Out of

Sequence:
Proposal
Christina Modica
1. Title

Table of
2. Table of Contents
3. Introduction
4-5. Analysis of Evidence Contents
6-9. Proposed Solutions
10. Finalized Solution

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Introduction
Research Question
How can the environment of STEM fields best be adapted to create a culture
of respect towards women and gender non-conforming individuals?

Analysis of Problem
The current culture of STEM fields is androcentric to the detriment of the
women and non-binary people who are interested and qualified to go into
these fields. This issue can also be referred to the “leaky pipeline” in STEM.
This goes back to the lack of women represented in STEM, which allowed for
harmful stereotypes about women to perpetuate.
This is important to me, because I do believe that everyone should be
welcome in STEM fields, and the inclusion of more diverse voices will help
create a better future with the growing influence of technology on society.

Audience of Proposal
This proposal will be delivered to people who would fund or sponsor the
solutions outlined in this proposal. The target audience of these solutions
would be the current students in STEM, and people who are interested in
STEM fields.

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Analysis of Evidence
UNC Charlotte’s CS Degrees
UNC-Charlotte awarded 3 women Computer Science doctoral degrees out of
17, and 29 out of 220 bachelor degrees in 2014 – 2015. (The most recent year
available) As a comparison, 23 out of 135 Bachelors degrees in 2011-2012
were awarded to women. This trend is alarming, and is found in many other
universities. Other universities, such as Harvey Mudd, has been able to
increase the amount of computer science students though more compressive
and inclusive introductory classes, and more support for their women
students.

Importance of Role Models

When developing a solution to this problem, it is important to look at the
importance of diversity in role models in STEM fields. Folks who do no see
themselves in these fields are less likely to enter the field. White women
have had an influx of representation of scientists in media and news, which
promotes their success in STEM. This can create a sense of isolation among
students who do not see themselves represented.

Confidence and the “Girl Scout Model”

Girl Scouts have recently introduced STEM based curricula in their
programming. This had been shown to increase girl’s interest in STEM, and
allows them to thrive in more environments. Being in a more supportive
girls based environment allows girls to thrive and challenge themselves in
STEM problems. In future solutions working with STEM and girls, the
solution would be best to include spaces where girls can work on
problems in an environment where they can feel empowered.

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Analysis of Evidence
Culture in Science, Engineering, Math
The current “good old boys” culture of STEM leads to high turnover of
women. Around 11% of women who get engineering degrees, never entered
the field. Of this percent, 17% cited the engineering culture as a reason they
didn’t enter. Reasons women leave include excessive workload, lack of
support for work-life balance, and a hostile climate. Retaining women during
the duration of their careers is vital, and this can be accomplished through
better work life polices, and a cultural shift in STEM.

At current, there is an implicit bias against women in STEM, which affects

hiring practices and can have huge impacts on careers. Women scientists are
considered less qualified, less likely to be mentored, and less likely to be
published. Addressing these issues at the beginning of one’s post-secondary
education would be a great starting point to make these students aware of
their biases.

Pipeline Model
A popular model of the transition of people into STEM fields, is the pipeline
model. As a student progresses into higher education, the students “leak
out” into other fields. As a basic way to explain the failings of education
systems and cultures to keep people in STEM, it works well. Though, when
considering intersections of race, class, and gender, it fails to acknowledge
the intricacies around those intersections. A proposed “gender filter” has
been proposed as a way to create an explanation to fit this pipeline model,
though that has the problems of not acknowledging race, or class. As a
whole the pipeline model also fails to include the non-traditional career path
many students are now taking. An adjusted pipeline model with “filters” may
be used in the future, but the pipeline model is an oversimplification to
much more complex problem, which will require much more complex
solutions.

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 Proposed
Solutions
Summer Camp
The goal in creating a STEM camp for women
and gender non-conforming individuals, is to
create a space where they can try new things,
and be scientists whilst being in a supportive
environment. Having this be a “girl” only
summer camp, will allow for the removal of
competition, and elitism from the programs
and services they may have already been able
to access.
The main goal of the week would be the
completion of some engineering-based
project, along with the dispersal of
information on various historical women in
STEM, and various STEM disciplines. Another
important resource for the students will be
providing them with resources to create their
own clubs in their schools, which will allow for
them to receive continued support in their
STEM careers.
Ideally this would be about a week, and we
would also ideally have them lodge at UNCC,
with transportation to and from the camp.
The total number of kids should not exceed
20, with 8 counselors.

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Summer Camp in Detail
Non-Cis-Male children from 14-17, adult camp
Who: counselors/instructors, Faculty to sponsor the camp.
To complete this camp, I would need instructors, a
Materials Needed: grant, materials for the STEM activities, handouts for
the kids, other materials for the kids, and
promotional materials.

Costs: Resource Budget

Space 5,000
Housing 5,000
Food 3,500
Materials 2,000
Fees 140

Misc. 2,000

Total Cost 17,640

Time of Year: This would be in the Summer.

Promotional This would involve flyers, social media posts, and

Materials: emails and outreach to local schools.

This project would be made intersectional by the

Intersectionality: inclusion of diverse students and instructors, along
with showing a broad range of examples of people in
science.

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Proposed
Solutions
Restructuring of Intro CS
The goal in this solution is to approach
UNCC’s CCI department, and discuss ways
their diversity curriculum can improve,
and ways that they can tackle the bias of
their students and faculty.

This would include addressing their

curriculum in ITSC 1600, which includes
information on diversity, but could be
more engaging, and more relevant. The
current curriculum includes little to no
information on trans and nonbinary folk in
Computer Science, who are often met
with transphobic remarks in the CS
community.

Another way to help would be promoting

them to change their introductory
language to Python over Java, Python was
created to be easier to read and
understand, whilst the syntax of Java can
be confusing to beginners. Python also
has the same broad range of uses as Java,
and both are Object-Oriented.

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Intro CS in Detail
I would have to contact the head of the College, and
Who: various higher-level officials. It would also be helpful
to contact other schools who have implemented
Python as their intro language, to see how Student
Outcomes are affected.

New CS0/CS1 Curriculum, presentations to present to

Materials Needed: the professors and Dean Mili.

Overall this solution should not have a lot of financial

Costs: cost associated with it. There is the considerable time
cost to create a new curriculum.

Time of Year: This would begin planning sometime in the fall, to

implement in two to three years.

Promotional Not Applicable

Materials:

In order to make this proposal intersectional, there

Intersectionality: would have to be the inclusion of a variety of people
in the CCI community.

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Finalized Solution
Summer Camp Solution
In the end, I decided to head forward with creating a STEM based summer
camp for young women and non-binary folks. These populations are less
likely to feel supported in STEM environments, and they will need to see
mentors of people like them to feel supported in STEM.
As proposed before, this camp would be over the summer, and would
culminate in a final project picked by the campers. Having a final project will
help the young adults feel accomplished in their STEM abilities. Drawing
from the Girl Scouts, having environments where the young women can feel
empowered leads to more women interested, and successful in STEM.
During this week, there would also be a need for an inclusion of lessons on
important women in STEM, leadership skills, and mentoring opportunities for
the young women. Inspiring a new generation of women leaders in STEM will
help fix some of the problems in the current pipeline model.
A final important aspect of this solution is an inclusion of materials to help
the kids start their own STEM clubs in their schools. Some schools may have
WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) clubs, but others may not.
Materials to help them create or improve their existing clubs will be
important to making sure they continue to feel empowered, and be
confident in their STEM abilities.

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