UMBC CWIT Bits and Bytes program cited in CNN article on women in computing
An article on CNN, Why women in tech came to a 'Halt', uses AMC Halt and Catch Fire television series to illustrate some of challenges in keeping more women in computing majors and careers.
The article mentions the UMBC CWIT Bits and Bytes program as one example of an effort to address this.
"Even with the number of computer science jobs increasing, the number of women pursuing careers in computer science is falling," said Jennifer Koebele, a writer who specializes in research on higher education and technology. … I found that according to Stanford University studies, women's quit rate in technology exceeds that of other science and engineering fields — with a full 56 percent leaving their organizations at midlevel points in their careers," Koebele said.
She points out that there are major efforts to try to bring these numbers up to the levels of decades ago. Programs such as Bits and Bytes, which brings a couple of dozen female high school students to the campus of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, each year to shadow women in computer science programs. At the same time, colleges are making a concerted effort to target girls in middle and high school, sparking interest in math and science.
Posted: July 31, 2015, 9:58 AM