AUSTIN, Texas—The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a
professor in the School of Information at The University of Texas at
Austin a $1 million grant to ensure that women’s perspectives and
skills are fully represented in the world of information technology,
particularly in terms of innovation and development.
The grant is part of a larger $9 million award to the National
Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). School of
Information Research Associate Professor Lecia Barker is a Senior
Research Scientist for NCWIT and is co-principal investigator of the
grant.
“Women made up less than 25% of the computing-related workforce in
2009 and they leave it at twice the rate of their male peers – a
higher rate than in other science and engineering fields,” said
Barker.
“Underutilizing the human capital of women and under-represented
minorities in this critical workforce is damaging both to the nation
and to those left out, as their chances of entering one of these
fastest-growing and highest-paying careers are small.” Although some
progress has been made as of 2011, the current postsecondary
graduation rates in computing disciplines will fill less than a
third of the projected 1.4 million technology and computing jobs
projected for 2018.
“The vision of a truly inclusive information society cannot be
realized until we ensure the full participation of all citizens,”
said Andrew Dillon, dean of the School of Information. “Lecia’s work
is at the forefront of efforts to provide working solutions to known
problems in attracting women into the information and computing
disciplines and keeping them there. It is an example of our School’s
ongoing commitment to shape a better information world for all."
Barker’s focus is on maintaining a strong knowledge base of
leading-edge research and practices for recruiting, retaining, and
raising awareness about girls and women in technology. She will
synthesize existing research studies, collect and analyze data, and
build a community of researchers to conduct original studies.
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT)
is a non-profit change leader network of more than 300 prominent
corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and
non-profits working to increase women's participation in IT and
computing.
In addition to this grant, Barker has also been awarded $187,000 to
help engineering and computing fields with the lowest graduation
rates of women at the bachelor’s level to attract a larger pool of
women and retain them through graduation. This is part of a larger
$2.5 million award to the University of Colorado, University of
Virginia, and University of Washington.
-------------
Sam Burns
[log in to unmask]
