Guest blogger: Karen Catlin

I laughed when my friend Susan said, "I thought CS was a girls' discipline." I was spending the weekend with girl friends from college, six of whom got their bachelor's degrees in computer science. Our conversation touched on lots of topics, including my work doing leadership coaching for technical women. Susan, a history major, had no idea that women were underrepresented in computer science. Her experience was informed by her 6 friends who were CS majors, along with other women she knew who studied it in college. She was completely serious when she said that she thought CS was more popular with girls than boys.

We graduated in 1985, the year that made the record books in terms of the percentage of CS degrees awarded to women in the US. It was a whopping 38%! Since then, though, the numbers have dropped. As reported by the New York Times, the National Center for Education Statistics says that 18% of the CS undergraduate degrees in the US went to women in 2010. What a disappointing change from 1985.

But, based on my observations, the trend has reversed. Let me explain...

My daughter is a high school junior, and she wants to study computer science in college. We've been visiting schools with strong CS programs, and on each campus I ask about the gender ratio in their computer science departments. The answer has consistently been, "I don't have the exact numbers, but it's approaching 50-50". Wow!

I bet we've all heard about Harvey Mudd's excellent progress on improving the gender balance, and how 40% of their undergrad computer science degrees went to women in 2012. But, it looks like other schools are doing equally well. I spoke to CS professors at both Brown and Princeton, who assured me that the CS undergrads were 40%-50% women. I asked about it on tours at MIT, Harvard, and Tufts, and the tour guides all reported that there were about 50% female students in the CS department. At Harvard, the tour guide told me that, in 2007, they had 30 CS undergrads, only 3 of whom were women. In 2013, they now have 60 students, half of whom are women. Not only have they doubled the size of the program in six years, they have 10 times the number of women in that program. Double wow!

While my research is far from comprehensive or statistically relevant, I'm excited about it. I'm thrilled for my daughter, knowing that she has a great chance of being surrounded by other female students in her computer science classes and that she'll have great role models. I'm happy for the software industry in general, knowing that there is a growing pipeline of female talent to recruit from. Perhaps computer science is becoming a girls' discipline after all!

What is your experience? If you are currently in college studying computer science, or a recent graduate, I'd like to hear from you. Please add a comment about the gender ratio in your program. Thanks so much.

--Karen 



Karen Catlin, a former high-tech executive, is now a leadership coach and author of "Use Your Inside Voice", a blog about the intersection of leadership and parenting. She is passionate about helping technical women have successful careers.

After the success of the Voices Conference, Global Tech Women is entering phase II and creating a community leveraging Mighty Bell. For those of you who have never heard of Mighty Bell before, it is the brainchild of Gina Bianchini, former CEO of Ning. To login to our community pages you can create a login or use your Facebook login to have access to these posts.

Now is the time to build your network, add your voice to discussions and collaborate with women around the world! One of the biggest take-aways from the Voices Conference is people enjoyed interacting with each other and wanted to find ways to do this more often. In the coming months we will be building a platform to assess where you are in you personal and professional development, enable connections, collaborations and resources for you to define what success means to you both personally and professionally and Global Tech Women and this community will help you reach them....more on this later.

The Community Discussions can be found on the Community Tab on the website. We have started a few topics surrounding a number of programs we will be offering this year with much more to come:

• Women Talk Tech Webcasts - Twice each month we will be featuring top technical women from around the global and topics of interest to technical women both professional and personal. Please tell us what topics and women you are most interested in hearing.
• Book Groups - Each month we will be featuring a book women in tech are interested in reading a hold a virtual monthly meeting to discuss.  Please post what books you think the community should be reading and why.
• Learning Groups - Facilitated by a coach, these groups limited to 10 people will focus on a particular aspect or characteristic technical women want to explore and master over a brief period of time. Please post any ideas of topics you would like to explore more in-depth with a subject matter expert.
• Live Streaming Event - Asia Pac - we are exploring doing a one-day live streaming event in Asia Pac this fall. If you are interested in setting this up, speaking or being part of this event, please post here. If there is something of interest you would like to discuss relevant to technical women in Asia Pac this is also the place to post your ideas!
• Feedback on the Voices Conference. Of course we hope you have completed the conference survey if you attended the conference but if you have new ideas or did not attend the event and would like to give feedback, this is the place for you!

