Women have made huge strides in our quest for equal standing in the U.S. workforce, and today we fill nearly 50% of all jobs in the nation. But the story is very different in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), where women still constitute less than 25% of workers.

Though women make up half the U.S. workforce, they hold only 25 percent of jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – a disparity that’s especially disconcerting given frequent complains from tech executives who can’t find enough qualified applicants. To help connect companies with talented women, the Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology released a report containing specific and actionable advice for companies. If you’re in any kind of hiring position in the tech world, you should read it and start correcting the common mistakes it identifies, whether a narrow recruiting process that fails to reach qualified candidates or a company culture that doesn’t welcome female employees.

In this issue of the Ecsite Quarterly Newsletter, follow (among other gender subjects) the evolution of the Towards Women in Science and Technology (TWIST) as it challenges visitors across Europe to reconsider their gender biases about women in science.

This book discusses gender-related disparities in science, technology, and math careers in the 21st century.

This volume explains and offers remedies for women's continued inequality with men in the workplace, based on empirical evidence.

WAGES is an experiential learning activity designed to educate individuals about the sources and cumulative effects of subtle gender bias. WAGES delivers well-documented, empirically-based information in a brief and interactive format. Elements of the activity allow for direct comparison of gender-specific realities in the academic work environment. The activity is self-contained, takes approximately 90 minutes (including post-activity discussion and debriefing), and does not require special skills of the facilitator. The activity has the specific focus demonstrating the bias that women face in the academic workplace, however the thematic content of WAGES is applicable to other underrepresented groups as well.

Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Portal provides practical information on scholarship programs, internships, training opportunities, online networks, Girls in ICT Day activities and other resources. This portal is designed to encourage girls and young women to prepare themselves for a career in ICT and inform parents, teachers and other stakeholders on why preparing for a career in ICTs is good for women and girls, good for business and good for societies.

Women represent a quarter of the ICT workforce, a statistic that hasn’t changed in 10 years. At a time when we’re surrounded with information about job loss and organizations teetering on the brink, the ICT industry is pulling out all stops to woo young women to tech to help fill more than 100,000 jobs expected to be created in Canada in the next five years.

Introducing Jennifer Brace, user interface engineer at Ford Motor Company. She offers insight on how women might need technology to be designed with different needs in mind.

Until just a few years ago, CIOs have largely been defined by how well they could deliver products or solutions to their core customer, the business user. However, as the cloud emerges as a truly viable alternative to IT, it has become clear that the transformative CIO must rethink the entire IT paradigm and evolve his or her organization into one that delivers competitive services to the business. This new strategy requires not only a very different approach, but also quite literally a different mindset. In my current role at technology business management provider Apptio, we're seeing an increasing number of women taking the helm of IT organizations, which makes me wonder whether women possess certain qualities that make them particularly well suited to this role of services transformation.