Seema Gururaj, the Director of Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing with the Anita Borg Institute, highlights the value, recruitment and retention of young women in the technology and computer science field. Presented at YTH Live 2014 session "The Tech Industry's Commitment to Youth."

1. Tech Industry’s Commitment to Youth
#YTHLive

2. We envision a future where the
people who imagine and build
technology mirror the people and
societies they build it for.
Seema Gururaj
Director, Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing
Anita Borg Institute

4. Src: Population, female (% of total) is the percentage of the population that is female. The United Nations Population
Division's World Population Prospects.
The Untapped Potential
of the 50.8%

5. MEET “JANE”
YOUTH ARE THE EARLY
ADOPTERS AND USERS OF
NEW TECHNOLOGY

6. IN FALL 2013, ABOUT 50.1 MILLION STUDENTS
WILL ATTEND PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND
SECONDARY SCHOOLS. OF THESE, 35.3
MILLION WILL BE IN PREKINDERGARTEN
THROUGH 8TH GRADE.
FOUNDATION

7. “When girls are shown images of women scientists and given a greater sense of possibility
about the person they could become, the boys get the message too--"I can do this!“
“Research shows that when teachers are deliberate about taking steps to involve the
female students, everyone winds up benefiting.”
“Parents' support (as well as that of teachers) has been shown to be crucial to a girl's
interest in science, technology, engineering and math”
Source: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=109939
What is Jane into?
Girl Scouts, Toys, Science, Math, Lego Robotics, T.V, Pop culture
STEREOTYPES BIASES
PARENTS
SUPPORT

8. First-year female college students are far less likely than their male peers
to plan to major in a STEM field, a pattern that is consistent across race
and ethnicity.
Females are expected to account for the
majority of college students: about 12.5
million females will attend in fall 2013,
compared with 9.3 million males
Src: Association of American Colleges and Universities & Institute of Education Sciences

9. STEREOTYPES
BIASES
BROGRAMMERS
PARENTS
SUPPORT
ISOLATION
LACK OF
ROLE
MODELS

10. 71% INCREASED COMMITMENT TO COMPLETE CURRENT
DEGREE.
85% INCREASED COMMITMENT TO TECHNOLOGY FIELD.
83% OF THOSE WHO ATTENDED FELT LESS ISOLATED.
95% FELT INSPIRED BY THE ROLE MODELS THEY SAW AT
THE CONFERENCE.

12. Close to 14 ABI Lean in Circles started at Universities across USA – Purdue, Texas A&M,
UT Austin, Drexel University
It’s important to know that you are not alone.
We welcome the participation of women technologists of all ages and at any stage of
their studies or careers.

13. SHE IS ONE OF THE 20% OF GIRLS TO GRADUATE WITH A BACHELOR’S
DEGREE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE EVEN THOUGH FEMALE GRADUATES
COMPRISED 60% OF ALL BACHELOR’S DEGREES.
CONGRATULATIONS “JANE”!

14. 27% OF WOMEN HOLD
COMPUTER SCIENCE JOBS
HOW DO WE KEEP “JANE” MOTIVATED TO CONTINUE TO
CREATE TECHNOLOGY?

15. STEREOTYPES
BIASES
BROGRAMMERS
ISOLATION
LACK OF
ROLE
MODELS
ORGANIZATION
CULTURE

16. “Geek” stereotypes have favored male over female candidates in recruiting and created a
male, antisocial “geek” image that discourages women and minority students (Margolis,
2008; Ensmenger, 2010).
Scarcity of role models is a challenge, especially in technical leadership roles, reducing
the ability to mediate the negative effects of stereotypes and provide encouragement and
mentoring (Cheryan et al., 2009).
Isolation as the lone female or one of few in a class or on a team and lack of access to
influential social networks can be discouraging to women and prevent them from forming
the connections that matter to professional advancement (Hewlett et al., 2008 and 2014).
Persistent, unconscious bias hinders women’s hiring, retention and advancement, and
condescending or unfair treatment is a key cause of turnover among women in scientific
professions (Fouad and Singh, 2011).
Discouraging cultures have evolved in technology that favor long work hours, assertive
communication styles and competitive behaviors associated with masculine work traits.
These are challenging for women who are often labeled “aggressive” if they follow cultural
norms.

19. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.
WHAT IS YOUR ORGANIZATION’S INNOVATION IQ?

20. LET US HELP “JANE” REALIZE
HER FULL POTENTIAL.
WE CAN COMMIT BY HELPING “JANE” AT ANY STEP IN HER LIFE.
SHARE IN THE VISION OF CREATING A FUTURE WHERE THE UNTAPPED
POTENTIAL OF THE 50.8% IS FULLY REALIZED!