Start a new topic! By selecting the blue (+) symbol on the top right-hand corner you can start a new thread. Please create a topic of interest to you and encourage others to discuss. We are all here to encourage and support each others ideas.

In late September 2010 I had the opportunity to attend two women’s conferences in a row. The first was the Grace Hopper’s Celebration of Women in Computing in Atlanta, and the second was the Women’s International Network (W.I.N.) Global Leadership Conference in Paris.

There was one message that resonated from both experiences.  It seemed to follow me where ever I went, hanging there like a brilliant star in the forefront of my mind.  I couldn’t ignore it.  At first, I felt the message might be shining just so I personally could see it and learn from it.

What I realize now is that everyone needs to hear this message – especially women.  Women who thirst for more in their life.  Women who aspire.  Women who want something challenging AND meaningful.  (I am sure many men need the message too, but at the time, the importance of it for women was shining brightly.)

The message was articulated precisely by Pascale Dumas, of HP France, at W.I.N.  When asked what she would do differently, if she had to do it all again, she answered simply (with a beautiful French accent of course), “I would take more risks.”

I would take more risks.

And then I watched two different panel discussions at each conference, both containing successful women leaders who echoed the same message on lessons learned.

I would take more risks.

For me, it translated into the present tense: take more risks.  Now.  Period.  End of sentence.  No caveats.  No additions.  No stipulations.  Action.

Take more risks.  NOW.With this new bright star message in my mind, it’s illuminating everything and I see the need for it everywhere.  Opportunities to take more risk.  Openings to define what risk might be for me.  New ways to look at how taking risks would benefit me.  And to learn what is truly at stake if the risk taking goes sideways.  What I might learn.  What I might prove to myself.  What confidence I would lose or gain.  And I can see it in all of the women I work with – their struggle to have the confidence to take risks.

In an interview at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit, Ginni Rometty, the first female CEO of IBM, talked about the importance of confidence in taking risks.

“Really early in my career, I can remember being offered a big job. And I can remember [my] reaction to the person who offered it to me. I right away said, ‘You know what? I’m not ready for this job. I need more time, I need more experience and then I could really do it well.’

So I said to him, ‘I need to go home and think about it.’

I went home that night and told my husband, and I’ve been married 32 years now, and he’s just sitting there. As I’m telling him about this, he just looked at me and said, ‘Do you think a man would have ever answered that question that way?’

……What [that] taught me was you have to be very confident even though you’re so self-critical inside about what it is you may or may not know. And that, to me, leads to taking risks.”

Sounds like she knows a thing or two about this.  Personally, I believe taking risks is an important life lesson that we all should practice.  Particularly the practice of risk taking even while we have doubts.  I believe this is a building block of confidence.  To lean in and take more risks, when we’re not 100% sure, and see what happens.

I have been practicing this art (not science) of taking risks more frequently since those conferences and here are a few things I have learned:

• I am very often more successful than I think I will be (read this as “don’t believe everything you think”).
• When I take the risk, something of value ALWAYS comes out of it.  Aligned with what Rometty said, this is when I learn the most and gain valuable experiences.
• Taking risks doesn’t get easy.  For me, it’s getting a bit more manageable, but I have accepted that it will NEVER be easy or simple.
• Having support through my friends, family and colleagues helps me bear the challenge of taking risks.  But it only works when I SHARE with them and talk to them about what I am trying to do and how scary it feels. The icing on the cake is they are all there cheering for me regardless of result!
• It has had an exponential effect in many ways.  More risk taking (with both success and survival) leads me to take even more risks.
• I now have real data that shows my success rate and the reality of what being unsuccessful feels like.  I’ve learned that I survive the risks that don’t turn out well.  I might be disappointed or sad, but that doesn’t last forever.  And I’ve proved that taking risk leads to success I never imagined.
• A critical component is to PRACTICE my self-confidence and risk-taking WHILE I have doubts – this has the effect of symbiotically boosting both components.
• Just take action, now.

