By Sara Chernikoff
Diversity and inclusion campaigns have become mainstream initiatives for several schools throughout campus, but just how successful have they been?
Two programs in particular — the Maryland Center for Women in Computing (MCWIC) and the Association for Women in Computing (AWC) — are devoted to diversifying and creating a community for women in computing fields at this university.
These organizations have taken an active role in supporting female students in computing majors for over 20 years. The continuous efforts of women in tech outreach programs were centralized into one major organization on campus in 2014, when the MCWIC was founded.
Located on the third floor of the A.V Williams building, the MCWIC is a resource center that provides an inclusive space for women pursuing computing fields. The center works to educate, mentor and boost the involvement and success of women in computing and other technical fields.
According to MCWIC assistant director Kate Atchison, it’s difficult to retain the original number of women who started out in the field of computer science.
In addition to providing a community for its students and faculty, MCWIC also has outreach programs ranging from summer camps, to after-school tutoring, to Girl Scout robotics for students K-12. All these programs are aimed at immersing women into STEM fields by engaging them in technology.
Atchison said one of the longest-running programs MCWIC hosts is CompSciConnect, a three-year summer program designed primarily for middle school girls to delve into computer science-related activities. Campers typically meet once a month throughout the school year to maintain the programming skills they learned over the summer, she said.
Sophomore computer science major Divya Gupta recently joined the student ambassadors team at MCWIC, working with young girls to develop their technology skills. She advocates for more diversity and inclusion within STEM and computer science fields.
“We do a lot of outreach with younger girls,” Gupta said. “We teach them basic information they need to know about computing and STEM before they can really get into it. We give them the building blocks to think higher and figure out where they could be in a couple years.”
Gupta emphasizes the importance of representation in STEM.
“If we don’t work towards diversity and inclusion within the field, we’re going to miss out on a lot of perspectives that could help design things better,” Gupta said. “In order to design better products for everyone, you need full representation on a team. People become more educated and aware if you have a diversity of experience on a team.”
Although The Association for Women in Computing (AWC) shares similar values to MCWIC, it focuses more on creating a welcoming academic and social community for women who are currently enrolled in computer science at this university.
“We’re here to foster a support system for students,” said Priya Emani, a junior computer science major and president of AWC. “In order to do this, we throw together all sorts of social and professional events. We’re also here to introduce them to all the different careers they can pursue in computer science areas and introduce them to various companies that are looking for talented young women like themselves.”