Inhalt: "National Council for Research on Women finds that much of the progress that women
have made in science, engineering, and technology has stalled or eroded. As we enter
the new millennium, there will be an increasing need for a scientifically and technologically
literate workforce. A student organization, Women in Technology, was formed at Purdue
University-West Lafayette in 1998 in response to data indicating that there had been
no increase in the number of women enrolled in the University's School of Technology
over the past five years. Such data were consistent with those produced by national
studies indicating that the trend of increasing numbers of women enrolling in engineering,
science, and technology programs in American colleges and universities, established
in the preceding two decades, had ceased. The aim of Women in Technology was to attract
more women to the School, and reduce the attrition rate of women already in the program
by serving as a well-recognized, formal context in which they could receive mentoring
and in which they could find stable social support to help them achieve their academic
and career objectives. This article discusses an overview of the organization, the
results of a survey of members' undergraduate classroom experiences, student-generated
strategies for addressing the concerns revealed in the survey, and the implementation
of those strategies." (author's abstract)|