2017 Conference Agenda

More than ever, leaders must collaborate with other groups in the organization to be effective. This is especially true for technology leaders, as technology initiatives touch every area of the organization. Learning to work in this more collaborative environment is critical to the success of CIOs, Information Security Officers and IT Auditors. The speaker will share her experiences building relationships and driving collaboration from the unique perspective of a female leader in a male-oriented profession. These lessons, while coming from the IT world, are applicable in all organizations. Importance or relevance to other units or departments: After completing this session, attendees will be able to:

• build relationships across their organizations
• deliver projects more effectively through collaboration
• reduce friction in the organization

Representation of positive role models of all genders, races, and ethnicities is crucial for the recruitment, promotion, and retention of females in IT fields. Whether ages five or twenty-five, exposure to positive portrayals in media inspires curiosity, enhances ideas of what a career in IT could look like, and encourages young women to explore this field in school. Fiction, non-fiction, and biographical texts can highlight careers and social impacts while debunking myths, stigmas, and misconceptions about females in IT. The STEM librarian and Education librarian teamed up to change the library's outdated collection to better represent women of all backgrounds in IT. By strategically purchasing new over 100 titles that focused on women, the librarians sought to enhance and promote collections that were inclusive and reflect the diverse campus community they serve. The audience will learn about the background of this project, including the importance of curating library collections that intentionally represent women in IT in both P-12 books as well as research-level resources and how the library is helping to meet larger STEM campus-wide priorities. Funding, outreach and promotion of the collection, assessment, and future initiatives will also be included.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: The national increase in the number of women in STEM programs necessitated a new and on-going assessment of the library's collections to ensure they reflect the needs and population of faculty, staff, and students. Traditionally, most library collections reflect the majority white male population that has dominated the STEM fields for decades and tell the stories of women as minority voice. Students encounter diversity on a regular basis in their interactions with others at home, in class, or around campus. As the IT field continues to seek gender diversification, it becomes more important to curate and promote collections that reflect this diversity and support women of all backgrounds. Librarians have an obligation to select and support the access to materials on all subjects that meet the needs, interests, and abilities of all persons in the community they serve. By supplying our campus community with narratives of historic and contemporary women succeeding in IT, we encourage female readers of all levels to see themselves participating in IT fields. Patrons in general also gain a broader understanding of how women have shaped the field and may explore new topics due to the availability of alternatives. Faculty may assign new texts in a class that focus on female IT professionals or students may opt to select a different research topic after seeing a book on a female pioneer they had not heard of before. From books for preschoolers that share positive messages about girls who build robots to biographies of female pioneers in computer science for undergraduates writing essays, the new collections promote gender equality in IT and support the campus priority to actively recruit, retain, mentor, and prepare STEM students who will become STEM professionals and educators.

Making changes to our work culture is messy. As IT professionals we often want a nice and tidy solution to problems. But the reality of making changes to our work environment and culture is that we need to accept that it is not like converting from one version of software to a newer version of that software. In addition, there may be many co-workers who think we are trying to fix something that is not even broken.

Building alliances is an important step in the process of culture change. In this workshop you will identify different ally types, examine your personal and professional networks to help identify your allies, and determine where you may need to fill gaps in your ally types to strengthen your alliances. Knowing your ally types, filling any gaps, and strengthening these relationships will help you as you move forward in changing your workplace culture.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments:

Allies come in many forms: cheerleaders, champions, etc., and may be from both personal and professional relationships. Mapping allies and ally types is helpful when developing alliances to take on big challenges.

Creating an ally map requires being able to identify different ally types, the allies you have, and the allies or ally types you are lacking. With this knowledge, you can build and strengthen your alliances necessary for culture change

Program documents
UMD Allies Handouts WAIT.pdf
UMD Allies Presentation WAIT.pdf

Staying silent in the face of demeaning comments, stereotypes or bias allows these attitudes and behaviors to thrive. This undermines our ability to create an inclusive environment where all students or employees are welcomed, treated with respect and able to thrive. Yet, most individuals who want to speak up don't know how. So we say nothing.

Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts is a tool that can be used to help people build confidence and skills to speak up when they hear or experience stereotypes or other demeaning comments.

In the interactive OUCH! presentation participants will have the opportunity to:

• Understand the impact of stereotypes and biased statement, even when casually said.
• Identify the most common reasons people sit silent in the face of bias and stereotypes.
• Enhance skills for speaking up against stereotypes without shame, blame or guilt.

The presentation's agenda includes a review of definitions (Bias, Stereotype, Collude, Ally); Viewing of the Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts video ; a review of Six Techniques for Speaking Up, an Activity to practice reinforcement of the Six Techniques for speaking up, and a post-session quiz.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts is a tool that can be used to help people build confidence and skills to speak up when they hear or experience stereotypes or other demeaning comments.

The computer nerd may be a tired stereotype, however there are elements that are still pervasive in today's IT landscape, specifically in how IT workers view their user population. Kristin and Tara discuss their secret mission to instill a customer-centric philosophy and bring down the anti-social stereotypes from within.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: The value of diversity of ideas within IT. A customer service-oriented approach to IT. Steps to achieve successful collaboration. Maintaining optimism in a jaded work environment.

Program documents
ITDouble Agent_WAITConf_TH.pptx

Are you bringing your authentic self to your workplace? Come and explore your true workplace identity and how not being your authentic self can impact your work life, social life, mental health, and your ability to lead others.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Individuals should be able to be who they are at all times and not be judged or dismissed because they do not fit a particular standard that was set by the majority or the leadership. Meeting individuals where they are at is imperative to creating an inclusive and diverse team, workforce and environment. Embrace Differences and Celebrate Similarities!

Do you always hire the best candidate for the job? Not all managers are experienced in hiring best practices. Many are left to their own devices when recruiting and get little guidance from Human Resources on how to make a good hire. It can be difficult to make hiring a priority and allowing the process to drag on can cause an organization to lose qualified candidates. We've created a Diversity Hiring Toolkit to help IT managers recruit and evaluate quality candidates in a timely manner with diversity and culture in mind. The toolkit gives guidance on how to word job postings, places to post the job, interview questions, interview team participants, rating answers and more. We hope to provide our audience with a framework for building strong teams with an emphasis on diversity and culture.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: With a strong IT market and a limited pool of technically qualifiedcandidates, it can be difficult to focus on diversity and culture when hiring. Having a common, reusable toolkit to help IT managers hire the right person for the job will result in an enriched, modern organization staffed by people who value an inclusive, supportive environment. The results of hiring well will ultimately change the culture in our IT organizations and attract more women and minorities to join our teams. Using this Diversity hiring toolkit, leaders will learn to place value on candidates who fit culturally, and not rely solely on technical qualifications 

It's often said that in leadership, what got you here won't get you there. Have you ever looked back to see what it was that got you here? Working towards an environment where women in IT are the norm and not an anomaly, Laura has never been attracted to "traditional" fields. She has worked in academic IT for over 20 years building the bridge over the murky waters that divide IT and marketing fields. Through the use of a leadership journey looking back on her life, Laura Hayden will share some humorous and serious experiences in her life that illustrate examples of good leadership, bad leadership and how she navigated those scenarios.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Leadership, leadership journey, women in leadership, reflection, presence, emotional intelligence.

Program documents
Hayden,Cultivating Your Leadership 2017.pptx

How can men be better allies for women in IT? What are some starting points and approaches for creating a community of male allies and advocates? How can male allies work to retain and advance women in IT on our campuses? Join Bernadette Williams and Brenda Spychalla, EDUCAUSE Women in IT Constituent Group Co-Leads, and IT professionals from different universities as we discuss strategies, challenges and take-aways for building a strong culture of male allies for women in IT on their campuses and beyond.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Supporting gender diversity in IT is not a problem for just women to address. Men make up the majority of IT staff members and can be important allies and advocates for recruiting, retaining and advancing women in IT. Learn how different campuses are approaching this topic to build a strong culture of male allies for supporting gender diversity in IT.