In my leadership and development work I see the challenges in building confidence and taking risks.  It can feel like a battleground.  But I have also witnessed a large number of people who continue to learn, grow, and RISK.  And I see their success too, success in a variety of different definitions.  It’s a privilege to witness it inn others and to be a part of the tribe of passionate, risk-taking, ass-kicking, successful people!

About Stacey: 

Stacey Sargent is the CEO of Connect Growth and Development

An inspiring, energetic and authentic facilitator, coach and speaker, Stacey has an abiding passion for helping individuals, leaders and teams grow and develop in ways that bring meaningful success. Clients value Stacey’s ability to bring a supportive yet challenging nature, an approachable manner, to ask the right questions and bring focus to what really matters.

She has held positions in the last 20 years in several key industries, performing leadership, strategic, design and vision roles in business, accounting and finance, consulting, client relations, design and development. She understands business ― the people, the numbers and the systems ― that can be connected together in ways that transform. She has brought her expertise to organizations in higher education, government & municipalities, and manufacturing. Traveling the US, Asia, Latin and South America , Stacey has helped organizations deal with change and challenged their processes for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

A sought after speaker, Stacey has a reputation for delivering tremendous value to her audiences. They comment on her energy, humor, and the relevance of topics that both inspire and offer practical tools. She has spoken live and virtually with groups from 10 to 800 in a way that deeply connects to individuals with resonant messages.

This blog post is a re-post from her website.

I have heard the question above asked many times  over the last six years.  We are  always talking about how we need to reach younger women and girls and present them with role models who can inspire them to pursue a  technical career. What I love about  our upcoming Voices conference is that it will offer women an opportunity to  share their conference experience with their daughters and other young women both while it is  happening and for a month afterwards in the comfort of their own  homes.  Many times at in person conferences I've heard women say I wish I could have brought my daughter.  With this event you can.

I’ve had several women tell me that part of their  plan is to watch sessions with their  daughters so they can see amazing technical women and help them ask  questions.  Women of all ages and nationalities will  be speaking at Voices and during the live sessions you will be able to ask your  questions to the speakers directly.   Not only will they learn about technology but also what you can do with that technology.  What an amazing opportunity for mother and daughter together to share  inspiration and learning.  And  don’t forget, you can have your sons and husband sit in with you as well.  And unlike going to the movies there  will be 30 hours of content to share, not two hours.

In addition, I’ve had mothers of college age daughters tell me they were buying their daughters a tickets so they can  watch from their dorm rooms.  And  one amazing woman has offered to sponsor 20 young women that she has been  mentoring so they can share the experience as  well.

So take some time and think about ways you can engage young women  and girls in the Voices conference. 
Come share the inspiration on International Women's Day.  The technical women of the future are our daughters, our nieces, our god daughters and our granddaughters. 

World Class Professional Development. The top women in the field of professional development for technical women are graciously providing thought-provoking sessions at Voices! Topics such as "Both Hands on the Steering Wheel: Turning a Breakdown into a Breakthrough" by the popular Barbara Fittipaldi, "Inner Success Inner Critics: Taming Success While Taming Inner Critics" by Stacey Sargent, a popular speaker at many global tech companies and "Resiliency Undefined" by Jo Miller who is always the favorite at conferences such as the Grace Hopper Celebration.

Women and Men Talking Tech. Sessions include "What Happens if the Cloud Bursts?", "FOSS in Africa", "How Can a Woman be Very Successful in Testing?", "What is Takes to Build a Software Defined Data Center" and "<Shrink> that Big Data". There will also be regional, national and international discussions on technical trends around the globe.

