Georgia State University Program Helps Black Women Students in Computing

ATLANTA — A new program at Georgia State University is helping Black women succeed in their computer science and computer information systems studies, and preparing them for employers eager to diversify the workforce in tech.

Anu Bourgeois, a professor in the Department of Computer Science in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Nannette Napier, a clinical professor in the Computer Information Systems Department in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, collaborated to create the program called Reaching for Inclusion —Striving for Excellence (RISE) in Computing.

The RISE in Computing program aims to increase the number of Black women graduating with degrees in technical fields, providing better social mobility, career options and job security after graduation.

RISE in Computing Scholars is a cohort-based community to support undergraduate computing students during their junior and senior years, with an emphasis on enhancing the lived experiences of Black women. Bourgeois and Napier were awarded a $500,000 grant from the Reboot Representation Tech Coalition to launch the RISE in Computing program and conduct research in this space. The coalition is a partnership of leading tech companies that aims to double the number of Black, Latina and Native American women receiving computing degrees by 2025.

At Georgia State, Black women represent 29 percent of the undergraduate student body. However, they represent only 10 percent of the Computer Science majors and 18 percent of the Computer Information Systems majors.

“We have a really strong population of Black women in computing, but we were looking at the enrollment data as compared to our graduation data and noticed that there’s a big gap,” Bourgeois said.

And Black women who do graduate with a degree in computing are less likely to stay in their chosen field once they enter the workforce, according to the System Upgrade report, which features research from Reboot Representation. This report provides a set of actionable steps that companies can take to retain this talent.

“Even though there are all these national efforts that help support students, once they enter the workforce, about 40 percent of Black women tend to leave,” Bourgeois said.

Bourgeois and Napier said the reasons for leaving the workforce are similar to those that cause many Black women to drop out of tech majors in college — a feeling they don’t belong.

“This started off as listening to our students, talking to our students, seeing what they wanted and what they were feeling. We realized that they feel like they don’t belong in their classes,” Bourgeois said. “They have imposter syndrome and extra stresses and burdens in their lives that aren’t necessarily there for many of the other women in the field.”

As a group, women are a minority in computing, but research shows that Black women face more difficulty succeeding and being accepted in computing fields because of the combined effects of being both Black and a woman.

To address these factors, the RISE in Computing Scholars program provides professional development workshops, technical workshops, and tutoring and mentoring based on the students’ career interests. So far, the program has admitted nearly 100 students.

Bourgeois and Napier said Georgia State University is the perfect place for this program because of the sheer number of Black women who attend and graduate from the university. Between their two departments, they have close to 600 undergraduate computing majors who are Black women.

Black women represent 13 percent of the national population enrolled in computer science programs, according to the Computer Research Association’s annual Taulbee survey, which tracks enrollment, graduation, job placement and faculty salary information for Ph.D.-granting institutions, including GSU.

“We have this large population of Black women in our major, and if we could place them in the field, it would really make an impact nationally,” Bourgeois said.

Bourgeois and Napier also hope the program will incentivize many of the tech companies flocking to Atlanta to engage with the RISE in Computing Scholars program and connect with Georgia State University when searching for new employees.

—By Katherine Duplessis