Program documents
2017_Male_Allies_Panel.pdf

Bullying and harassment are ubiquitous problems that affect individuals across the lifespan. Despite this widespread problem, solutions to bullying and harassment are fraught with many barriers including societal norms, lack of resources, and time constraints. Hackathons, which are organized events designed to use technology to create solutions to
societal problems might be a powerful tool for combatting bullying and online
harassment.

In Spring 2017, Major League Hacking, Hack Harassment, and the University of Nebraska - Lincoln co-hosted a hackathon with the specific goal of creating applications to curb online bullying and harassment. This keynote address with review the winning products created through #HackUNL and will advocate for the creative use of technology to curb online bullying and harassment.

Program documents
WIITNE_Keynote_Swearer_10_18_17_FINAL.pptx

Creative destruction: Abandoning the comparative versions of leadership styles and rewriting the rulebook.

Decades have been spent investigating the unique differences between men and women's leadership styles. This fifty-minute session will introduce a toolset that allows participants to explore individual potential based on four concepts that are gender neutral. The concepts of Analogous framing, humor, adaptability and creativity will be defined and represented during thefirst portion of the presentation in a rigorous exchange. Following the introduction, selected teams will draft a working scaffold for their own innovative model that draws on the concepts presented during the introduction.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Participants will gain a working knowledge of bridging techniques that allow for overcoming common gender based biases and how they can lead to successful strategies in in leadership roles.

Program documents
Presentation.pptx
Final Leadership Script.docx

How can IT encourage students to take greater ownership in their education? How can technology help students differentiate themselves by helping them measure what they are learning outside of the classroom? The College of Law developed its Build Your Character (BYC) Program in 2013 to encourage students to develop leadership and professional skills and track that development. In the fall of 2016, the College introduced a mobile app (iOs, Android, and web-client) to aid students in tracking their development. Although there have been bends in the road, the program and its technology have the potential to help students look at their education holistically and provide them with data about their learning beyond their grades. While this data is valuable in and of itself, it can also provide value if used to help students differentiate themselves from other candidates when applying for jobs. Ultimately, this program (in its totality) is designed for every student's use, but may be most beneficial to students who are average or below average academically but have more fully developed leadership and professional skills that are not as easily measured through their academic performance.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: The topic is one that is at the forefront of higher education - how to help students understand the value of and take advantage of the learning opportunities that take place both within and outside of the classroom. And, similarly, how can we as educators help students capture and measure learning outcomes that result from those opportunities. Technology will play a crucial role in the answers to these questions.

Program documents
Brummond,WomenIT.pptx

Years ago, I wrote about the concept of "The Pit of Success" as it applied to software frameworks. It means that a framework should lead you to success as easy as falling into a pit. It's a contrast to the normal situation where doing things the easy way tends to lead to substandard everything, and only experts can "do it right." This concept resonated with many people and has been applied successfully to a lot of software frameworks. But the notion is much more powerful than just software design guidance. The software industry has had very limited success attracting, retaining, and growing female talent. No matter that women are every bit as capable, the success factors are simply not there. There is no "Pit of Success" for women; it's quite the opposite. The natural forces tend to result in slower advances, more attrition, few successes. It's a Pit of Despair. This talk presents a series of suggestions, for anyone, but especially for men, to help create more success paths for women in technology.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Most of the discussion actually, and not surprisingly, is good advice for anyone regardless of gender. There's career advice for up and coming engineers as well as managers and mentor/sponsor want-to-bes. I think the topic is widely interesting.

Download the presentation

Program documents
Nebraska Talk.pptx

In the world of technology, security is becoming a major problem. Every user wants a faster experience, but have we given up the natural concern for security? As part of the presentation we will identify some of the threats that exist today in the cyber world. We will then dive into how you can protect yourself and your business in a world that keeps getting faster and more insecure.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Every person who uses technology is at risk if they aren't aware of the security concerns. The program will educate users on the threats and how they can effectively use technology in both a secure and convenient way.

