Women and Careers in Computing Technology HPC Focus Group
Summary of Survey Results
Major findings across occupational groups:
- All participants think technology is good career path (as far as quality of jobs and salary)
- All participants picked interest in math and science as a precursor for success in technology career
- Majority thinks that the reason computing field is not attractive to women are because the majority of industry workers are men and workers in this industry are perceived of not having other interest but computers or not having time to pursue other interest.
- Majority thinks that the main obstacle for women from pursuing HPC degree is the lack of confidence to succeed in this field
- Majority suggested the following components to be incorporated into HPC program to appeal more to women (by vote count):
- Female to female support and mentoring
- Enrichment activities (role model presentation, industry visit, attending technology conference, etc),
- Workshop and tutoring
- Social activities.
- Majority suggested the following improvements to HPC courses (by vote count):
- More hands-on
- More group projects
- More introductory/exploratory intro classes
Major findings by occupational groups:
- IT workers/IT affiliates. They chose IT career path because of their family influence. Daughters were advised to have a useful career to support themselves.
- Non-IT workers and job seeking participants. Most of them are not familiar with High Performance Computing career and they have the same obstacles (all in the list of question #8) as the ones stopping them from enrolling in HPC degree program. IT areas that interest them, however, are in business applications and desktop and server system admin.
What can be done to increase women in general computing
technology :
- Discussion about career in computing technology should begin early, for example at grade school (3)
- Mentoring by female industry worker in the absence of female role model in the family
- Increase interest and proficiency in math since young age
- Demonstrate applied application of computing technology especially in a service area or something good for society
What can be done to improve CCC- HPC program:
- Modify description on HPC flyer. Should emphasis on working with people and real world application.
- Provide general as well HPC specific training
- Provide on going profession education
- Provide on-the-job experience
- Do similar discussion forum at high schools
What can be done to overcome the difficulties in
enrolling in HPC degree program:
- Teacher encouragement
- CCC produces graduate who become successful in this career
- Industry can offer HPC training through CCC.
- Some type of compensation
- Increase enrollment IT curriculum
Tips for success in IT
Susan James(Lawrence Berkeley Lab)
- High work ethic (demanding career more so than others).
- Dedication. Self study.
- Self-starter. Challenging work.
- Motivation. High interest breeds success.
- Interested. Excited about the work.
- Communication. Team spirit.
- Persistence. Faith in yourself. Women are as capable as men. There is no limit to what women can do and sometimes they do it better.
- Endurance.
- Work for the big picture. Service oriented attitude. E.g. at LBL; scientists do their science and we take care of their computers. Scientists develop the cures for malaria, HIV, and develop water purification methods for developing countries. Our lab has produced nine Nobel Laureates.
- Character. Act on your moral virtues. Dependability, truthful, honest, following through on projects. Character is always being evaluated on the job.
# of participants: 15 (3 facilitators from CCC)
# of responses received: 10
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Question
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Answer
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Number of responses
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Comments:
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1. Which best describe your current role
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a. IT faculty
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1
|
|
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b. School administration
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1
|
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c. Working with IT in industry
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4
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d. High school student
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1
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e. College IT student
|
|
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f. Working in a non IT Job, but considering a career
change
|
1
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g. Not working at present, but would like to get into the
job market
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2
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Other answers:
- IT researcher
- Advocate for women in IT
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2. If you are in technical area now, what was the single
most important reason you started?
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a. Influence from a teacher
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b. Peer group influence
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1
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c. Family influence
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3
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d. Hobbies and other related interest
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e. Media reports relating to technology
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Other answers:
- Enjoyed it
- Income and flexibility to take care of family & other interest
- Interest in computers. Like challenging work.
- Self motivation
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3. Do you think technology is a good career path (good
jobs and salary)
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a. YES
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10
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b. NO
|
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4. In your opinion, which areas of IT are most attractive
to women today (chek all that apply)
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a. Business applications
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4
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What interest women are not categorized this way. It
should be categorized as IT application in biology, music, education, etc
|
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b. Scientific applications
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2
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c. Software development
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1
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d. Hardware support
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1
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e. Desktop and server system administration
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3
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f. Network support
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2
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g. Any of the above
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2
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Other answers:
- Operational cybersecurity
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Question
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Answer
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Number of responses
|
Comments
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5. Are you familiar with High Performance Computing as a
possible career?
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a. YES
|
7
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b. NO
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3
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6. In your opinion, what hobbies, interest, or early
educational experiences are the best predictors for a successful career in
technology
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a. Interest in electronics
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2
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b. Interest in computer games
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1
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c. Interest in Math
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5
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d. Interest in Science
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5
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e. Interest in PC software and hardware
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5
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f. All of the above
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3
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Other answers:
- Interest in problem solving
- Interest is not a predictor of success in this field.
- Willingness to fail and retry
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7. What is the most reservation women have about careers
in computing technology
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a. Intimidated by computers
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2
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b. The field is competitive
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3
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c. Majority of industry workers are men
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7
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d. People in the field have no other interests but
computers
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6
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e. Perception not doing good for society
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1
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Other answers:
- Lack of adult female role models in IT or science
- Lack of career counseling which with focus on women students
- Lack of proficiency in math
- Time demanding, leaving no time for family life
- Work settings can be discouraging for most women
- Women’s own perception that IT works are not feminine
- General opinion about what men and women roles affects the perception of women and the IT professions.
- Career is not clearly identified. Need to demonstrate more of applied application of computing technology
- Career in computing is not glorified
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Question
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Answer
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Number of responses
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Comments
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8. In your opinion, what makes seeking an HPC Associate
Degree difficult
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a. Do not have required computer skills
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3
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b. Classes are too technical
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2
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c. Little confidence to succeed
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4
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d. Financial constraint
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2
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e. All of the above
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2
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Other answers:
- Math aspect is a block
- Not enough encouragement and support from the teacher
- Not familiar with the HPC degree program and its requirements. More familiar with MIS, CS, and network Admin as beginning IT career
- Flier is too technical and hard to know from it what the real work entails
- Class schedule
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9. Which of these components will make HPC program more
attractive to women
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a. Female to female support and mentoring
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8
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|
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b. Workshop and/or peer tutoring
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5
|
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c. Financial assistance
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2
|
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d. Enrichment activities: role model presentation,
industry visit, attending technology conference
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6
|
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e.Social activities
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4
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f. All of the above
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1
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Other answers:
- Assignment and environment geared for people who have
not tinkered with computers & programming
- Early introduction to this career and more information
on IT/HPC employment roadmap (where the degree leads)
- Well paying career and employability
- Should be challenging and interesting
- Should be service oriented
- Buddy system
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10. What improvement to HPC courses you think will be most
helpful for women
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a. More introductory classes for beginners
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5
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b. Online or weekend class
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2
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c. More hands-on
|
6
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d. More group projects
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6
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e. All of the above
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2
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Other answers:
- Projects relevant to society, helping community to accomplish good
- Tutoring from teacher one-one-one
- More scripting language
- Information in the flyer should be clearer and more appealing
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