This page collects activities (within and outside Europe) to increase and support the involvement of women in computer-science-related areas. I am grateful for proposals extensions. To include further activities, not listed on this page, please send an email to Erika Abraham (abraham@cs.rwth-aachen.de).
Europe:
ACM-W Europe: ACM-W Europe is a standing committee of ACM Europe and will work to fulfill the ACM-W mission in Europe. The ACM-WE vision is a transformed European professional and scholarly landscape where women are supported and inspired to pursue their dreams and ambitions to find fulfillment in the computing field.
Athena SWAN Charter (UK): The Athena SWAN Charter evolved from work between the Athena Project and the Scientific Women’s Academic Network (SWAN) to advance the representation of women in science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics (STEMM).
BCSWomen (UK)
CiE-SIG: Women in Computability: Program coordinated by the Computability in Europe Association
DigitalMuse.org: DigitalMuse.org is a global collaborative network stimulating girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and improving their digital skills through creative enterprises such as music & DJ-ing, design & visual arts, video games & software programming, and TV, film & audio production.
Diversity in Tech – Forum Europe
Dutch Network of Women Professors (NL)
European Commission’s Research and Innovation Gender Equality Policy
European Platform of Women Scientists: The European Platform of Women Scientists is an international non-profit organisation that represents the needs, concerns, interests, and aspirations of more than 12.000 women scientists in Europe and beyond.
European Women in Mathematics
EQUAL-IST (Gender Equality Plans for Information Sciences and Technology Research Institutions) is a project that aims at introducing structural changes to enhance gender equality in Information Sciences and Technology (IST) research institutions.
Femmes et Informatique (F): A press review about women and informatics. An initiative from and curated by the Société Informatique de France. The SIF is a space for reflection and advise on the stakes of computing; a space for action and expansion of the activities based on the work the community carries out, bringing together all those who are passionate about making informatics move forward.
FEMtech
Gender. Wissen. Informatik. Netzwerk (GEWINN)
Gender x Informatik (D) Support of networking and dialog in Informatics.
genPort: GenPORT is a developing online community of practitioners, served by an internet portal and made up of organisations and individuals working across the globe for gender equality and excellence in science, technology or innovation. GenPORT covers all sciences – natural and social sciences, and humanities. GenPORT offers an arena for organisations and individuals to showcase and access the world’s best research resources, practical materials, policy briefings, experiences, and much more.
genSET – gender in science: genSET is an innovative project aiming to improve the excellence of European science through inclusion of the gender dimension in research and science knowledge making. It is a forum for sustainable dialogue between European science leaders, science stakeholder institutions, gender experts, and science strategy decision-makers, to help implement effective overall gender strategies.
Girl Geek Dinner
Graduate Women in Science (GWIS; formerly known as Sigma Delta Epsilon)
Hypatia: Follow up of the project Science: It’s a girl thing! (see below) Hypatia is an EU Horizon 2020 funded project that addresses the challenge of gathering different societal actors around bringing more teenagers, especially girls, into STEM careers both in school and as a choice of learning and career in the future. It aims at changing the ways sciences are communicated to young people in and out of school to make them more gender inclusive.The project will produce a toolkit, work around national hubs and organise a series of events. There will also be a campaign targeting teenagers all around Europe. Called “Expect Everything”, it will build on the results achieved by Science it’s a Girl Thing.
IEEE Women in Engineering
leaderslikeher: LeadersLikeHer is a social web platform where highly qualified women from industry, academia and public organizations can interact and support each other to better achieve their career goals. The vision behind LeadersLikeHer is to create a social network, where the next generation of ambitious women is empowered to succeed by the example, support and mentoring of today’s leaders. The members of the network can share ideas, useful information (e.g., in form of blogs) and news, organize events, and build groups for members with similar interests.
List of Women in Machine Learning
Lyndhurst STEM Club
Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD, formerly Third World Organization for Women in Science,TWOWS)
Oxford Women in Computer Science Society (OxWoCS) (UK)
Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit
Portia: Portia’s is non-profit organization working to help women and men have the same opportunities for engagement and advancement in science, across all science disciplines by: 1) promoting cultures that are collaborative and sensitive to gender issues; 2) ensuring that quality of research and innovation is enhanced by addressing gender issues, where relevant; and 3) showing how new ideas and markets for science knowledge can be created by including women as co-owners and co-solvers of problems facing society. Flagship projects include genSET: gender in science and The Gender Summits: Quality Research and Innovation through Equality.