Download the presentation

Research demonstrates that organizations perform better when they are inclusive and diverse. Yet, many organizations struggle to develop cultures that recruit, engage, retain and promote a diverse workforce. In particular, while higher education continues to focus on developing a "pipeline" of girls and women to fill positions in IT, science and administration, the workplaces themselves must continue to innovate in support of the many roles women take on at work, at home and in their communities. The Rural Futures Institute (RFI) at the University of Nebraska strives to create a future-focused work environment that supports the career, family and community involvement aspirations of its team members. Technology is at the core of this effort and plays a critical role in the RFI's ability to recruit and retain female team members.

Additionally, IT makes it possible for the RFI to create a connected network of faculty, students and staff across all four University of Nebraska campuses, with rural communities and with partners in Nebraska and beyond. This presentation will emphasize the importance of IT in engaging employees and connecting with stakeholders. We will also present recommendations designed to evolve higher education workplaces on behalf of current and potential female leaders.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Other University units and departments will 1) increase their understanding of how technology builds connections with students and women who may be interested in pursuing careers in IT, science and higher education, 2) learn how RFI is using IT to create a future-focused work environment through employee engagement and well-being and 3) how intergenerational leadership and engagement across the University and with communities is influencing the future of IT use at the RFI.

Researchers have identified 'sense of fit' as the single most important factor for predicting job satisfaction. Recommendations for improving job satisfaction, especially among women in STEM, focus on improving a sense of belonging in STEM departments. At the institutional level, implementing such recommendations requires ongoing, coordinated, efforts to assess organizational culture, resources, and programming opportunities that are responsive to identified needs. While some of these efforts may occur as part of existing institutional planning processes, focused cross-campus coordination is often lacking. Establishing a formal group of interested faculty and staff can provide the infrastructure necessary to effectively coordinate and expand upon institutional efforts that support gender equity and diversity in STEM. WiSTEM PRO^2 is one such group established at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. This two-year old group will discuss accomplishments made in their first year of operation on campus. This includes development of an operational budget, acquiring salary and promotion data, and programming. The main highlights include the partnership with several organizations to bring an international speaker to present on ambition, risk-taking, in career choice and a highly successful panel discussion about diversity in STEM. In addition to accomplishments, challenges and obstacles along with solutions will be presented.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Incorporating professional development and leadership training for underrepresented groups in STEM and IT can be challenging yet is necessary to promote job satisfaction. This presentation will focus on one grassroots model at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The development, organizational structure, and first year of implementation of the model will be highlighted, including accomplishments and obstacles. General audiences may benefit from this model and be able to take these lessons learned to their home institution for implementation. By collecting the data on Women in STEM at UNO, WiSTEM PRO^2 can have a voice in the hiring, retention and promotion of faculty and staff by providing metrics that highlight best practices across campus.

Program documents
Yentes-Women Advance IT.pptx

Across the nation, the number of skilled information technology (IT) professionals to fill open positions is substantially lagging behind the need, and according to code.org, 75% of the United States' underrepresented population is not exposed to computer science. The UNO College of Information Science and Technology (IS&T) is committed to tackling this IT workforce deficit by developing and implementing a multi-faceted program to recruit, inspire, and support students from underrepresented groups in elementary school, middle school, high school, and college.

In this presentation one will take away specific details, best practices, and outcomes for the following initiatives: Elementary and Middle School Outreach Programs, Code Crush Immersion Camp for 8th and 9th grade girls and their teachers, Code Crush Summer Summit, Techademy Summer Camps for students in 5th through 10th grades, event co-coordination for the Nebraska and Southwest Iowa Region of the National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing Award, UNO scholarship programs for Women in IT, the UNO Women in IT Mentoring Program, the UNO Association of Computing Machinery-Women student chapter, support for IS&T students to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference, and other K-12 initiatives.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Recruiting members of underrepresented groups to IT can be challenging yet is necessary to build a diverse IT workforce in Nebraska. This presentation will focus on implementation details, lessons learned, and best practices of programs developed and implemented at the UNO College of IS&T to build the pipeline of women in IT. General audiences may benefit from learning about these programs for implementation at their home institution.

