Communications of the ACM
The Anita Borg Institute and Harvey Mudd College Launch Initiative to Increase the Diversity in Computer Science ndergraduate Majors at 2014 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting
Anita Borg Institute president and CEO Telle Whitney says leveraging successful programs, like those at Harvey Mudd College, can help undergraduate computer science programs attract more women and underrepresented minorities.
Credit: California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology
The Anita Borg Institute, (ABI) a non-profit organization focused on advancing women in computing, and Harvey Mudd College announced today the Building Recruiting And Inclusion for Diversity (BRAID) initiative to work with computer science departments at 15 universities across the United States to increase the percentage of their undergraduate majors that are female and students of color. The BRAID initiative was announced today by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her address at the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, as part of the Girl’s CHARGE, a CGI Commitment to Action comprised of 30 companies, civil society organizations, multilaterals and governments to improve learning and leadership opportunities for young women and girls. This collective effort, CHARGE – Collaborative for Harnessing Ambition and Resources for Girls’ Education – has raised over $600 million dollars to reach fourteen million girls over five years. BRAID is supported by three-year funding commitments from Facebook, Google, Intel and Microsoft. Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd, and Telle Whitney, president and CEO of ABI, will lead the BRAID initiative.
"Undergraduate computer science departments across the country are interested in attracting women and underrepresented minorities to their programs," said Whitney. "Leveraging the experiences of successful programs like those at Harvey Mudd College provides an attractive path to redesigning their programs. BRAID is designed to jump start their efforts and document the results to identify best practices that consistently yield results."
From Anita Borg Institute
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