Radboud Women of Computer Science
Red de Mujeres en Informática (MUIN) (Spain):The goal of the network is to change the current situation in which the female participation in Informatics in Spain does not increase. More concretely the goals are to increase the presence of Informatics female students, to strengthen the professional/academic career of women in Informatics and to organize initiatives related to the women in ICT.
RightBrains (NL): RightBrains’ mission is to increase diversity in the digital technology sector. Their aim is to inspire, connect and develop talented women with passion for digital and information technology.
Science: It’s a girl thing!: First phase of the campaign ‘Women in Research and Innovation’ created by the European Comission Research & Innovation Directorate designed to encourage more women to choose research careers. The first phase of the campaign, under the slogan “Science: It’s a girl thing!”, targets high school girls (aged 13-18) especially those who would not normally be interested in pursuing careers in science and research. Through online and face-to-face activities with inspiring women scientist role models, the campaign aims to reach out teenagers to give real information about the excitement and challenges of being a professional scientist or engineer. The second phase of the campaign is planned to encourage young women, aged 19-25 at university, to choose research as a career.
Stemettes (UK): Project to inspire the next generation of females into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) fields by showing them the amazing women already in STEM via a series of panel events, hackathons, exhibitions, and mentoring schemes.
VHTO (NL): National expert organization on girls/women and science/technology. VHTO works in many fronts to increase the involvement of women and girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Many activities and initiatives involve secondary education students, but VHTO has also in more recent years intensified its activities within higher STEM education. VHTO participates in a great variety of international projects and networks and uses knowledge gained from working with partners abroad to bring best practice into the Netherlands as well as sharing Dutch experiences with international relations.
WISE (UK): WISE’s mission is to increase the gender balance in the UK’s STEM workforce, pushing the presence of female employees from 13% as it stands now, to 30% by 2020. Their services are designed to build and sustain the pipeline of female talent in STEM from classroom to boardroom, boosting the talent pool to drive economic growth.
Women In the Security Domain and/Or Mathematics (WISDOM) (UK):
Women in AI (NL)
Women in Computing
Women in Informatics Research and Education (WIRE): Informatics Europe working group
Women in Music Information Retrieval (WiMIR)
Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (WiSET) (UK): The goal of WiSET is to widen the participation of under-represented groups in science, technology, engineering, maths (STEM) and the built environment. WiSET have developed and delivered a wide range of innovative projects, resources, schemes and activities over more than ten years based on gender and occupational segregation at all levels of education and employment.
Women in Tech Cymru (UK)
Women’s Engineering Society (WES) (UK): The Women’s Engineering Society is a charity and a professional network of women engineers, scientists and technologists offering inspiration, support and professional development. Working in partnership, we support and inspire women to achieve as engineers, scientists and as leaders; we encourage the education of engineering; and we support companies with gender diversity and inclusion.
Women2020.org: Women2020 is a partnership supported by top-level Belgian and European public and private-sector organizations, whose mission is to promote women’s contribution to achieving the Europe 2020 vision of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Women2020 is a platform for a multi-stakeholder, cross-generational and public-private sector dialogue in the form of a series of high-level, invitation-only gatherings during the course of 2013.
Australia:
Vic ICT for Women
Australian Women in Security Network
USA:
ACM Council on Women in Computing (ACM-W): ACM-W supports, celebrates, and advocates internationally for the full engagement of women in all aspects of the computing field, providing a wide range of programs and services to ACM members and working in the larger community to advance the contributions of technical women.
Association for Women in Computing (AWC): AWC is dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in the computing professions. AWC members include many types of computer professionals, such as programmers, system analysts, operators, technical writers, Internet specialists, trainers and consultants. The purpose of AWC is to provide opportunities for professional growth through networking and through programs on technical and career-oriented topics.
Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI): Since 1997, ABI has developed tools and programs designed to help industry, academia and government recruit, retain and develop women technology leaders. By providing inclusive platforms designed to ensure women’s voices, ideas and spirits will result in higher levels of technical innovation, ABI delivers programs that are changing the world for women and for technology. The Anita Borg Institute seeks to: increase the impact of women on all aspects of technology, and increase the positive impact of technology on the world’s women.
