The National Center for Women & Information Technology
| August 27, 2007 |  View for printing |
The mission of the National Center for Women & Information Technology is to ensure that women are fully represented in the influential world of information technology and computing.
NCWIT's overarching goal is parity in the professional information technology (IT) workforce, and our fundamental strategy is to educate, disseminate, and advocate a national, multi-year implementation plan that generates tangible progress within 20 years.
Why this issue is important:
* Innovation and competitiveness.
Innovation thrives with a diversity of ideas and input. As IT becomes a commodity in an increasingly global society, what will distinguish U.S. performance? Women can, and must, play an important role in IT innovation if the U.S. is to remain competitive.
* Jobs.
U.S. Department of Labor projections forecast that our economy will add 1 million professional IT jobs by 2014. In the aftermath of the dot-com bust, however, the perception of a job shortage has caused a sharp decline in enrollment at computer science programs. With the female labor force growing at a faster rate than the male, we must capitalize on women's value in our IT workforce.
* Social impact.
From airbags to voicemail to medical advances, we've seen the negative consequences of products and services designed without women's participation. As technology becomes exponentially more pervasive in our lives, we need to ensure that it is created by as broad and diverse a population as the one it serves.
Site: http://www.ncwit.org/
Be sure to check out: "gotta have IT!" http://www.ncwit.org/ghit
(Many thanks to Brad Feld http://www.feld.com/blog/ for passing along the site for this important organization. Russ)
***
"Math doesn't suck" - Interview with math whiz, author, and "Wonder Years" and "West Wing" actress Danica McKellar http://matr.net/article-25174.html
Montana Sen. Max Baucus proposing free college tuition for math and science majors http://matr.net/article-25314.html
Top dollar for talent- Startup VMware is competing with Google for programmers "Chowdhry estimated that Palo Alto-based VMware is paying $130,000 to $160,000, plus stock options — compensation that only Google can match, he said." http://matr.net/article-25396.html
No reader comments so far. Be the first to comment by clicking the button below.
Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law. Full copyright retained by the original publication. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