30 Hours of Content Featuring Women Around the World. Women will be presenting from New Zealand, Australia, Japan, India, Ghana, Lebanon, India, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and others added daily to the conference program talking about issues important to them on a regional, national and international level. In understanding the challenges and best practices of technical women around the world sheds new light, ideas and solutions to your own interests.

No Travel Budget Required - Zero Planes, Hotels or Time Away from the Office. 
We know you probably have budget to attend one technical conference a year, if you are lucky, and it probably lacks a lot of important content that would help you grow personally and professionally.

This conference is coming to YOU wherever you are!  If you miss a live session they will be recorded for viewing up to one month after the conclusion of the event. The cost for 30 hours of sessions and access to all recordings for one month is only $20 USD. International payments are accepted.

Lend Your Voice to this New Global Movement. This is the beginning of something new. We are building an organization and a conference that will provide compelling programs, connections and resources to technical women around the world. If this is something you care about and want to contribute to we hope you will join us at Voices and beyond. Join us on Facebook,LinkedIn, Twitter (#GTW13) and sign-up for our newsletter. Let your colleagues and your network know this is important to you and to technical women everywhere. Together, we can change the world for all of us.

Please join the global conversation, register now. 
We look forward to seeing you on International Women's Day!

The Global Tech Women Team

For 6 years I ran the largest physical conference for women in computing in the world called the Grace Hopper Celebration in the US and I was the conference founder for the Grace Hopper conference in India. I was often asked by thousands of technical women all over the world - places like Raleigh, Pune, and Kaula Lumpur - what I could do for them - how could I give them access to this conference and the community if they could not attend this annual event. I never had a good answer for them unless they could fly to the conference, take the time off of work, and pay the expensive travel and conference fees. It was very frustrating. About 4000 women attend Grace Hopper each year but many more thousands can't get there.

Now there is a means to provide access, visibility and connection no matter where a technical woman lives on this planet.

Last year a new organization was launched, Global Tech Women, whose mission is to create a global network of connected, inspired and self-actualized technical women. My friend and former colleague, Jerri Barrett has joined Global Tech Women as our CMO and together we are reaching out to women around the world to create a global network of technical women, partners and organizations who share this vision.

We are holding a global virtual conference on International Women's Day - March 8 2013 called Voices. We are starting in New Zealand at 10am and working our way around the world holding sessions from women in every region to talk about technology, topics of interest to the technical women's community and to offer ideas and best practices on a regional, national and international level on how we can encourage more women in technology and inspire the women in this community.

www.globaltechwomen.com

Since this is a new conference we are all working together with friends, partners and sponsors to find regional, national and international representatives who can discuss the latest technologies, articulate the challenges of being a technical woman, what has been done to resolve barriers, and who is involved in these conversations. We are asking women around the world to attend and to add their voice to the conversation making us all accessible and visible.

I am asking for your support, to help build a conference and a community for all of us, anywhere.  How can you help? Register for the conference, invite your friends, post Voices on social media, celebrate International Women's Day with us and be part of the direction for this organization. Make it your own.

This is an opportunity for every woman in technology, with your support, to have access to relevant information, which in many parts of the world is difficult, providing community, inspiration and to create possibilities for connection and collaboration. 

This is just the beginning of something entirely new.

I am excited about the possibilities and I hope you are too. Will you help? 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,

- Deanna Kosaraju

Hi all. It's Karen Catlin again. Have you watched the latest Women Talk Tech webcast by Jo Miller, CEO, Women's Leadership Coaching, Inc.? The webcast entitled "Take Charge of Your Career Trajectory" is inspirational and chock full of great tips. If you haven't already seen it, be sure to check it out!

In the webcast, Jo shared five elements for creating a roadmap for advancement. One of the elements is to engage with sponsors, or people who are influential in your organization or your industry. Sponsors know you well enough to advocate for you and recommend you for new opportunities. With their organizational clout, they can open doors you never knew existed. They could be the key to your career advancement.

