Targeted recruiting means planning strategically: set quantifiable goals; identify large, capable audiences; personalize the content of your message; deliver that message in media that are relevant to your audience; and pay attention to people who influence your audience’s decision-making. High school computer science teachers who actively recruit girls and minority students report more students overall and more female students in their courses.

This card gives adults talking points and additional resources for a conversation with their daughters and/or other young people. The main message is that IT offers meaningful work, security and high salaries with a bachelor’s degree, and flexibility and variety. Information is provided to address these specific questions: What should you tell a young woman about a career in IT? How can a young woman prepare now for a career in IT?

• Available in Spanish

The décor of physical spaces conveys messages about the kinds of people who belong there and the kinds of activities that should be done there. Understanding this influence allows us to actively craft an environment that makes a broad range of people feel welcome in computing. 

Computer Science-in-a-Box: Unplug Your Curriculum introduces fundamental building blocks of computer science -- without using computers. Use it with students ages 9 to 14 to teach lessons about how computers work, while addressing critical mathematics and science concepts such as number systems, algorithms, and manipulating variables and logic. NCWIT is pleased to offer Computer Science-in-a-Box: Unplug Your Curriculum in cooperation with the authors of Computer Science Unplugged. So unplug your computer, and get ready to explore computer science!