Inspiring local efforts to sustain engagement in STEM majors and careers
Three recent articles related to our conversation last week:
Facebook & LinkedIn start new mentoring programs: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27474664/facebook-linkedin-team-help-women-enter-silicon-valley
Stanford CS student organizing support group and sharing experiences that energized her: http://www.mercurynews.com/michelle-quinn/ci_27477190/quinn-sandberg-reverse-engineers-female-cs-major-isolation
Interesting if depressing read on SV technology culture
http://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/06/what-silicon-valley-thinks-women-302821.html
Ahhhh . . . these data (“The percentage of people enrolled in undergraduate computer science programs who are women peaked at 35 percent in 1985 and is now down to about 17 percent”) are so disheartening. And the reporting is disappointing, as well. The primary reason FB & LI are investing in women is to avoid the “suboptimal outcomes” in their product line?
I would have liked to see the reporter or any participant in the piece cite any other reason to include and support more women in technology: because they are well paid jobs and are in a widening job market? Because women will need these skills to thrive? Because the world has some thorny challenges to address and a vast sector of our problem-solving society is not included in the solution process? Because it is right?