Tech companies have tried everything to boost the low numbers of women in their ranks. Massive grants aimed at high-tech scholarships for girls and students of color. Longer parental leave perks for new moms and dads. Evenbenefits that pay for women who want to delay childbearing to freeze their eggs. Now a growing number of both large and small tech companies are borrowing an idea from Wall Street banks: The "returnship," which brings in mid-career women (and men) who've taken time out of the workplace to care for family, offering them a path back to the office. On Tuesday, a nonprofit called Path Forward announced that six San Francisco-based tech companies, including domain registrar GoDaddy, customer service software maker Zendesk and grocery delivery outfit Instacart, will offer 18-week internships for about 20 mid-career professionals starting in October.

Many women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have faced a common experience at some point during their college days - they walked into a classroom and found that they were among a small handful of women in the class, or even the only one. That kind of experience has the potential to make a talented, motivated student feel out-of-place, and compel her to search for more inclusive academic environments, according to Nilanjana Dasgupta, a psychology researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Questioning one's sense of ''belonging'' in an academic environment may contribute to why women are significantly under-represented in some areas of STEM. Dasgupta's research, supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE), identifies interventions or remedies that universities and other organizations can employ to increase women's sense of belonging in STEM - even in cases where they are a small minority in the classroom among male peers.

The Wow! Innovation Challenge recognizes the innovative outreach techniques being used by SWE sections and MALs. Periodically, a section/MAL will be recognized for a unique, creative approach to a component of outreach. SWE will award a $500 outreach stipend to the winning section/MAL and will share the winning entries with the entire society.

If you want to be a part of the team working to transform technology by ensuring that the people who build technology mirror the people who use it, then view Anita Borg Institute currently opened positions for Program Manager, Communication Design Specialist, Creative Leader, Senior Director of the Grace Hopper Celebration and more.

The Society of Women Engineers announced the recipients of its annual awards program. SWE awards acknowledge achievers and leaders within various fields of engineering. The annual initiative aims to recognize the successes of SWE members and individuals who enhance the engineering profession through contributions to industry, education and the community. Award recipients will be recognized at WE16, the world's largest conference for women engineers, Oct. 28, 2016 in Philadelphia, Penn.

SWE is offering two webinars to inspire outreach encouraging others to learn about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

Just 8% of primary patent-holders are women. Where are all the female inventors? According to a new analysis by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, women held fewer than one in five patents in 2010. And the numbers are even worse when it comes to women as primary inventors.

Careers in science, technology, engineering and math are often lauded as the way of the future, but in one way they feel stuck in the past: gender diversity. In the U.S. alone, where gender diversity is more advanced than in many countries, women make up 46 percent of the civilian labor force but only 26 percent of STEM occupations. New graduates entering the workforce will not close this gender gap. Only about 18 percent of women take STEM courses at the university level and women make up just 31 percent of the total STEM graduate population. Women also show far greater likelihood than men of moving to non-STEM careers later. CEB's projections show that these metrics are unlikely to change in the near future as only half the number of women as men will join STEM jobs from the graduate population over the next 15 years.

Cloud Forward 2016 invites SMEs and post-graduate students to present their innovative products, services, technologies, theses and R&D interests in cloud computing as a poster or demo to a wide audience from academia and industry. Deadline for submission is 16 September 2016.

Less than 10 percent of computer scientists are African-Americans and Hispanics, and only 18 percent of women major in computer science, the National Science Foundation reveals. With statistics like those, it seems likely that most new jobs in computing - the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 1.4 million are expected to be created by 2020 - won't be filled by women or minorities. The College Board, the not-for-profit organization that administers the SAT exam and Advanced Placement program, wants to change that. Its new AP Computer Science Principlescourse will examine computing as a creative activity and help students to understand fundamental principles through collaboration. Unlike the existing AP Computer Science A, theCollege Board reports this program doesn't require students to bring a passion for technology and a basic knowledge of programming languages - simple curiosity is enough.