Association for Women in Science
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
Committee on Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine (CWSEM)Computing Research Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W): The goal of CRA-W is to take positive action to increase the number of women participating in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) research and education at all levels.
Dot Diva: The Dot Diva / New Image for Computing (NIC) initiative is sponsored by WGBH, one of the oldest and most accomplished producers of public media, and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the world’s oldest and largest educational and scientific computing society. Dot Diva’s mission is to create an exciting and positive image of computing for high school girls. Their nationwide survey revealed that not only do the majority of girls think of computing as “boring” and “hard,” but they believe it fails to deliver two crucial benefits: “working with others” and “making a difference in other people’s lives.” Their ultimate goal is to transform this negative perception.
Girls Go Techbridge
Girls Who Code
Harvard’s Women in Computer Science (WiCS) Advocacy Council
Made with Code:
Million Women Mentors
National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT): The National Center for Women & Information Technology is a non-profit community of more than 450 prominent corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profits working to increase women’s participation in technology and computing. NCWIT helps organizations recruit, retain, and advance women from K-12 and higher education through industry and entrepreneurial careers by providing community, evidence, and action.
National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP): NGCP offers many resources to strengthen collaborative networks and advance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for girls.
Society of Women Engineers
TechWomen: Harnessing the power of business, technology and innovation, TechWomen brings emerging women leaders in technology sectors from the Middle East and North Africa together with their American counterparts for a professional mentorship and exchange program at leading companies in the United States. TechWomen is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). TechWomen works to empower women and girls through technology. It connects and supports the next generation of women in technology sectors by providing them the access and opportunity needed to pursue careers in technology. TechWomen strengthens participants’ professional capacity, expands and diversifies networks of technology professionals in the Middle East and North Africa region, fortifies partnerships and increases mutual understanding between key professional groups in the U.S. and the Middle East and North Africa, and expands girls’ interest in tech-based careers by exposing them to women role models in the technology field.
The Ada Initiative: The Ada Initiative is a non-profit organization helping women get and stay involved in open source, open data, open education, and other areas of free and open technology and culture. It supports women in open technology and culture through activities like producing codes of conduct and anti-harassment policies, advocating for gender diversity, teaching allies, and hosting conferences for women in open tech/culture.
The American Association of University Women
Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN): WEPAN is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1990 to be a catalyst for change to enhance the success of women in the engineering professions.
Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering (WECE)
Women in Technology (WIT)
Women Who Code (WWCode): WWCode is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring women to excel in technology careers by creating a global, connected community of women in technology. Women Who Code was founded in 2011 and has since grown to exceed 12,000 members spanning 14 countries. The organization is best known for its technical study groups, hack nights, career development, and speaking events featuring influential technology industry experts and investors.
women@csc
Global:
35+ Initiatives to Get More Women into Cybersecurity
AcademiaNet
Anita Borg Institute
Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM): AWM is a non-profit organization founded in 1971. The purpose of AWM is to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, and to promote equal opportunity and the equal treatment of women and girls in the mathematical sciences.
Progressive Women’s Leadership: Offers live or on-demand seminars on a wide variety of topics related to women’s leadership.
STEMinist: STEMinist focuses on women in Science, Tech, Engineering and Math, and aggregates and features stories about women in STEM from across the web.
Women in Big Data: The goal of the Women in Big Data Forum is to strengthen the diversity in the big data field and, as part of this initiative, to encourage and attract more female talent to big data & analytics field and to help them connect, engage and grow.
Women in High Performance Computing (WHPC): Women in High Performance Computing was created with the vision to encourage women to participate in the HPC community by providing fellowship, education, and support to women and the organizations that employ them.
Women in Machine Learning and Data Science (WiMLDS): The mission of WiMLDS is to support and promote women and gender minorities who are practicing, studying or are interested in the fields of machine learning and data science, for example by organizing technical workshops, networking events and hackathons.
Women Techmakers
Prizes:
Bertha Benz Prize
Minerva Informatics Equality Award
Events:
Ada Lovelace Festival (D): The Ada Lovelace Festival provides a unique platform for senior and junior IT&Tech professionals, featuring the latest industry trends, research results and success stories of women in IT.
