the wrong way to approach men,"
says IBM's Carter, who recently formed Superwomen's Group within the
company's software group. "Most men-most people-want to know,
'What's the value to me, and what the impact will be with my
business?' So we focused on the impact that hiring women would have
on business. It seems the reason women are leaving the IT field is
because they view it as too isolating, but technology is becoming
more of a team sport, which women may be attracted to."
According to the Catalyst study, women who list
another woman as the most helpful person in their careers are more
likely than other women to have reached the top one or two reporting
levels in a company. "Thus, while it is true that support and
mentoring by higher-level executives-both male and female-are
essential to developing leaders, we find that women mentoring women
is of special importance," the study says.
Girls Get IT! is starting a mentoring program in Florida's
schools. Our goal is to have the program run as an extra-curricular
activity. Both college and high school girls will have the
opportunity to mentor middle and elementary school girls. We think
great success will come from this, providing a role model for the
younger girls and giving older girls confidence and the ability to
see themselves as a leader. We hope to promote IT and STEM while
showing the young ladies that they have what it takes to make IT a
career! If you are interested in our mentoring program please e-mail
Leah Cook at: LCook@distancelearn.org
Cisco
Systems most recent newsletter has a wealth of information
including: tools for students, grants and scholarship opportunities
and a section promoting IT careers. If you, your student, or
child would like to find out more, click here to visit the Cisco
newsletter: Click
here |
| Explore ~
Educate ~
Empower |
Computer Mania Day Heads to
Orlando
Girls Get IT! will host Computer Mania Day to
provide a day of technology-related activities geared for 6th - 8th
grade girls and their parents. This program is designed to provide a
broad-based introduction to information technology applications to
different careers. In the past five years, this forum has had
overwhelming success at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
(UMBC) with our National Girls Collaborative Partner, The Center for
Women and Information Technology (CWIT). It is now time for our
local students to join in on the fun!
Computer Mania Day
will be a day of free, hands-on, high-tech, fun activities for
adults and kids. The half-day event will help get girls interested
in technology and computing careers while helping parents and
teachers sharpen their own computer knowledge and understanding of
the employment opportunities in IT today.
At Computer Mania Day,
kids will get the chance to meet amazing women in the IT field,
along with business, government and education leaders. They will
also participate in workshops led by positive female role models
from GGIT!.
While boys are
welcome, the focus is on girls because of their continuing
under-representation in information technology and engineering.
Research shows that the information technology (IT) gender gap opens
as early as the middle school years, when girls are most
image-conscious and do not want to be labeled as "geeks" or "nerds."
Girls also make up only 14 percent of Advanced Placement students in
computer science, a key to success in IT-related fields at the
college level.
GGIT!'s Computer Mania
Day is scheduled for April, 2008 in Orlando, FL. If you would like
more information on this event, would like to take part or be a
sponsor, please contact Leah Cook via email at LCook@distancelearn.org.
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"There are no limits...Reach for the
stars!" | |
Applications Being Accepted for ACCESS Student
Internship
NASA is accepting applications for
the Achieving Competence in Computing, Engineering and Space Science
Internship Project. ACCESS is a 10-week internship project at NASA
centers around the United States.
ACCESS is designed for
undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities who have
strong backgrounds in science and a desire to pursue technical
careers. ACCESS interns will work with scientists and engineers in
an area compatible with their skills and interests.
ACCESS
internships will be located at several NASA centers around the
country. In addition to offering competitive salary stipends, NASA
provides for assistive technology and other reasonable worksite
accommodations needed by the student to be a fully productive member
of the technology team. Limited travel funds and recommendations for
finding accessible housing and transportation will be
offered.
Applications are
currently being accepted, and placements will be announced by
April 30, 2007.
To find more
information and to apply online, Click
here
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To
visit GGIT! please click
here |
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COOL TECHNOLOGY
New online encylopedia will offer more controls
According to Larry Sanger who some consider the co-founder of
Wikipedia, "If there is going to be a free encylopedia, I'd like
there to be a better free encylopedia."
Sanger has created Citizendium, a brand new online
encylopedia, with the goal to capture Wikipedia's buzz, but avoid
vandalism and inconsistances. He plans to do this by requiring
contributors to provide their real names and allow experts to review
articles for accuracy. There will be also be discussion pages that
accompany each article where experts can dispute the
validity of the content.
If
you would like to visit Citizendium, Click here
| |
Girls Get IT! Focus Group Meetings
Set!
We want to hear from you!
The purpose of our focus groups is to discuss issues
regarding young women and their interests in science and math
courses and to give us practical suggestions on how we can help
teachers and parents with most effectively with STEM in the
classroom and at home.
During these specific group meetings we will
discuss:
· Teacher Outreach Program
& Resource
CD
· Computer Mania
Day
· Mentoring
Program
·
GGIT! outreach
CD
·
GGIT!
clubs
·
New marketing
materials
· Next steps with the
Florida Math and Science Research
Center
Your input will help us set our priorities and offer you a
better selection of products and services to young women interested
in STEM - science, technology, engineering and math.
Our confernece call will take
place:
April 10, 2007 3:30-4:30pm
Toll Free Conference Call: 1.888.311.9057
Participant code: 25539
Girls Get IT!
encourages you to share your thoughts, feelings and attitudes on all
related topics! If you will not be able to participate on the call
or session on line, you can still have your voice heard.
Please take a moment to fill out the brief Teacher Questionnaire
or Parent Questionnaire on our web site.
For additional information, please contact Lyndsay Smith via
email at lsmith@distancelearn.org. | |
What is
Girls Get IT?
Florida Girls Get IT is a
partnership between Florida Distance Learning Consortium, Cisco
Systems, Inc., Florida's Community College and University
system to create gender equity in the areas of Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) & Information
Technology (IT).
Why does Florida need this
initiative?
To remain competitive, Florida
must offer a highly trained workforce. Nearly 75% of future jobs in
the United States will require the use of technology, yet fewer than
33% of students in computer courses are female and women comprise
only 20% of IT professionals and 13% of engineers.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Contact: Leah Cook,
Project Director
Phone:
850.922.3359
Fax: 850.922.3109
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Useful Links for
Students and Teachers
Teachers:
Youth Learn
The site
features after school programming strategies for eight initiatives
around the country, including Girls Creating Games. Also, included
are a range of resources for after school practitioners to integrate
technology and information literacy in their
programming. Click here
Federal Resources of Educational
Excellence
A great
resource for any teacher in math or science! This site offers many
activities related to those subjects, as well as an engineering
section. There are many options to explore within these categories,
definitely some good ideas for the classroom! Click here
Students:
Women's Adventures in Science
A project of the National Academy of
Sciences intended to showcase the accomplishments of contemporary
women in science and to highlight to young people the varied and
intriguing careers of some of today's most prominent scientists.
This site draws from and accompanies the publication of a ten-volume
series of biographies entitled Women's Adventures in Science. Click here
The Adventures of Josie True
Funded by the
National Science Foundation, a web-based adventure game for girls
ages 9-11. Both technical and multicultural, the game provides true
and fictional heroes and role models while teaching about science
and women's history. Click here
NASA
has a new education podcast series for high school and college
students interested in participating in NASA learning opportunities.
NASA Student Opportunities is a weekly audio podcast that features
interviews with students who have received NASA internships,
fellowships or scholarships. Students share their experiences and
offer suggestions for students who are interested in pursuing NASA
learning opportunities. The podcasts also provide information about
upcoming learning opportunities and application deadlines. For more
information, and to learn how to subscribe to this free podcast and
have it automatically delivered to your computer, Click here | |
