Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Some Light Reading

I've long believed that a girl's confidence in the sciences correlates to that of her mother's. As it turns out, it may also have to do with the confidence of her teachers! This article in the Durango Herald suggests that the majority of math teachers are women and the confidence that they may or may not have will seep into their female students. Take a look at the article. What do you think?

This article on CNET from Carnegie Mellon suggests that men seek out the science of computing, while women see computing as a useful tool in achieving other goals. They also believe that computer science education is actually tailored to a small and specific slice of male students. I'd love to hear what you have to say about this. There's so much speculation and I definitely have some ideas of my own. What are yours?

Saturday, January 16, 2010

If Barbie(TM) Can Do It, So Can YOU!

We all have our opinion of Barbie(TM), but regardless of our own personal memories, that little plastic girl affects children everywhere. Now, It's up to us to help get our mission through to the youth of the nation using the reputation that she's worked so hard to build.

Right now at Barbie.com you can vote on her next career. Within the five choices provided is Computer Engineer! Let's vote at http://www.barbie.com/vote/ and use this small opportunity to help change the stigma of Women in Computer Science!






Image Courtesy of Mattel & Barbie.com

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Welcome Back!

Happy New Year to all and welcome back! Winter term is going to begin a building phase for the women of computer science. Our goal is to inspire those who have decided that they want to try computer science and encourage them to seek strength in numbers. If you know any women with questions, please give them my email (kiki@cs.uoregon.edu).

This term, we'll be starting a study group for the women of the 200 level courses. I've heard that there's a healthy representation in 313 as well, so maybe we'll get a weekly meeting together there also. Most of all, we would love to have some volunteers to help us go to the grade schools and out into the community. Please contact me if you are interested in putting in some time into our philanthropy.