Computing to Change the World for the Better: A Research-Focused Workshop for Women
Paper in proceeding, 2020

Women's underrepresentation in Computer Science (CS) can be attributed to various factors including lack of self-efficacy, role models, encouragement, awareness of the discipline and existing research pathways. In February 2019, we hosted a Google-sponsored research-focused workshop at California State University, Long Beach to raise female undergraduates' awareness and confidence in CS research pathways and careers. Forty-six students from several universities in Southern California participated in the workshop. Over the course of three days, students worked on research problems with clear real-world applications in teams led by faculty and assisted by graduate students. Additional sessions were held to inspire female undergraduates, increase their confidence and enrich their knowledge about research and graduate programs. In this paper, we report about our experience and the lessons we learned. We also present evidence of success in strengthening the research interests of our participants based on the results of the pre- and post-surveys that were designed and administered by the evaluators of our funding agency (Google Inc.) to better understand the impact of these workshops.

Broadening of participation

research-focused workshop

Equity and inclusion

Recruitment and Retention

Author

Shadnaz Asgari

The California State University

Birgit Penzenstadler

Chalmers, Computer Science and Engineering (Chalmers), Software Engineering (Chalmers)

Alvaro Monge

The California State University

Debra Richardson

University of California at Irvine (UCI)

Proc of Research on Equity & Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT)

Research on Equity & Sustained Participation in Engineering, Computing, and Technology (RESPECT)
Portland, Oregon, US, ,

Subject Categories

Didactics

Learning

Pedagogy

Areas of Advance

Information and Communication Technology

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Innovation and entrepreneurship

Learning and teaching

Pedagogical work

More information

Latest update

4/22/2022