How can we create change within an organization when we don't have power? We have to understand the social and organizational forces working for and against us as we become change agents. Through this presentation and active dialogue, we will learn some simple models for change, strategies that can overcome resistance, and examine how to become effective agents for change.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: We all have the power to lead change. That role doesn't just reside with the people who have been give a title within the organization. This presentation will highlight the types of power we all have and can foster, as well as, steps for leading change within an organization.

Program documents
Perdunn,Change wo Power.pdf

Women Advance IT conference attendees are invited to attend an exclusive evening screening and discussion of "Code: Debugging the Gender Gap" Wednesday, October 18 at Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center.

Public Speaking is a necessary part of virtually every arena, whether for formal or informal settings. The prospect of it can be daunting. Speakers experience nervousness, and it may show up in various ways—profuse sweating, dry mouth, physical shaking, speaking rapidly, averting eyes to the floor while speaking, involuntary movements, stumbling over words, speaking too softly, feeling faint or dizzy, upset stomach, hyperventilating, etc. In these instances, coordination between the use of breath, body, and articulators falters.

In this session, some practical techniques on how to use the breath, body and articulators (lips, teethe, tongue) effectively for public speaking will be taught. Engaging your whole body will empower you to control symptoms of nervousness, prevent vocal fatigue and damage, enhance healthy projection of your voice, and aid in enunciation. As this will be a physically engaging session, be prepared for stretching, breath work, and articulation exercises.

Ms. Laurie Johnson holds a Master's degree in Voice and has taught for over 20 years. Her students have ranged from singers, to speakers, students with degenerative muscular diseases, to those with speech and hearing deficiencies.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Everyone can benefit from these techniques, as public speaking is required in nearly every arena.

Imagine how just one idea can lead to an enduring movement. Witness the Snowball Effect in action! Attendees will be introduced to the origins and growth of the UB Women in STEM Cooperative (UB-WISC), a grassroots coalition of women volunteers dedicated to bridging the STEM gender gap at the University at Buffalo. Kathleen Murphy, Co-Founder of UB-WISC, will share examples of popular programs and reflect on the reasons behind the group's success. The Snowball Effect serves as a model for any organizations interested in advancing women in STEM.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Recipe for Success:

1. Leverage partnerships
2. Practice inclusion
3. Deliver solutions

As more women chose to get involved in technical careers, we, as female leaders, need to find ways to keep them engaged and passionate in their careers, as well as foster their growth. During this session, we will share specific grassroots actions we have lead around fostering the careers of highly talented women within our product and development teams. We will also share our experiences in launching a regional EdTech Women chapter within the Salt Lake City area.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: We believe our experiences, both successful and unsuccessful, may help any manager of technically-minded women within an educational or educational technology organization better foster, develop, and grow the women in their teams.

Join Dr. Sharon Blanton, VP and CIO at The College of New Jersey and Dr. Wayne Brown, Founder, Center for Higher Education CIO Studies, as they present the findings of the longest running higher education CIO research. The presentation will focus on gender differences and challenges discovered in the research and provide advice on how to use the findings in your professional development planning.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: The research focuses on current higher education CIOs and Technology Leaders. By understanding the qualities possessed by current IT leaders, those aspiring to leadership positions can better prepare themselves to be the strongest candidates possible. All presentation attendees will receive a white paper highlighting research findings that may be most useful and pertinent to women in IT.

Program documents
Women in HE IT White Paper.pdf

A group of cross-campus IT professionals were charged with the task of creating collaboration best practices to enable the University IT organizations to more effectively work together by leveraging resources and scale and realizing savings and efficencies. This team will present their recommendations for improved collaboration by identifying practices, resources, and tools that address the four critical aspects of collaboration: People, Culture, Relationships and Tools.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: Many other departments and units are being asked to come together through consolidation and/or collaboration to realize efficiencies and leverage University resources more effectively. The information in this presentation can be used by everyone at the University to work together in a more meaningful and effective way.