But how exactly do you get a sponsor? As Jo explained, you have to earn the respect of a sponsor. You never approach someone and ask them to be your sponsor. She made me laugh when she said, "That would be like going on a first date and asking that person to marry you." Or, as my kids would say, "Awkward!"

Instead, I have some practical ideas for you to consider as you think about engaging with sponsors. I collected these from workshops and discussions I've led about sponsorship; they've helped others and I bet they'll help you.

What’s in it for the sponsor?

To start, let's look at why a sponsor might be interested in helping you. 

• They want to demonstrate a commitment to developing employees.
• They want to improve their reputation by associating themselves with highly talented individuals.
• They want to show they are in touch with people throughout the company.
• They might gain valuable insight from the individuals they sponsor, which they can use to be a more effective leader.

How can you earn the respect of a sponsor?

As Jo told us in the webinar, you have to earn the respect of a sponsor. I believe the building blocks for earning respect are:

• Be a consistent high performer. You need to do your job really well.
• Hone your communication skills. Your communication style forms a lasting impression. Make it excellent.
• Develop a strong personal brand. Be famous for something, and make sure it is relevant to your business. (See Jo's webinar if you're not already famous for something!)
• Be visible. Sponsors need to know who you are. Strive to be a known entity, to be highly visible. Look for stretch assignments that will put you in contact with leaders outside of your direct management chain. 

How can you engage a sponsor?

Previous managers and mentors often make great sponsors because they know you well. Or, a sponsor could be another leader who you respect. To engage them, ask them to sponsor specific things. For example, ask them to:

• Make an introduction. “Can you introduce me to so-and-so?  I would like to get her feedback on a project that I'm working on.”
• Advocate for you. “I am interested in applying for a job on so-and-so’s team. Can I count on you for a recommendation?”
• Connect you to a career opportunity. “I would like to become a <insert career goal here>. Can you let me know if you hear of openings that would be a good fit for me?”

By asking someone to open a specific door for you, you can make progress on a short-term goal while planting a seed with them that may bear fruit in the future. 

How do you thank a sponsor?

Don't forget to thank your sponsor. Here are some ideas:

• Write a thank you. Send a simple email or hand-written note to thank them for a specific action they took to help you.
• Keep them informed. Periodically tell them about your progress with whatever they sponsored you for.
• Look for ways to return the favor. Volunteer to help with activities they are spearheading. Ask them if there is something you can do to help them. 
• Make 'em proud. Do outstanding work so they continue to be proud of you. Refresh your personal brand to reflect new skills you learn. Help them be seen as someone who can spot rising talent.
• Pay it forward by sponsoring others. 
  

Sponsorship can be a win-win relationship, helping both the sponsor and you. If you have other ideas for how to engage or thank a sponsor, please share them in the comments. Let's keep the dialog going!

About Karen: Karen Catlin, a former high-tech executive, is now a leadership coach and author of "Use Your Inside Voice", a blog about the intersection of leadership and parenting. She is passionate about helping technical women have successful careers.

By guest blogger: Karen Catlin

I remember the day I told my boss that I was pregnant with my first child. We were having a one-on-one meeting, and my manager, Joe, presented me with an exciting opportunity: a promotion to director of quality assurance. There was a caveat: one of my main responsibilities would be to break up the department within three months, decentralizing the quality teams to report directly into the software development teams. It wasn't going to be easy, and I'd have to trust that there would be more responsibility for me to pick up after reorganizing the department. I remember smiling, saying yes to the promotion, and then explaining that I was pregnant and wanted to work part-time when I returned after my maternity leave. His response? "Cool!"

With that promotion, I began a new phase of my career. I worked a reduced schedule (75%) for the next ten years, during which I had two children, learned how to be a parent in tandem with developing my leadership style, and grew my responsibilities. I was even promoted to vice president while working part-time.

