How to get more women into technology

One of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders (Fortune 2014), Dr Maria Klawe, will deliver a public lecture in St Andrews next week (Wednesday 30 March).

Dr Klawe, a renowned mathematician, computer scientist and scholar, will give a talk at the University of St Andrews on the subject of women in technology.

Her lecture, entitled ‘Getting More Women into Technology Careers’, will take place at 5.45pm in the University’s Physics Lecture Theatre A on the North Haugh. The event, the fourth Andrew Carnegie Lecture to be held in St Andrews, is free and open to all.

The first woman President of Harvey Mudd College in California, Dr Klawe has made significant research contributions to the fields of mathematics and computer science.

‌Dr Klawe (pictured right), who uses maths to uncover the structure of the Universe and sometimes paints in meetings, says that “any kind of person can be a scientist”.

In her lecture, Dr Klawe will talk about how Harvey Mudd College dramatically increased the number of females majoring in computer science, from 10% to more than 40%.

Speaking ahead of the St Andrews event, Dr Klawe said: “Over the past decade the participation of females in the tech industry has declined rather than advanced.

“This is unfortunate for young women because of the incredible career opportunities, for the tech industry because of the loss of incoming talent, and for society because of the loss of diversity of perspective among tech teams. In my lecture I will talk about how we can improve the situation.”

The lecture is part of a ten-year long series of events established for the centenary of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The programme aims to bring some of the world’s most important thinkers in the fields of the arts, sciences, education and international affairs to Scotland to engage with local audiences in a vibrant exchange of knowledge and ideas.

The Carnegie Corporation was established in 1911 by Andrew Carnegie, the great industrialist and philanthropist. Fife-born Carnegie (1835-1919) was Rector of St Andrews between 1901 and 1907.

The lectures, which began in 2014, take place at Scotland’s ancient universities: St Andrews, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Note to editors:

Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews. Contact Gayle Cook, Senior Communications Manager, on 01334 462530, email [email protected].

Ref: Carnegie lecture 240316