MapCores 2012-2013 Assessment Report

This is a report showing the assessment results for the MapCores (MAthematics, Physics, COmputer science REsearch Scholars) program at the College of Saint Benedict. Started in 2009, MapCores is a cohort-based program designed to increase women\u27s interest and achievement in mathematics, physics, computer science and engineering. The report was submitted for the National Science Foundation grant number 0965705

MapCores 2013-2014 Assessment Report

This is a report showing the assessment results for the MapCores (MAthematics, Physics, COmputer science REsearch Scholars) program at the College of Saint Benedict. Started in 2009, MapCores is a cohort-based program designed to increase women\u27s interest and achievement in mathematics, physics, computer science and engineering. The report was submitted for the National Science Foundation grant number 0965705

A Women in Mathematics, Computer Science, and Physics Course

Increasing women\u27s participation is a concern in disciplines beyondphysics. As part of our Mathematics, Physics, Computer ScienceResearch Scholars (MapCores) program, we teach a women in scienceclass covering these three areas. Our course is a special version ofour college\u27s first year seminar, which is a course designed toprepare our students to read, write, and speak at a college-level. Westructure our FYS to promote academic confidence and interest in ourdisciplines for the women in MapCores. It covers not only contributionsthat women have made and barriers that women face in thesedisciplines, but also research frontiers and science policy issues inthese disciplines. While the women in MapCores find covering thesetopics beneficial, the most important benefit of the course is the supportive cohort that develops from it

APPROACHING GENDER PARITY: WOMEN IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AT AFGHANISTAN'S KABUL UNIVERSITY

This study explores the representation of women in computer science at the tertiary level through data collected about undergraduate computer science education at Kabul University in Afghanistan. Previous studies have theorized reasons for underrepresentation of women in computer science, and while many of these reasons are indeed present in Afghanistan, they appear to hinder advancement to degree to a lesser extent. Women comprise at least 36% of each graduating class from KU's Computer Science Department; however, in 2007 women were 25% of the university population. In the US, women comprise over 50% of university populations while only graduating on average 25% women in undergraduate computer science programs. Representation of women in computer science in the US is 50% below the university rate, but at KU, it is 50% above the university rate. This mixed methods study of KU was conducted in the following three stages: setting up focus groups with women computer science students, distributing surveys to all students in the CS department, and conducting a series of 22 individual interviews with fourth year CS students. The analysis of the data collected and its comparison to literature on university/department retention in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics gender representation and on women's education in underdeveloped Islamic countries illuminates KU's uncharacteristic representation of women in its Computer Science Department. The retention of women in STEM through the education pipeline has several characteristics in Afghanistan that differ from countries often studied in available literature. Few Afghan students have computers in their home and few have training beyond secretarial applications before considering studying CS at university. University students in Afghanistan are selected based on placement exams and are then assigned to an area of study, and financially supported throughout their academic career, resulting in a low attrition rate from the program. Gender and STEM literature identifies parental encouragement, stereotypes and employment perceptions as influential characteristics. Afghan women in computer science received significant parental encouragement even from parents with no computer background. They do not seem to be influenced by any negative "geek" stereotypes, but they do perceive limitations when considering employment after graduation

Review of Gender Differences in Learning Styles: Suggestions for Information Technology Education

According to the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), only 21% of information and computer science degrees were awarded to women in 2006 (NCWIT, 2007). In the past decade, higher education has experienced a rapid decline in the number of women involved in the information sciences, particularly computer science (Bank, 2007). A number of social and educational factors have been considered barriers to women entering science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields and this area has been well studied in the literature. However, research examining the relationship between gender differences and learning styles in the context of these technical fields is limited. According to Kolb (1976), people decide on a major based on how well the norms of the major fit with their individual learning styles. This paper presents gender differences in learning styles and recommends teaching methodologies most preferred for female learners in information science and technology courses

An Attempt to Get and Keep Women Involved in Physics

In this talk I will briefly review some of the obstacles to the full participation of women in the STEM disciplines. In order to increase the number of women in physics, computer science, and mathematics we have started a cohort-based program with curricular and scholarship components for women in these majors. I will present the results of our program so far and offer some advice based on our experiences

