Computer Science & Information Technology: Spotlight

"Recent studies show that only approximately 1% of tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley are black. The 1% figure, however, doesn't mean there aren't black entrepreneurs and pioneers who have made noteworthy breakthroughs in the tech world."

"The Alliance for Access to Computing Careers helps students with disabilities successfully pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in computing fields."
AccessComputing "works to increase the capacity of postsecondary institutions and other organizations to fully include students with disabilities in computing courses and programs."

Richard Tapia is a mathematician and professor in the Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Professor Tapia is recognized as a national leader in diversity and has delivered numerous invited addresses at national and international mathematics conferences, served on university diversity committees, and provided leadership at a national level.

"Apple Diversity Network Associations (DNAs) have existed for decades. These are groups where employees can make connections that create trust and a feeling of belonging. Where everyone can find community and feel supported." These DNAs include: African American Employee Association, Agnostic Community at Apple, Amigos@Apple, Apple Asian Association, Apple Christian Fellowship, Apple Indian Association, Apple Jewish Association, Apple Muslim Association, Apple Veterans Association, Pride@Apple, and Women@Apple.

Baig, Edward C. (2018, May 17). USA Today.

"... is an international organization with a diverse membership of professionals and students at all levels in the fields of information technology, computer science and related S.T.E.M fields."

"Cai is one of the seven visually impaired computer programmers at the Information Accessibility Research Association in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong Province. The institution aims to make the Internet equally accessible to different groups of users in China, including the blind, the deaf, and the elderly." (2018, Apr 1). CGTN.

"Michael Forzano, blind since birth, became interested in audio games as a teenager and taught himself how to program."
Karlinsky, Neal & Stead, Jordan. (2018, Mar 14). The Amazon Blog.

"In 2011, women made up 47 percent of the workforce, but only 27 percent of those in computer jobs; Blacks accounted for 11 percent of workers overall, but only 7 percent in the computer science industry. Hispanics made up 15 percent of the workforce and only 6 percent of computer jobs."

... identifies, prepares, and places talented under-represented minorities (URMs), who are technically skilled, in the workforce, offering seminars and online coding classes.

Provides demographics of Google employees and company initiatives to promote and celebrate diversity and inclusion.

(iAAMCS, pronounced ‘i am cs’) serves as a national resource for African-American computer science students and faculty.

Microsoft supports LGBT, Asians, Black, disAbilitgy, Hispanic/Latino, Parents, and Women Employee Resource Groups.

Brown, Meta S. (2017, Sep 30). Forbes.
"Software developer Tuukka Ojala recently posted about how he works without the benefit of sight. Ojala, who is almost totally blind, explains how he does his work with the help of a braille keyboard and display, and synthetic speech."

This library guide seeks to center the voices and lived experiences of people of color (POC) in STEM.

"The 10 LGBT people profiled here are individuals whose life work and discoveries have played an integral role in the development of modern computer technology."

"TECHNOLOchicas is a national initiative of the National Center for Women & nformation Technology (NCWIT) and Televisa Foundation designed to raise awareness among young Latinas and their families about opportunities and careers in technology."

"ACM-W supports, celebrates, and advocates internationally for the full engagement of women in all aspects of the computing field."
ACM-W "provides a wide range of programs and services to ACM members and works in the larger community to advance the contributions of technical women."

This clearinghouse on women in computing is named for Ada Lovelace, daughter of the British poet, Lord Byron.

Borg was an "American computer scientist who advocated for women’s advancement in technology. In 1987 Borg founded Systers, an electronic community for women in computing. In 1994 Borg cofounded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, a technical conference (whose namesake, Grace Hopper, was a pioneer in early computer technology) highlighting the work of women and advocating policies intended to bring more women into science and technology."

"Founded in Washington, D.C. in 1978, AWC is one of the first professional organizations for women in computing."

"By reaching out to the community through workshops and after school programs, Black Girls CODE introduces computer coding lessons to young girls from underrepresented communities in programming languages such as Scratch or Ruby on Rails."

This infographic by Jennifer Dutcher (3/5/15) from Data Science, UC Berkeley School of Information, explores the influence of women in computer science, highlights key figures, and notes the history of technological advances to which women have contributed.

"... programs work to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities."

"... is the World's Largest Gathering of Women Technologists. It is produced by the Anita Borg Institute and presented in partnership with ACM."

Susan Kare created the icons for the Macintosh computer. "..at Apple, Kare was entrusted with a daunting task: to use iconographies to make the Macintosh feel less like a machine and more like an easy-to-use, relatable workstation. As the first low-cost personal computer for nontechnical consumers, it was imperative that the Macintosh icons be universally inviting and intuitive. Since Kare had scant experience designing in the digital realm, she drew from her experience with mosaics, needlepoint, and pointillism. After procuring “the smallest graph paper” she could find in an art supply store, Kare drew out a 32-by-32 grid. Each of the 1,024 squares represented a pixel, mimicking the bit-mapped display of the early Apple interface. She proceeded to hand-sketch many of the early Apple icons, pixel by pixel."