To this day, I am so very thankful that I was able to work reduced hours. I had more time with my kids, scheduled doctor's appointments without worrying about missing work, enrolled in parent-child education programs, and volunteered at our school. I was also pretty efficient at work, honing in on what needed to be done and steering clear of things that wouldn't make a difference. It was a winning combination for me.

As you might imagine, women often ask me for advice about how to work part-time. Often it is because they are about to have a baby, but I've also heard from women who have a medical condition, want to return to school, or want to devote more time to a hobby.  Here's what I tell them:

* Ask if your company has an official part-time policy. Your Human Resources representative will know. If there is a policy, talk to people who have utilized it to understand their experience.

* You need to ask. Chances are, your manager is not going to offer a reduced schedule without you initiating a conversation about it.

* Suggest a trial period, where you work part-time for 3 or 6 months. By doing so, you give yourself time to figure out how to make things work, you send the message that you are open to feedback about the new schedule, and you give your manager peace of mind that they aren't agreeing to the schedule for the rest of your career (just in case things don't work out). The trial period also gives you an easy path back to full-time employment in case you aren't happy with the reduced schedule.

* Understand your company's benefits. While you can estimate the change to your salary, don't forget to look at your entire compensation package. Some benefits may be offered only to full-time employees, some might be reduced for part-time schedules. You need to evaluate your needs and determine if you can afford the change in benefits.

* Be realistic about how many hours you need to work to still have a viable role. Based on my experience in the software industry, I believe the minimum should be 24 hours/week, the ideal is 30-32. I tried working just 20 hrs/week for about a year, and I really couldn't get much beyond the basics done. All of my time was spent working on emails and in meetings, leaving me with no time to think strategically about opportunities.

* Be aware of culture in designing your schedule. If your company expects employees to be available 24x7, to work evenings during crunch times, or to check emails on weekends, be sure you are doing your part. When your colleagues are working more than the 40 hours they are being paid for, you need to put in extra hours as well.

I am a strong believer in part-time roles, and I've seen many successful examples in tech companies. If you think a reduced schedule could help you achieve your personal goals, I encourage you to explore it! If you already have experience working part-time, what advice do you have for others who are considering it? I look forward to hearing from you.

Karen Catlin, a former high-tech executive, is now a leadership coach and author of "Use Your Inside Voice", a blog about the intersection of leadership and parenting. She is passionate about helping technical women have successful careers.

Continuing to learn new things and evolve our capabilities is a critical part of every employee’s success in their organization.  Many years ago I found myself corporate manager of learning and training at a telephone company.  My primary goal, which aligned with one of three key corporate goals,  was that all 7000 employee had to  have 52 hours of learning in a year.  I expected resistance to this goal but the employees loved it.  I found myself working to find as many ways for the employees to get their learning books, videos, correspondence courses, and traditional classroom training.  I wish we’d had an organization like Global Tech Women then.   

For the past five years I have listened as  technical women have shared what they want from their careers. They want the opportunity to move up in their organizations and make their lives and the lives of their families better, they want support and coaching from mentors, champions, managers and peers and they want to be treated as the highly qualified technologists that they are. 

Global Tech Women is taking a big step towards meeting these needs.  From creating regular opportunities to learn through our webinar series and our upcoming global Voices Conference on International Women’s Day, to our platform which will provide a wide range of resources,  to our creation of a global network of technical women that will provide the support, encouragement and coaching, Global Tech Women is focused on providing what technical women need to succeed.

Why did I join Global Tech Women?  Because I want to make this a reality and know that the many women I’ve met globally will have an organization to help connect them not only to each other but other organizations as well.  We don’t expect to meet our goals by ourselves,  rather we are partnering with individuals and organizations globally.  I encourage everyone to join with us and share our journey.  Please feel free to email me (jerri@globaltechwomen.com) and let me know what you want from your career and what resources and learning you need to make that happen.