NSF PR 00-40 - June 7, 2000
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NSF Workshops Report on Underrepresentation of Women
and Minorities in Information Technology
The National Science Foundation has released a pair
of reports summarizing recent "virtual workshops"
that sought causes of and potential solutions to the
underrepresentation of women and minorities in information
technology (IT).
Unlike other workshops, these were conducted entirely
via the Internet, using web-based tools for interaction
among participants. Partially in response to issues
raised by the Fall 1999 sessions, NSF in March announced
a special funding emphasis on IT Workforce (ITW) research.
"The reports identify a number of areas in which further
study is needed to understand factors affecting whether
women and minorities pursue careers in IT," said Ruzena
Bajcsy, head of the NSF Directorate for Computer and
Information Science and Engineering (CISE). "The workshops
also addressed factors that determine whether -- once
having chosen IT careers -- women and minorities decide
to stay on that path or move on to other fields."
With the Internet having emerged as a major economic
force, the U.S. faces a shortfall of qualified IT
professionals. The need for computer scientists, computer
engineers and system analysts is expected to double
for the period 1996 to 2006, according to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, which projects only 14-percent
growth for all other jobs.
According to statistics from the U.S. Department of
Commerce and the Census Bureau, women represent 46
percent of the total workforce but only 30 percent
of the IT workforce. Blacks fill five percent of the
same jobs, while making up more than 12 percent of
the U.S. population. Nearly 12 percent of the population
is Hispanic, but that group makes up less than 5 percent
of the IT workforce.
The workshop on minorities was led by Oscar Garcia,
the NCR Distinguished Professor and chair of computer
science and engineering at Wright State University
in Ohio. This report suggests that research be conducted
in areas that affect minorities in IT, including:
- access to computers and networks
- the connection between long-term education and
short-term training
- mentoring programs for minority students at all
levels
- standardized assessments of education and training
programs
- implications of distance education for minority
participation in IT
The workshop on women was led by Doris Carver, professor
of computer science at Louisiana State University.
Research topics identified by this report include:
- learning styles, teaching styles, and tools that
prompt women to enter IT
- the impact of computer games on girls' career
choices
- the role of social expectations in education
and career choices of girls and women
- computer science curricula in high schools, two-year
and four-year colleges
- efforts to attract and retain women in the IT
workforce
"Conducting workshops on-line allows input from the
broadest possible range of participants," said Caroline
Wardle, ITW program manager. "Because the discussions
occur via the web, we also have a detailed archive
to go along with the summary reports prepared by our
workshop leaders."
For full text of the reports and archived discussions
from the workshops, see: http://www.cise.nsf.gov/itminorities.html
and http://www.cise.nsf.gov/itwomen.html
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