Category: Higher Ed

Geeks and Gender

I recently came across the Student Affairs Women Talk Tech blog and was reminded of a recent post titled “Geek Girls Unite” by my colleague Jen Riehle at NC State. In general, there seem to be fewer females than males in the tech world, although females tend to have the numbers in the the student affairs profession (just observation, no data here). Nonetheless, here at NC State, half of our senior IT directors in the central IT unit are women. But I’m the only woman among the college/unit directors. It’s really a mixed bag. Still, the bottom line is that I’ve only sensed that being female was really a factor in one or two occasions in my IT career.

A completely different story in my previous higher ed position as  the harassment prevention officer for our university. Much of that came with the territory and the very nature of the position and the backlash associated with it. Almost daily I encountered the gender factor in some form or fashion in my almost 8 years in that role.

It may be that being in student affairs mitigates any of the gender bias that might exist in the IT profession. Certainly among my student affairs colleagues I never feel gender come into play, but it does rear its head occassional in other venues on our campus.

No answers, just some observations. Would love feedback on this topic.

Co-Working

Co-working is a really intriguing concept and I know all sorts of folks, including myself, who are already doing this. I just didn’t know it had a name! One blog defines co-working as “… a movement to create cafe-like community/collaboration spaces for developers, writers and independents.”

All sorts of NC State folks engage in a version of co-working. I see colleagues all the time at local coffee shops, restuarants and even our dining halls who are working and meeting with others. Lots of laptops, cell and smart phones and other mobile devices. And tying it all together is wireless access.  I guess part of it is just getting out of the office, so maybe that in itself isn’t co-working. But it often turns into a collaboration when you run into someone you know and the conversation turns to work. Suddenly you are networking and scheduling meetings and making notes. That informal interaction suddenly has real value. And sometimes it is quite intentional. A conversation with a colleague about a recent working lunch centered on where we could go on and off campus that would have decent wireless coverage.

Students are doing this all over campus, in deliberate and accidental learning spaces: in the residence halls, at the Student Center, the dining halls, Tucker Beach, all over.

The reason I’m posting on this topic is the technology connection. Clearly it is mobile technology that has allowed this to occur more and more. This seems to be a movement that will continue to grow.