Women in Technology Conference

Held annually in the spring, the Women in IT Conference is designed to help female MIS students’ network with other women who are currently building their careers in the information technology industry. Senior executives, managers, professionals and new hires share insights with students on a range of topics, including trends in technology, securing a job, advancing careers, finding a mentor and balancing the demands of work and a personal life. This full-day conference brings together current and former female students, CMIS Board member industry, TAMU technology staff, and ladies from other technology industries. In addition to Texas A&M students, students from Prairie View, Tarleton State, Texas A&M International, Commerce, Corpus Christi, Kingsville and West Texas A&M as well as Blinn College attend the conference. We also invite faculty from MIS programs at Baylor and the University of Houston. We would like to bring in high school students interested in technology from the local area and provide breakout sessions targeted for each group.

Significance: The reality is that women in computing and IT face significant obstacles. Of all the women in the technology private sector, 56 percent will leave midway through their careers – not because of family obligations, but because they’re dissatisfied with their jobs. Women in technology are few in number. In 2014, women hold only 26 percent of technology and computing jobs, though they fill more than half of all professional occupations in the U.S. Only 11 percent of C-level executives at Fortune 500 tech companies are women. Capitalizing on the power of gender diversity can yield a larger and more competitive computing and IT workforce. Imagine men and women working together to design technology that is as broad and creative as the people it serves. Women represent a vast, untapped talent pool that can bolster the technical workforce.

For inquiries, please contact Della Whitcomb, Director of the Center for the Management of Information Systems (CMIS), at dwhitcomb@mays.tamu.edu.