A New International Flavor for ACM-W’s Successful “Regional Celebrations of Women in Computing” Project

By Gloria Childress Townsend, DePauw University

ACM-W’s project, Regional Celebrations of Women in Computing (RCWIC), involves very inexpensive conferences that register women from geographic radii, small enough to permit convenient driving times ranging from a few minutes to a couple of hours. SRCs pledge that no woman in computing will be “left out” of opportunities for support and encouragement. Conference leadership designs programs so that every single woman has an option to participate in Poster Sessions, Birds-of-a-feather discussions, Lightning Talks (short research presentations) and internship contacts. Additional activities involving food and fun create inter- and intra-school connections among women and underrepresented groups.

Goals of Small Regional Celebrations:

Create connections among women and other underrepresented groups in computing
Provide role models and mentors
Destroy myths about computing
Encourage women to stay in computing
Give information/help with opportunities such as graduate school, scholarships, fellowships, workshops, conferences, etc.
Build community (inter and intra)
Supply (for many) a first opportunity to participate in a professional venue, thereby creating a resume item
Offer contacts with industry, a chance to distribute one’s resume, experience “interviewing,” and learn about internships/jobs possibilities
Foster confidence

Our conference organizers and student attendees describe RCWICs in positive terms. Unsolicited feedback follows:

Your description of the cadence of this conference organizing is right on the money….who knew life could be this interesting? I can’t WAIT to meet your students!!! (from a conference organizer)

I honestly don’t think it could be any better. The organizers clearly put a lot of thought into the program and the arrangements. I especially enjoyed the technical lightning talks. All the student presenters were poised, articulate and well-prepared. It was really a terrific time! (from a student attendee)

The title of the article refers to the fact that ACM-W sponsored two new international regional conferences in 2010 (to join the long-standing OzWIT conferences in Australia), so that we now host RCWICs on three different continents:

We describe the Amrita [India] ACM-W Celebration of Women in Computing (A2CWiC) first (September 1617, 2010) and emphasize that the conference links three vital ACM-W projects, RCWICs, ACM-W Chapters (see below) and the Ambassador’s Program, since our ACM-W India Ambassador, Gayatri Buragohain, served as a general chair, along with Dr Krishnashree Achuthan, Amrita University, India.

Gayatri states in her June 2010 ACM MemberNet article, “The fact that women have contributed hugely to India’s remarkable progress in the field of Computer Science (and other technologies) cannot be refuted easily. However, the stereotype that women bear enmity with technology is still deeply ingrained in the minds of the Indian population and beyond. This stereotype, in turn, discourages women from experimenting, preventing them from discovering their own technical ability and from pursuing technical careers. One of the biggest reasons behind the prevalence of this stereotype is the lack of role models. Although it is true that very few Indian women have been able to mark their presence in the tech world by achieving remarkable success, equally true is the fact that even the ones who have made remarkable achievements are not recognized enough and known. We do get to hear about [a] few outstanding Indian women in technology, but sadly, they are very easily forgotten.”

The conference that Gayatri co-organized reflects the preceding quote, regarding the need for role models. The conference goals adhere to the quote, as well:

Visibility for women researchers and their work in Computer Science and Information Technology
Identification of potential research areas and methodologies for collaborations
Motivation of budding women researchers through interactions with women achievers
Mentors and role models providing encouragement for women to pursue higher education and research in the field of Computer Science
Expansion of the community of “women in computing”
A directory of “women in computing”

The program included the inauguration of the Amrita ACM-W Student Chapter, spreading ACM-W’s projects further around the globe. Additional sessions dealt with research paper writing, “Fusion of Mathematics and Computing” and “The Road Ahead for Women in Computing”.

Next, we feature ONCWIC (the Kingston, Ontario, Canada, regional) organized by Wendy Powley, October 22-23, 2010. The conference featured welcome remarks from our ACM president, Alain Chesnais, a workshop “Communicating Effectively in Male-Dominated Professions”, a panel “The Imposter Syndrome”, a CA-Sponsored Session “Technology Trends for the Future, and Their Implications” and an IBM-Sponsored Session “Enabling a Smarter Planet”.

The ONCWIC conference registered 160 people, an excellent size for a first-time conference. A large delegation from Syracuse University attended, including Shhavi Gupta, who chairs the Women in IT organization at Syracuse. “I am inspired by the management team of the conference and want to organize such an event at Syracuse University,” Gupta said. “I am looking forward to attending more conferences like this in future.”

Two established ACM-W conferences return during spring 2011: the fourth central Ohio conference (OCWIC) and the third Michigan conference (MICWIC):

Ohio (February 18-19, 2011) OCWIC, Contact: Rachelle Hippler and Jodi Tims
Michigan (April 1-2, 2011) MICWIC, Contact: Fatma Mili, Laura Dillon, Teresa Isela Vander Sloot and Kim Glass

On September 1, 2009, ACM-W, the Anita Borg Institute and the National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT) obtained a large NSF grant from the Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) Program. The grant provides funding for four new regional celebrations each of the next two years. The grant will also pay for two organizers to attend the next Grace Hopper Celebration for training, for three conference students to attend the subsequent Grace Hopper Celebrations and for three professors to attend an NCWIT meeting.

This spring, the fifth Small Regional Conference (SRC) funded by the grant takes place in Albany, NY: New York Regional (April 8-9, 2011) NYC-WIC, Contact: Jen Goodall, Valerie Barr, MaryAnne Egan and Sharon Mason.

For more information about the celebrations, contact Gloria Townsend.