It’s no secret that Boulder is home to one of the nation’s thriving technology scenes. But did you know that Boulder is also home to a national powerhouse advocating for women in technology fields? NCWIT (National Center for Women in Information Technology) is a collective of over 300 organizations – including corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profits – all working together to encourage a wider participation in technology-related fields by women.
Think this is an organization just for women? Think again.
Boulder displays incredible diversity in its tech scene with the number of females holding technology-related roles, but the nation is far behind. The only way that NCWIT can achieve its goals is with support from both genders and a clear understanding that technology only improves when everyone who uses it helps create it.
STEM Education – Where It Begins
NCWIT takes a comprehensive approach to addressing the future of women in technology-related careers by starting at the beginning: STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education. Not only do they publish powerful, thought-provoking, up-to-date guides on the state of young women and STEM-related education (view their K-12 Resource Library). They also host a wide variety of programs designed to encourage, recognize, and reward young women pursuing STEM-related education and careers.
Support for Women in Technology Fields
There is also incredible work being done by NCWIT to help interested companies and organizations bring more talented, tech-savvy women into their fold and keep then once they arrive and begin to thrive. The NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund works directly with universities and colleges to provide funding for campus initiatives that encourage women-in-tech education and the development of strategies to help interested women continue their pursuit of tech-related careers long after graduation.
Powerful Alliances for Women in Technology Fields
While we wouldn’t be able to do NCWIT’s work justice in a single article, we can sum up their impact. By combining early STEM education with higher education initiatives, powerful mentorships, and corporate alliances, they’ve created a structure to foster the growth of women in tech fields for the long term. They’ve partnered with top presences in technology and finance like Microsoft and Bank of America to ensure their work thrives and created individual alliances within NCWIT to focus on need-specific areas. There are alliances that focus specifically on higher education, K-12 education, startups and young companies, established workplaces and more. It’s impressive how NCWIT was both taken on the challenge of addressing the state of women in technology as well as built focused programs to tackle the needs of each level of a woman’s technology education and career.
How to Get Involved
What can we say — we’re fans of NCWIT and their dedication to making STEM-related careers comfortable places for women to grow and thrive. If you’d like to be a part of NCWIT’s mission, there are several ways you can get involved.
- Sign up for the NCWIT newsletter.
- Donate to support the organization (it’s a nonprofit!).
- Join one of the Alliances and actively support their goals.
You can also visit their Get Involved page and review all these opportunities online.
You don’t have to live in Boulder to become a part of one of the most powerful advocacy groups for women in technology, but we’re glad that NCWIT is a part of Boulder’s rich technology landscape. We’re quite sure they’ll be one of the reasons our powerful tech, entrepreneurial, and startup communities all continue to thrive.
