CISCO NETWORKING ACAD EM Y P ROGRAM

RECRUITMENT AND RETENTIO N S TRATEG IES

C IS C O

S Y S T E M S /C IS C O

L E A R N IN G

IN S T IT U T E G E N D E R IN IT IA T IV E

Th i s l i s t i n c l u d e s a v a r i e t y o f w a y s t o i n c r e a s e f e m a l e r e c r u i t m e n t a n d r e t e n t i o n a t y o u r i n s t i t u t i o n . Se l e c t t h o s e
w h ic h a r e m o s t a p p r o p r ia te fo r y o u r s itu a tio n .
GENERAL P RINCIP L ES

Ensure the Cisco Networking Academy Program is taught in a safe, accessible location and at a time that is
convenient for both women and men.

Ensure female instructors take leadership roles at your Academy.

Ensure both female and male students assume a variety of roles when doing group work, and that female students
take on leadership roles.

On recruitment materials, include messages that specifically target females. Example: Women/girls are encouraged
to apply/enroll.

F EM AL ES WORKING TOGETH ER

Establish a girls computing club.

Provide a female-only open house or tour of the lab.

Establish all-female Academies and all-female classes where appropriate.

Assign female students to work together in pairs as appropriate

Recruit from female-only programs or clubs, or those with high percentage of females.

ROL E M OD EL S AND

M ENTORS

Encourage a current female student to serve as an ambassador of the program and promote her accomplishments.
Develop a superstar and send her to conferences and meetings.

Schedule a pizza lunch in the Academy classroom and invite IT professionals and female students.

Invite female IT professionals to serve as mentors and recruit female instructors.

Work with local chapters of womens organizations such as Women in Technology International (WITI) & Society
for Women Engineers (SWE).

Display information about computer pioneers such as Grace Hopper and Ada Lovelace in the classroom.

Inform female students about organizations that promote women and IT.

A ll c o n te n ts a r e C o p y r ig h t

19 9 220 0 4 C i s c o S y s t e m s , I n c . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d . I m p o r t a n t N o t i c e s a n d P r i v a c y S t a t e m e n t .
P a g e 1o f 4

Ask students to interview female relatives/friends who work in IT & invite them to make a presentation in the lab.

AWARENESS

Ask current female students to write an article for the school newspaper or website highlighting their experiences in
the Academy program.

Schedule a Bring a Friend Day and encourage students to bring a female friend to their Academy program class.

During orientations and promotional sessions for prospective students, include female students and graduates as
guest speakers.

Encourage female Academy students at the high school level to make presentations at K-8 feeder schools. Such
projects often provide credit towards service projects required of high school seniors.

Schedule a school assembly about computing careers highlighting the social relevance and opportunities for females.

Hold open houses for parents and guidance counselors, highlighting academic and career opportunities.

Make your lab open & accessible. One instructor played fun music to attract students to her lab.

WORKING WITH IN Y OU R INSTITU TION

Request computer science, math and science teachers to encourage female students to enroll in the Academy
program.

Ask guidance counselors to promote the Academy program, especially among female students.

Offer the Academy program in academic departments where there is already high female enrollment, such as
information technology, business, or womens studies.

CAREER EV ENTS

Schedule a human resources/recruiter event where you invite local employers. Invite local chapters of womens
organizations to the event and ask them to help identify prospective students.

Provide information regarding salary levels. One option is to have female students do research on different career
opportunities and compare starting salaries.

TOOL S AND

RESOU RCES

Utilize Penny Packet, http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/779/edu/peterpacket2/deliverables/default.htm.

o

Create a postcard or flyer encouraging parents to play Penny Packet with their children.

Have prospective students play Penny Packet as part of an open hour or guest event.

Visit http://cisco.netacad-currdev.net/gender for more information regarding recruitment and retention strategies.

20 0 4 C i s c o S y s t e m s , I n c . A l l r i g h t r e s e r v e d .
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For more information on the Cisco Systems/Cisco Learning Institute Gender Initiative, visit http://gender.ciscolearning.org.
Additional information regarding recruitment and retention strategies is available in the gender module, accessible in the Academy Start
Guide and at http://cisco.netacad-currdev.net/gender.

For more information on the Cisco Networking Academy Program, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/netacad.

20 0 4 C i s c o S y s t e m s , I n c . A l l r i g h t r e s e r v e d .
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20 0 4 C i s c o S y s t e m s , I n c . A l l r i g h t r e s e r v e d .
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