Have you ever wondered what exactly was "good" about the "good job" you received from your supervisor? Have you ever debated the best way to constructively critique an employee? Have you ever considered how to accurately evaluate your own work? Effective feedback is a must for creating team growth, personal development (in both ourselves and others) and furthering the mission of our organizations. Today let's take the time to discuss and try best practices in both giving and receiving feedback. In this facilitated discussion, you'll have the opportunity to learn and practice feedback techniques as well as learn the organizational value of feedback and reasoning behind what makes effective feedback. We will also take time to discuss and practice self-assessment and how to give ourselves open and honest feedback. Giving and receiving effective feedback are valuable skills for relationships both personal and professional; come work on honing your feedback skills to better those around you.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: How to give and receive effective feedback as a tool for professional development and leadership.

Program documents
Giving Effective Feedback.pptx
Feedback Scenarios.docx
Resources for Feedback.docx
2016-05-18-Meditation-Arriving-in-Mindful-Presence-5-min-TaraBrach.mp3
Mindfulness Meditation Questionnaire.docx

The Beauty of Unique: Inspiring women and other professionals to use their talents to improve their world. We will investigate the impact we have on the world around us and igniting passion in our daily lives. The group will do inner-evaluations of their current state of impact, their ideas on conformity versus uniqueness, and how to use talents to motivate the community.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: This presentation will encourage and inspire professionals, especially women, to pursue impact and passion in their career and life. The discussions on conformity, societal pressures, and the battle within individuals to conform versus follow passion will assist the audience in making discoveries about themselves. As a woman in Mathematics and IT, I plan on using examples from my own life to assist the audience in making self-discoveries that unveil their true passions and impact on the world.

The relationship of technological and information systems to the law is an emerging and influential area. From think-tanks and policy centers to technology and aerospace companies we see a lack of women in leadership roles that build and guide the industry. This presentation will track several of our most successful Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law female graduates, from The New America Foundation to SpaceX, and identify what services the University provided them that helped them secure positions that lead innovative industries. Program Director, Elsbeth Magilton sat down with these women and asked them three overarching questions of how educational resources can support women entering the technology sector: What should we keep doing? What should we quit doing? What should we start doing?

This presentation will tell their stories and propose a plan for how administrators and faculty can craft an environment that sets women up for success in these industries.

Importance or relevance to other units or departments: This presentation will propose a plan for how administrators and faculty can craft an environment that sets women up for success in tech industries. I will present three simple take-aways: What should we keep doing? What should we quit doing? What should we start doing? The information is presented in the context of programmatic suggestions for program administrators and faculty who work directly with female students interested in entering the tech field.

In today's workplace, unexamined assumptions, double standards, and invisible barriers embedded in organizational cultures constrain opportunities for women. Higher education IT is not immune. Female CIOs are not on par with male CIOs, and their numbers have recently started to fall (from 28 percent in 2016 to 22 percent in 2017) (Brown, 2017). Diehl and Dzubinski (2016) have created a comprehensive framework of barriers women face and the level of society in which they tend to operate most strongly, making a case for organizations to take a broader perspective when supporting women.

Join this session to learn to identify bias that makes it challenging for women to contribute fully to the work and goals of the organization.

Program documents
Diehl-Advancing Women in IT-Recognizing Unconscious Gender Bias.pdf

Networking is the #1 unwritten rule for success. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, many Senior Women Executives attribute their advancement due to the connections they have. Yet, a recent Harvard Business Review report found that 77 percent of all women are uncomfortable with networking. This session will discuss how successful women have used networking to find candidates to hire as well as increase their own advancement. Ratcheting up your outreach efforts will lead you to wonderful role models, mentors, sponsors, investors, and women to test out your ideas. It all circles back to networking! Ready for that next promotion? Who is in your network? Let’s expand it today!