Much research has been conducted on barriers to attracting and retaining women in undergraduate computing programs. Below is a list of practices suggested by research to increase participation of women, followed by NCWIT Social Science Advisory Board white papers.
- Peer-Led Team Learning: Retaining women through collaborative learning NEW!
- Storytelling: An engaging way to introduce computing NEW!
- Unplugged: An engaging way to introduce computing NEW!
- Teaching Programming and Language Concepts Using LEGOS: An engaging way to introduce computing concepts
- Faculty Perspectives: Using REUs to retain female undergraduates
- Pair Programming: Retaining women through collaborative learning
- Media Computation at Georgia Tech: Attracting students through an engaging introductory computing curriculum
- The Conversational Classroom: Retaining women through inclusive pedagogy
- Designing for Diversity: Recruiting women through inclusive pedagogy
- MentorNet: An example of effective electronic mentoring
- Girls Exploring Science, Engineering, and Technology (GESET): Targeted recruitment of women and girls into IT
- Regional Celebrations of Women in Computing (R-CWIC): An example of intentional role modeling
- "Top 10 Ideas for Involving More Women in Computing - Academic Version"
- "The Category of 'Girl' with Respect to Technology"
- "The Goal of 'Parity' in Information Technology"
- "Transitions in the Gender Role of Historical Occupations: The Role of Cultural Forces"
NCWIT Survey-in-a-Box: Student Experience of the Major
NCWIT's Survey-in-a-Box: Student Experience of the Major is a set of resources for assessing, interpreting, and improving the climate of undergraduate computing departments to improve retention of and increase enrollment by all students. Visit our Survey-in-a-Box page to read more or download this resource.
Gearing Up for Change: Institutional Reform in Undergraduate Computing Programs
NCWIT's Gearing Up for Change: Institutional Reform in Undergraduate Computing Programs address the components that affect a student’s experience in an undergraduate computing program and conditions that need to be present in order for organizational change to occur. Download this resource here.