The 12th Annual Graduate Research Symposium 2021 Poster TU Dublin: How to Recruit and Retain Women in Computer Science

While in recent decades a number of efforts have been coordinated to address the issue of gender imbalance in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines, the problem still persists. Many authors speak of the ‘leaky’ pipeline metaphor that describes the loss of women in STEM areas before reaching senior roles. Research shows that women who leave are unlikely to return. The issue is particularly severe in the area of computer science, where women represent less than 20% of the labour force across the EU. This poster introduces a summary of findings from the literature on how to effectively recruit and retain women in computer science education. The focus was to identify initiatives with demonstrated impact that targeted mainly female undergraduate computing, computer science and technology students. This work considers the initiatives and interventions reported by the academic community, but also includes success stories from the non-academic sources around the globe, such as international equality awards submissions and online reports from universities, non-profit organisations and personal practices. Sources in languages other than English have also been considered. Practical initiatives that showed impact (which we call ‘Actions’) were identified and categorised into four groups comprising Policy, Pedagogy, Promotion and Influence. Each category is arranged into sub-groups and examples of actions that showed impact are provided for each of these groups. This research aims to help the wider community to get one step closer towards gender balance in computer science

Strengthening gender and inclusivity in science grant-making councils will generate more impactful research

Science, technology and innovation drive economic development, solving societal problems in areas such as education, housing and healthcare. Often, these challenges disproportionately affect women. Yet, female researchers are underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The HSRC's Gender and Inclusivity Project is dedicated to advancing gender transformation in research. Worldwide, only about a third of researchers are women. While gender parity has been achieved in life sciences in many countries, only 28% of tertiary graduates in engineering and 40% in computer sciences are women, according to the 2021 Unesco Science Report. In the field of artificial intelligence, only 22% of professionals are women. Ironically, these fields drive the Fourth Industrial Revolution but are also characterised by a skills shortage. The report shows that wide variations exist in the representation of women in research at national and regional levels.

Review Of Gender Differences In Learning Styles: Suggestions For STEM Education

Women have made great strides in baccalaureate degree obtainment, out numbering men by over 230,000 conferred baccalaureate degrees in 2008. However, the proportion of earned degrees for women in some of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses continues to lag behind male baccalaureate completions (National Science Foundation, 2010). In addition, according to the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), only 21% of information and computer science degrees were awarded to women in 2006 (NCWIT, 2007). In the past decade, higher education has experienced a rapid decline in the number of women involved in the information sciences, particularly computer science (Bank, 2007). A number of social and educational factors have been considered barriers to women entering STEM fields and this area has been well studied in the literature. However, research examining the relationship between gender differences and learning styles in the context of these technical fields is limited. According to Kolb (1976), people decide on a major based on how well the norms of the major fit with their individual learning styles. This paper presents gender differences in learning styles and recommends teaching methodologies most preferred for female learners in STEM courses. Further, a survey was administered to ascertain the extent the results of this study support previous findings

The Absence of Gender Differences Among Students in an MIS Program

The declining proportion of women in the IT profession contributes to the shortage of IT professionals and potentially has a detrimental effect on the success of design projects. However, we do not fully understand why that decrease is happening. Some studies have utilized a construct called stereotype threat to explain why women are rejecting IT as a profession. Others have claimed that the results of stereotype threat apply only in computer science programs housed in engineering schools. This study tests whether stereotype threat exists in an MIS program in a college of business and, if so, how it affects women’s confidence in their ability and motivation to continue their IT education. The results show no support for the stereotype threat hypothesis. Further analysis, however, shows that positive, supportive messages have more effect on these women than do the negative messages. Thus, while stereotype threat has been a successful model for explaining the behavior of women in the sciences, mathematics, and computer science, it does not appear to explain the decreases in the number of women in MIS programs in business schools. A discussion of the aspects of MIS programs that may attract women and possible ways to increase women are provided