ABSTRACT
The disparity of women in computing and technology field is quite evident. There have been many national initiatives over the past decade that tried to enhance diversity in these fields. However, one group of population, returning women, have received little to no attention. Covid-19 pandemic has made this situation even worse by sharpening the inequality in America's economy, where nearly eight times the number of women left the workforce compared to men last year. Yet, returning women, remain to be one of the largest untapped talent pools in the nation. The field of computing and Emerging Technology (EmTech) can use the untapped potential of returning women to fill the gap in workforce, which is growing at a rapid rate. Hence, to broaden participation and to understand the barriers and challenges faced by returning women to (re-)enter EmTech, a national virtual conference, RESET, was organized in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we present results from a mixed method study to investigate if the attendance at the RESET conference is a predictor of returning women's elevated knowledge in (re-)entering EmTech education and/or workforce, and if the conference was successful in identifying resources that would facilitate transition of returning women in computing and tech discipline. In our quest to answer the questions we also report on - 1) challenges and barriers returning women face when pursuing computing degree, after a break, 2) challenges and barriers returning women face to transition to computing jobs, after a career break, 3) strategies and technical preparations that can be adopted to ease this transition, 4) level of satisfaction with the resources offered by the conference;5) knowledge benefit from various technical sessions;6) compliance with effectiveness of the resources offered;and 7) preparedness in pursuing EmTech education and workforce. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
These past two years, COVID-19 has added to the industry's gender and ethnic underrepresentation issues. The pandemic's reallocation shock has caused more than 31 million Americans to rely on unemployment. A recent study estimates 32-42% of these layoffs will become permanent, which will be felt more acutely by minority communities. As the pandemic continues to sharpen inequalities in America's economy, nearly eight times the number of women left the workforce compared to men last year. These rates were higher for women of color. To broaden participation and fill a growing need for skilled workers in computing, it is important to consider innovative pathways that delve into untapped pools of talent for training and recruitment. It has been estimated that by 2030, approximately one-third to a half of employees may desire new occupations or may need to either reskill or upskill. Some niches within the computing fields, like emerging technologies (EmTech) (e.g., cloud computing, data science, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence), are expected to grow job opportunities more quickly than others. The demands of these jobs can only be fulfilled by creating opportunities for one of the largest untapped Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) talent pools: adult women. We conducted a series of four virtual focus groups with 18 adult women of color in total, specifically Hispanic and Black women. These women are (re-)entering the computing field through emerging technology pathways. The goal of the focus group interviews was to identify the reasons for their career and/or educational breaks, barriers they faced and/or are currently facing in their studies and/or employment, and suggested strategies and actions to mitigate these barriers. In this paper, we present the details of the focus group findings summarized based on the qualitative study. The proposed mitigations voiced by the participants can be used as a baseline to build or increase the pipeline in the computing field by providing a suitable and flexible learning environment for returning and adult women. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.
ABSTRACT
Cloud computing deployment and demand has increased year over year during the prior decade and has only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid increase in cloud technology has also increased the need for higher education institutions to train students and re-skill or up-skill working professionals. This paper discusses the application of high impact training methodologies and their impact on student learning. © 2021 ACM.