Membership | DOI: 10.1145/2240236.2240244
Karen A. Frenkel

Broader horizons

ACM’s Committee for Women in Computing (ACM-W) is widening its reach to involve women in industry as well as academia, including community college faculty and students.

AcM-w, whIch haS has tra- ditionally been dedicated to supporting ACM’s wom- en members, now has new leadership and a broader mission, with Valerie Barr, chair of the computer science department at Union College, succeeding Elaine Weyuker, an AT&T Fellow at Bell Labs. The pair previously served as co-chairs for six months.

“ACM-W has focused on supporting women in computing, and has had particular focus on and responsibility to women members of ACM,” says Barr. “While it is important to make sure that women of achievement are recognized within the women in computing community, we want to be sure that women are supported, celebrated, and advocated for within the general computing community. But now we are ready to also take on responsibilities to ensure all ACM members are aware of the role of women in computing, and to help ACM achieve organizational goals for growth and international reach through our work with and for women.” ACM-W needs to reach the 12% of ACM’s 104,000 members who are female and make sure they know about ACM programs, like professional development, and non-ACM programs, like the Computer Research Associa-tion-Women’s mentoring workshops, and special programs for women at conferences like the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

To attract women who are not ACM members, ACM-W will reach out to faculty and students at community colleges. Women in computing at community colleges are a large and untapped market for ACM, says Barr, who notes that community colleges are a less expensive way for women to return to the work force.

ACM-W is also reaching out to students and faculty by awarding scholarships so they can attend conferences.

“We want to
be sure that women
are supported,
celebrated, and
advocated for
within the general
computing
community,”
says Valerie Barr.

In addition, ACM-W aims to create
new programs that promote informal
interaction between women at confer-
ences so experienced computer scien-
tists can meet and advise newcomers.
Unfortunately, few opportunities exist
for women at conferences to talk infor-
mally, says Barr. Moreover, young fac-
ulty do not make attending non-tech-
nical, non-peer reviewed conferences
a priority because they do not count
toward tenure. Therefore, ACM-W will
consider how to support networking
opportunities for women who attend
technical and professional confer-
ences, possibly by arranging birds-of-a-
feather meetings.

based in manhattan, Karen A. Frenkel is a freelance writer and editor specializing in science and technology.