By Andrew Kantor andrew.kantor@roanoke.com 981-3384
There's no single or quick solution to getting more women into the information technology profession. But there are some solid starting points.

First, suggests Joe Chase, acting dean of Radford University's College of Information Science and Technology, show middle- and high- school girls that their age-old perceptions may be wrong.

One of the best ways might be to give them a taste of the IT curriculum.

"Women who get two years of IT background often go into the field," he explained. But many students feel they need to choose their major during their freshman year, when they're still carrying the notion of the unwashed, basement-living geek.

Instead, Chase said, get them into programs that don't let students choose a major till their junior year. That allows girls who like computers to be exposed to the subject even more, and increase the chance that they'll opt to major in it.

But programs like that are few and far between. Even Chase's own university, Radford, doesn't offer one.

Community colleges, however, do. In fact, according to Chase, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia recommends a "2+2" program for students: two years in community college, followed by two years at a four-year school.

But SCHEV's motive isn't about IT; it's about space. Four-year colleges are about to be hit by the "Echo Boom" -- the large number of children born to baby boomers who are about to enter the higher ed system. Virginia's universities may not have the facilities or staff to handle them, which could mean full classes and disgruntled potential IT students.

Community colleges, if they can find enough teachers (the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools requires them to have a master's degree, as well as 18 hours in the field they're teaching), can reduce the pressure on four-year universities while also giving prospective IT students a pressure-free taste.

Another suggestion: Get girls into peer groups that let them talk about computers without feeling uncomfortable or competitive with boys. And get them there soon.

"You almost have to have groups in elementary and middle school of gals who are interested in these things," said McNeill.

IBM does just that with its 40 worldwide EXITE camps -- five- month programs for middle-school-age girls, run by Big Blue volunteers and designed to give them a taste of the geek life -- everything from designing a Web page to working with robotics to building their own computer.

They end up not only with some technical knowledge (and hopefully a desire to continue into a science or technology career), but also with a group of friends they can turn to for support after the program ends.

That's important -- the support mustn't end once those girls move on to high school and college.

Knowing that, Paula Gulak started a group for women in technology management in central Virginia -- a forum where women can ask questions and get advice from their peers without the judgment that often comes on the job.

"These women were very bright, who had very good jobs, still did not feel comfortable asking questions," Gulak said. Her network is for them "to talk about emerging technologies, bounce off a peer group some of the questions they have, and assist them in what is perceived to be a male environment."

The bottom line -- and the lesson learned by parents and teachers -- is that boys and girls and men and women have similar abilities but different needs. The current IT environment seems to favor men: It focuses on lone workers over teams and of competition over collaboration.

It's not that women can't work alone or can't compete. But it's becoming clear that, if we intend to fill the ever-widening gap of IT professionals, shifting how they work might attract the people who can do the job.