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While women represent approximately 50% of both the U.S. labor force
and college population, fewer than 20% of students who graduate in
engineering, computer science, and other technical fields are women.
Increasing the number of women in these fields will increase and improve
the pool of qualified talent available to our industry and help us
improve the products we produce. For this reason it is vital to increase
the number of women who successfully complete computer science and
related technical degrees.
Building on the momentum of last year, Microsoft Research External
Research and Programs continues to actively partner with universities
and national organizations to increase the representation of women in
computer-related majors by changing the image of computing and creating
opportunities attractive to young women. Initiatives in 2004-05 include
supporting programs that can quantify success factors and best practices
in attracting and retaining technical female students, and identifying
additional points of entry to the computing pipeline.
Partner organizations include the Association for Computing Machinery
(ACM) and the ACM committee on Women in Computing, the Anita Borg
Institute for Women and Technology, the National Center for Women and
Information Technology, the Computing Research Association (CRA)
Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research, MentorNet, and
specific programs at universities.
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