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'Diversify IT' Series to Focus on Women in Tech

Seminars on diversity and intercultural awareness begin June 18

Beginning June 18, the Office of Information Technology will host a series of training seminars about the value of diversity and inclusiveness in the IT workspace.

The series, “The Real Tools of Innovation: Gender Diversity, Intercultural Awareness, and IT,” will be facilitated by Duke’s Office for Institutional Equity (OIE) and is open to University and Health System staff and faculty. The first seminar on June 18 will include a discussion on “Why Gender Diversity Matters,” which will be moderated by OIE.

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The series was announced this spring by Tracy Futhey, Duke University’s vice president for information technology and chief information officer, at Tech Expo, a technology conference for Duke's IT staff. Duke employs more than 1,500 IT-related staff. The number of female technology employees at Duke is above the industry average. However, IT leaders like Futhey are staying proactive in understanding and responding to trends.

From 1991 to 2013, the percentage of females in the IT workforce decreased from 36 percent to 24 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The trend isn’t surprising given that the National Center on Women in Information Technology reports the number of female computer science majors dropped from 37 percent in 1985 to 18 percent in 2013. The center also reports that 56 percent of women leave tech jobs midcareer – double the rate of men.

“We are serving a diverse group of thousands of people, who have very different needs, who have very different expectations and very different past experiences and working styles,” Futhey said. “The reflection of an IT organization should be equally diverse to the community it serves.”

Other seminars addressing gender and broader diversity topics are scheduled for September 17 and December 10. Registration is requested for all seminars.

The Diversify IT series was initiated by Duke’s Women in Tech group, which meets quarterly to discuss the root cultural causes of trends affecting women in the technology field.

A group member, Mary McKee, is a software developer and manager in the Office of Information Technology. She said she is pleased that the issue of gender diversity in technology is getting attention at Duke. McKee, who holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Duke, plans to attend the series.

“I've always been a bit uncomfortable admitting how much gender has affected my professional development, but I think there's a lot of good that can come from honest discussion about it,” McKee said. “I often think about past experiences that went unnoticed by those around me, and I wonder about my own blind spots regarding others in the profession.”