Leading the celebrations of women in computing
October 15, 2015
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For years Wendy Powley (School of Computing) has worked toward attracting more women to the field of computing, at Queen鈥檚, in Ontario and across Canada.
A big part of this effort was founding and organizing the Ontario Celebration of Women in Computing (ONWIC), a conference that draws female students from across the province to gain experience, receive support and make valuable contacts.
Ms. Powley, a Research Associate and Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Computing and the Faculty of Education, also continues to play a key role in Women in the School of Computing (WISC) at Queen鈥檚, an informal support and social group for all women, undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff, in the School of Computing.
So it perhaps wasn鈥檛 much of a surprise that she was recently appointed as chair of the ACM-W Celebrations committee, a subgroup of the Association for Computing Machinery, the world鈥檚 largest educational and scientific computing society.
Having organized such Celebrations since 2010, she鈥檚 ideally suited for the role.
Ms. Powley will not only coordinate the organization of the Celebration in Canada, but she will oversee ACM-W Celebrations that occur annually worldwide. In the 2015/2016 academic year there are at least 10 Celebrations planned across the United States as well as Celebrations in Europe (2), India (2), Puerto Rico, Cuba and, of course, in Canada. In her new position, Ms. Powley will play a key role in encouraging new Celebrations in an effort to broaden their reach. She will share her expertise with Celebration organizers and ensure that the resources provided by the ACM-W such as funding, swag, web hosting, and emotional support reach each and every Celebration organizer.
鈥淐ommunication with my ACM-W mentors was crucial during the organization of our first Celebration. Kind offerings of advice, encouragement, and validation kept me going,鈥 Ms Powley says. 鈥淭hat will be a big part of my role 鈥 to inspire and motivate others. Organizing a Celebration is a huge undertaking, but I want them to know that in the end they will have no regrets. It is incredibly satisfying to provide an inspirational experience that will have a lasting impact on young people.鈥
It was the ACM-W Celebrations model that got ONCWIC started at Queen鈥檚 in 2010 鈥 that along with a very keen group of student helpers from WISC. Each year since 2010 the conference has been hosted by a different university and has been growing in popularity. This year the conference has a new identity 鈥 the 鈥淐anadian Celebration of Women in Computing鈥 and will become a national annual conference. It is expected to attract more than 500 women from across the country.
Queen鈥檚 continues to play a prominent role in the conference through Ms. Powley鈥檚 organizing role as well as the number of participants 鈥 a contingent of 60 at the most recent event.
This prominence is a positive for Queen鈥檚 as well as for the School of Computing.
鈥淏eing visible at the Celebration as a very large group speaks volumes that women are welcome here at Queen鈥檚 in Computer Science,鈥 Ms. Powley says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way to retain our women as well. Our first year students who attend find the event very inspiring as they see many positive female role models and learn of the vast opportunities available in the field. We hope this has a lasting effect鈥.
So far the efforts have been successful at Queen鈥檚. With approximately 35% of the undergraduates enrolled in computing programs being female, it is believed that Queen鈥檚 has the highest percentage in Canada. With the national average in North America hovering around 15%, there is still much work to be done.
She sees the ACM-W Celebrations as a key part of finding a long-term solution.
鈥淲e need to be actively involved in encouraging women to come into the field. We are all consumers of technology. It only makes sense to ensure that there is diversity among its creators,鈥 she says. 鈥淚deally, the way to get more women into the field is to get more women into the field.鈥
Ms. Powley in her new role at ACM-W intends to ensure this happens.
To learn more about ACM-W visit .