What Would You Choose: Brains or Beauty? (edited)

Recently, this little infographic has caused quite the bustle on the internet. Having been called "The Saddest Pink Infographic About Women In Tech You’ll Ever See," controversy is brewing as to whether or not this is the kind of publicity that women in computer science need.

Personally, I think this is fantastic.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not the type to limit girls to dolls and boys to trucks, but I don't see any problem with leveraging a form of entertainment which tweens actively seek out in fashion magazines and online apps.

Let's start, first, with the idea that intelligent women "deserve more than this".  Yes.  That's true. They do.  But they deserve more than this without excluding this.  The big ol' pink infographic to the left is an extremely flattering representation of both mind and overall persona.  Why should a woman be limited to choosing brains or beauty?  The two are not mutually exclusive.  That's a point I've been trying to get across for a very long time!  Why is it an insult to a woman's intelligence to call her beautiful?  Isn't it okay to recognize all of the areas where she's putting in hard work?

Secondly, this infographic is cartoonish and sassy.  There is no point where it tries to pass itself off as indisputable fact.  The steps along the way may be cheeky, but if you don't like one of the options, you won't select it and it won't represent you.   Personally, I am completely willing to give this card the thumbs-up.

The Women of Computer and Information Science Need You!

Now is the time to get involved with WoCIS if you have any interest in helping to bring computer science you young girls.  We have a couple of really big projects in the works and need as much help as we can get to bring them to fruition.

At today's WoCIS meeting (Wed at 2pm) we gave our projects code names.

Project HATCH:
The women of CIS will teach a small group of high school students some simple programming techniques.  We will then take those high school students to a local elementary school, where we will all teach girls from grades 3-5 how to make a mini-program.  This project takes little to no previous programming experience.  We'd like to recruit 2-3 current CIS women to help us with this project.  Planning meetings can be either Monday afternoon/evening or Tuesday morning.

Project Seedling:
The women of CIS will develop an elementary school assembly and travel to local schools to give 45min to 1 hour long presentations.  We will play, inspire, talk and teach our way through the city.  This one will require quite a bit of content and a handful of speakers so it would be nice to recruit some current women in CIS to help get this started.  Any volunteers?

We would love for you to get involved.  If you're interested in helping, whether you're male or female, please email me to be put on the list for whichever group interests you.  Together, we can spread a love for CS to girls and women.

Computational Thinking Video Blog

Picture Me in Computing

Last night, I was eating dinner with my sons when my youngest said,
"Raise your hand if you're a silly boy!"

To be funny, I raised my hand with a great-big grin. My seven-year-old immediately looked at me and said
"You're not a boy, you're just a girl that does boy things."

Perplexed, I asked,
"Like what?"

He got a questioning look on his face and said timidly,
"You play with computers and those are boy toys."

I was speechless. There were no words for what I was feeling. How could it possibly be that *my* son, a boy that sees me on the computer for 90% of my waking hours could dare to call a computer a boy toy? I certainly wasn't promoting that idea. When questioned, he told me that computers had Lego games and Hot Wheel games and lots of other boy things on them and implied that I was somehow using them for things other than what they were intended to be used for.

It occurred to me that his impressions were based on *his* experiences and not mine. He's not on Facebook with me. He's not browsing for new purses, selling things on Etsy or looking up hairstyles. He's playing racing games, dinosaur learning games and other things that I've tailored to his individual tastes. Is there maybe a way to fabricate an environment for little girls that make computers feel like a "girl toy?"

Help us come up with a solution. Join Wednesday's digital flashmob with Picture Me in Computing! Tag all of your social media interactions for the day of 11-10-10 with #picmecomp and help bring the idea of Women in Computer Science straight to young girls! For more information on how to participate, visit:

http://picturemeincomputing.org/index.php?q=participate

Maria Klawe comes to the UO

10-28-10, 7:30 pm - 110 Knight Law Center

This month's distinguished lecture will feature Maria Klawe, President of Harvey Mudd College. WICS members have been given the unique opportunity to meet with Klawe before her talk at 3:30 pm on Thursday the 28th. Please RSVP for location.

Maria's talk will focus on gender issues with women in computer science. The abstract is as follows:

Gender and Computing

This talk explores how girls and women differ from boys and men in their uses of and attitudes towards computing technology, and how this affects career choices and technology design. From playing computer games to pursuing computing careers, the participation of females tends to be low compared to that of males. Why is this? We discuss research findings on this issue, as well as best practices for increasing and retaining the participation of females in computing

WICS Wednesdays

Come join us for a new and improved
WICS WEDNESDAY!

11:30 am - 12:30 pm: WICS lunch & meeting in Deschutes 100

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm: FUNdamentals in Deschutes 100

I will also be available for individual one-on-one appointments.
Email me @ kiki@cs.uoregon.edu to set one up!

Check out the basket!

Ladies, have you ever been working late in the lab when you spill a little soda on your blouse right before a big interview? Forget your contact solution at home? Feel like your breath is getting kind of raunchy? Make your way up to the second floor bathroom and help yourself to the various necessities in the basket on the counter.