BPC-AE: Scaling and Sustaining Gender Diversity in Postsecondary Computing using NCWIT's Systemic Change Approach

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Colorado extends the The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Alliance. The systematic social and structural disadvantages to women in computing, at all identity intersections and levels of pathways to careers, is deeply concerning both from the viewpoint of equity and the nation's need for a highly qualified scientific workforce and improved innovation. While the nation has seen some improvement over the past two decades, underrepresentation of women continues, both in terms of numbers and of influence. NCWIT seeks to ensure that women have nontrivial influence in computing because technical products are better, people are better served, and computing research is relevant to more people. Women’s low participation in computing is rooted in inequitable societal structures and everyday social interaction, not in women. NCWIT change approaches interrupt the reproduction of these inequities at the level of social systems, altering policy, everyday practices and decision making, beliefs, and norms to sustain change. Building inclusive cultures in computing departments will increase diversity of thought and advance the computing discipline, a field integral to all other STEM fields. NCWIT unites over 1500 member organizations across the computing ecosystem to ensure the perspectives and contributions of those who identify as women—at the intersections of gender identity, race, ethnicity, class, age, sexual orientation, and ability status—are meaningfully represented at all levels of computing. NCWIT guides its members—including postsecondary institutions, a lynchpin in the ecosystem—in understanding, implementing, and institutionalizing research-based practices and strategies that produce systemic change. NCWIT helps organizations realize systemic change by providing resources, tools, guidance, and direct support to change leaders. In this project, NCWIT proposes to accelerate department-level culture change at all levels of postsecondary computing through several inter-connected activities: 1) Growth, diversification, and engagement of its Academic Alliance so more postsecondary computing programs have the knowledge, awareness, and motivation to increase participation of women of different backgrounds and educational levels in colleges and universities; 2) Further development and implementation of NCWIT’s unique, research-based systemic change (Tech Inclusion Journey) platform to enable more postsecondary undergraduate programs to efficiently self-assess and develop srategic solutions to increase representation of women in their programs; 3) creation and deployment of Learning Circles peer cohorts and a supporting community of practice model to guide academic change leaders in building inclusive cultures; 4) Extension of NCWIT’s freely available resource collection to include more actionable resources on inclusive culture construction, systemic change, and intersectionality; and integration of NCWIT’s talent pipeline programs and the resources of external BPC and other partner initiatives; and 5) Advancement of public awareness and support for increasing women's participation in computing through existing and new communication channels. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.