CAREER: When Two Worlds Collide: An Intersectional Analysis of Black Women's Role Strain and Adaptation in Computing Sciences

阿拉巴马大学将考察黑人女性本科生在计算机科学(CS)领域的学术和职业成就。目前，计算领域的需求很大，劳动力结果有利，需要不同的视角。尽管如此，黑人女性在CS职业道路上的代表性仍然很低。影响黑人女性进入计算机行业的一些因素是她们的大学经历--特别是她们面临的挑战或偏见，以及培养韧性的优势和支持。该项目还将制定教育倡议，以促进公众参与这些领域中与黑人妇女有关的公平问题。总的来说，这些活动将有助于促进CS多样性，并扩大计算领域的机会，为社会带来整体利益。这个职业项目的混合方法研究计划包括一项全国性调查，以考察黑人本科生女性的挑战、多层次的心理社会风险和多层次的心理社会优势如何结合在一起，形成与计算相关的关键学术和职业成果。这项研究将比较黑人女性与其他重要群体(即黑人男性和白人女性)的结果，因为迫切需要更好地了解她们在由于种族和性别而产生的偏见交叉点上的独特经历。此外，定性数据将被用来进一步解释黑人女性的种族性别经历，以及它如何影响她们的学业和与职业相关的结果。作为对这项研究的补充，该项目的教育计划将包括以下举措：1)培养CS教育学者社区，以进一步扩大CS参与的工作；2)通过制作和传播一部纪录片，将STEM和艺术(即STEAM)结合起来，以提高对影响黑人妇女CS学术和与职业相关成果的挑战和优势的认识；3)创建和传播一门了解媒体的课程，以激发对黑人妇女在计算机领域的经验的思考和对话，以及组织变革的战略；以及4)在社交媒体上为本科生黑人女性在计算机领域创建虚拟平台，以发展社区和团结。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The University of Alabama will examine Black undergraduate women’s academic and career-related outcomes in the computing sciences (CS). Computing fields are currently in high demand with favorable workforce outcomes and a need for diverse perspectives. Nonetheless, Black women remain underrepresented along CS professional pathways. Some factors that influence Black women’s trajectories into computing professions are their college experiences—especially the challenges or biases that they face, as well as the strengths and supports that foster resilience. This project will also develop educational initiatives to promote public engagement in equity issues regarding Black women in these fields. Collectively, these activities will help to promote CS diversity and to expand opportunities in computing for the overall benefits to society.The mixed-methods research plan for this CAREER project includes a national survey to examine how Black undergraduate women’s challenges, multilevel psychosocial risks and multilevel psychosocial strengths combine to shape key academic and career-related outcomes in computing. This study will compare outcomes for Black women to other important groups (i.e., Black men and White women) given the dire need to better understand their unique experiences at the intersection of biases due to their race and gender. Moreover, qualitative data will be used to further explain Black women’s race-gendered experiences and how it impacts their academic and career-related outcomes. As a compliment to the research, the educational plan for this project will include initiatives to: 1) nurture a community of scholars in CS education to further the work of broadening CS participation; 2) combine STEM and the arts (i.e. STEAM) via production and dissemination of a documentary to increase awareness about the challenges and strengths that impact Black women’s CS academic and career-related outcomes; 3) create and disseminate a media-informed curriculum to provoke thought and dialogue about the experiences of Black women in computing, along with strategies for organizational transformation; and 4) create virtual platforms on social media for undergraduate Black women in computing to develop community and solidarity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.