Connecting Women in Computing & Technology
Gender Summits: The Gender Summits are a series of interconnected action based conferences held across the globe under the theme “Quality Research and Innovation through Equality”. Their aim is to make gender equality the norm science and to embed gender as a primary dimension of research and innovation quality.The Summits were established in 2011 in Europe. After that 4 Summits were held; bringing together over 2000 participants and 300 speakers and contributors representing expertise and leadership in policy, gender scholarship, science decision making and industry. In 2015 Summits will be held in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe.
herCAREER (D): herCAREER is the comprehensive career fair for graduates, women specialists and executives, and female founders. The innovative concept of this career fair receives tremendous encouragement not only by the exhibitors, but especially by participating women. Even politicians support herCAREER due to its unique concept.
Informatica Feminale (D)
STEMM Equality Congress (NL)
Women in Data Science (WiDS) Conference
Women in Software Architecture
Women in Technology International: WITI was founded to help women advance by providing access to – and support from – other professional women working in all sectors of technology. WITI started in 1989 as The International Network of Women in Technology and, in 2001, evolved into The WITI Professional Association, the world’s leading trade association for tech-savvy women. Today, WITI is the premiere global organization empowering women in business and technology to achieve unimagined possibilities.
Workshop on Gender Equality in Software Engineering
womENcourage
women&work: Meet more than 100 of Germany’s top companies at women&work, Europe’s leading career-fair and congress for ambitious women. Career-mentoring, speed-coaching, slam sessions and an extensive congress program help with successful career planning, finding perfect job opportunities and planning a smooth job entry. women&work is for female students looking for internships, female graduates, professionally experienced women seeking for a job change, female executives looking for career opportunities, and men who want to work with family-friendly employers.
Scholarships for Women in STEM:
Admiral Grace Murray Hopper Scholarship (USA)
Alpha Omega Epsilon Scholarships (USA)
American Association of University Women Fellowships (USA)
APS/IBM Research Internship for Undergraduate Women (USA)
Association for Women in Mathematics (USA)
Clare Boothe Luce Program Scholarships (USA)
Department of Homeland Security Internships (USA)
Girl Scout Scholarships (USA)
Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship (USA)
Kate Gleason Scholarship
Lise Meitner Award Fellowship: Max Planck Postdoctoral Fellowship for Excellent Women in Computer Science (D)
M. Hildred Blewett Fellowship (USA)
Mary Gunther Memorial Scholarship (USA)
Michigan Council of Women in Technology (USA)
Prospective 7-12 Secondary Teacher Coursework Scholarships (USA)
Scholarships for Women (global, mostly USA, Canada, Europe)
Society of Automotive Engineers Women Engineers Scholarship (USA)
SWSIS Scholarships (USA)
The Lou Henry Hoover Girl Scout Scholarship (USA)
The Priscilla Carney Jones Scholarship (USA)
The Schafer Prize (USA)
The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (USA)
The Society of Women Engineers Scholarships
Women in Aviation International
Women in Data Science: Statistics, Scholarships and Resources
Women Divers Hall of Fame (USA)
Women in Technology Scholarship (WITS) (USA)
Some interesting films, videos, articles and books:
Booklet: More Women in Informatics Research and Education
Best Practices in Supporting Women
Computer Scientist: Grace Hopper
Discover Data Science: A guide for women in STEM
Girls in STEM
Guide for Women in Computer Science: History, Roles, and Resources
Recruiting More Women Engineers Means Getting Girls More Involved in STEM
Science in Balance – Curt Rice
Success Strategies From Women in STEM
The underlying causes of the digital gender gap and possible solutions for enhanced digital inclusion of
Tips for Getting Girls Involved in STEM
Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing
Video: Gendered Innovations in Design
Video: Recruitment Bias in Research Institutes (Europen Research Council)
When women stopped coding
Why so few?
women and girls (European Parliament)
Women in computer sciences: Closing the gender gap in higher education
Women in Computer Science: Getting Involved in STEM
Women in Data Science
Women in Data Science: Statistics, Scholarships and Resources
Women in IT: A World of Opportunity
Women in Tech: A Complete Guide