Bringing Technology to
Our Youth
Cora Carmody
CIO, Jacobs Engineering
April 2012
Technology and Our Young
• The Need
• How to meet the need
The Facts from 2000
• The percentage of women in the IT workforce dropped
from 40% in 1986 to 29% in 2000 (Source: White House Council of Economic
Advisors, May 2000)
• The percentage of women in engineering occupations grew
from 6% in 1983 to 10% in 2001. In computer and math
professions, the percentage dropped from 31% in 2001 to
26.7 in 2004 (Source: Department of Labor, October 2004)
• Some additional statistics from 2000:
– Girls represented only 17% of the computer science "AP"
test takers, and less than one in 10 of the higher level
computer science "AB" test takers.
– Women received less than 28% of the computer science
bachelor's degrees, down from a high of 37% in 1984.
– Women made up just 9% of the recipients of
engineering-related bachelors degrees. (Source: TechSavvy, American
Association of University Women Educational Foundation Commission on Technology, Gender, and
Teacher Education, 2000)
Bad enough? Since then…
TABLE C-4. Bachelor's degrees, by sex and field: 2000–08
Science
Earth,
AgriAll
cultural Biological
atmospheric,
Mathe-
Computer
and ocean
matics and
Physical
Psych-
Social
Engi-
Non-
sciences
Percent female
40.0
40.9
42.7
41.8
42.2
41.9
41.3
41.2
40.7
statistics
sciences
ology
sciences
neering
S&E
47.8
48.0
46.9
45.6
45.9
44.6
44.9
43.9
43.9
41.1
41.8
42.7
41.7
42.2
42.8
42.4
41.1
41.3
76.5
77.5
77.5
77.7
77.8
77.8
77.4
77.4
77.1
54.2
54.8
54.8
54.7
54.5
54.2
53.7
53.8
53.5
20.5
20.1
20.9
20.3
20.5
20.0
19.5
18.5
18.5
60.5
60.5
60.7
61.1
61.0
61.0
61.1
60.8
60.6
Year
All fields
S&E
sciences
sciences
sciences
sciences
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
57.3
57.4
57.6
57.6
57.6
57.5
57.6
57.5
57.4
50.4
50.6
50.8
50.4
50.3
50.3
50.3
50.2
50.3
55.7
55.9
55.9
55.4
55.2
55.2
55.4
55.4
55.5
46.4
48.6
49.7
50.6
51.1
51.0
51.5
50.4
51.2
58.5
59.7
61.0
62.2
62.4
62.2
61.7
60.5
59.8
28.0
27.6
27.5
27.0
25.1
22.3
20.7
18.6
17.7
NOTE: Data based on degree-granting institutions eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs and do not match data published before 2009 that were based
on accredited higher education institutions.
SOURCE: National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Completions Survey, 2000–07.
Mixed data on jobs
2009
Total employed, 16 years and over
Management, professional, and related occupations
Computer and information systems managers
Engineering managers
Computer and mathematical occupations
Computer scientists and systems analysts
Computer programmers
Computer software engineers
Computer support specialists
Database administrators
Network and computer systems administrators
Network systems and data communications analysts
47.3
51.4
29
8.1
24.8
26.9
20.2
20.2
26.7
35.3
22.3
24.7
2008
2006
Percent women
46.7
46.3
50.8
50.6
27.2
27.2
6.3
7.3
24.8
26.7
27.5
31.9
22.4
25.3
20.9
21.8
27.7
28.9
29.2
37
21.4
16.6
23.7
25.5
SOURCE: Current Population Survey, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Published annually in "Women in the Labor Force: A Databook"
extracts from Table 11. Employed persons by detailed occupation and sex, annual averages
2002
46.6
50.5
30.8
27.8
25.6
What can you earn?
An average of $50,000 - $85,000 a year
Years of experience, company size, and responsibility
makes these numbers much larger
US National Security
Strategy, 2010
Invest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education
(STEM): America’s long-term leadership depends on educating
and producing future scientists and innovators. We will invest
more in STEM education so students can learn to think critically
in science, math, engineering, and technology; improve the
quality of math and science teaching so American students are
no longer outperformed by those in other nations; and expand
STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented
groups, including women and girls. We will work with partners—
from the private-sector and nonprofit organizations to
universities—to promote education and careers in science and
technology.
Many Youth Programs Exist
• Many programs target high school
students; some include junior high
• However, research has shown that jr. high
and high school might be too late to really
capture and retain the math and
technological interests of our youth, male
and female.
A successful youth program
needs to…
• Capture kids at a very young age
• Be fun
• Be relevant and “cool”
• Promote teamwork and older child-toyounger child mentoring
• Involve social service as rising generations
feel deep social obligations
Technology Goddesses
• Founded in 2002 by Cora Carmody
• The purpose of this group is to lead girls
along the technological and design paths
to design and implement multimedia
projects for presentation, web, DVD/video
and print; to explore a wide variety of
desktop and internet technology
• “Plug in” to Girl Scout programming
• Have provided technological education and
fun to over 1500 girls
The mission of Technology
Goddesses is:
• To help girls acquire technology skills in
the collaborative fashion they prefer, while
helping to spark and sustain their interest
through the years.
• To sustain interest and involvement in
technology from an early age
• To communicate the societal value of
technology
• To imbue a sense of belonging and
technical confidence
• To communicate the richness, variety, &
fulfillment of IT careers
Activities Include
• Workshops, field trips, career
discussions, mentoring, service
projects and day camp
Field Trips
Career Panels
Service Projects
Day Camp
The Lab
26 laptops
10 digital
cameras
2 HD Video
4 laser printers
4 inkjetprinter/
scanners
1 server
Mobile cart
A canvas portrait produced with lab equipment
Technology That Grabs
• Microsoft Suite – Powerpoint, Excel,
Word, Publisher
• Google Docs
• Google Picasa
• Google Earth
• Web Development
• Making Movies
• Graphics
• Robotics
• GPS and Geocaching
• Sponge Bob Typing
• QR Codes
• Animation
Importance of Mentoring
Chain
• Younger children respond better to older
children role models (vs. adults)
Higher Levels of Achievement for the Girls;
3 of these girls are Goddesses and did STEM Gold Projects
What Can You Do?
• Reach out to your local Girl Scouts chapter (or
other youth organization) to make a connection
and define opportunities. Suggested outreach
efforts include:
•Offer to be interviewed
•Provide technology topic workshops
•Organize Technology Days
•Offer field trips
•or job shadowing
•Become a mentor
•Become a Girl Scout volunteer
Summary
• CIOs can help draw future IT workers by getting
involved in early education programs with
existing youth organizations
• Involvement paints a compelling picture of
community involvement that can help attract
current IT workers
• A range of support is possible---- sporadic and
short-term or time-intensive and long-term
• Both levels of support are needed and both serve
to promote IT positions and provide early skills
training
Contacts
Cora Carmody
CIO, Jacobs Engineering
Founder, Technology Goddesses (www.technology-goddesses.org)
Cora.carmody@jacobs.com
Mary Doyle
Director of Communications,
Girl Scouts Council of San Diego – Imperial County
(www.girlscoutssdi.org)
mdoyle@girlscoutssdi.org
619-610-0710