Lehman Women are Innovating Tech
By Lysa Vanible
Computer Science Professor Eva Sofianos between classes. Photo by Lysa Vanible.
Lehman women are embarking on new technology projects and engaging in courses that challenge the status quo in the computer and data science fields.
“There’s not a lot of women in technology right now, but it is gradually increasing,” said Lehman sophomore Daniella Encarnacion, a 22-year-old computer science major and founding member of the Women in Computer Science club (WICS). “Women have become empowered through networking, hackathons, mentorship and extracurricular activities.”
Some Lehman experts think that the need to compete in a globalized job market translates to opportunity in student clubs like WICS. The student-led clubs are gaining momentum and creating technological innovations on campus.
“I had the opportunity to create a Google Developer group that currently boasts 2,534 members,” said Eva Sofianos, a computer science lecturer. “We want to add introduction to computer science courses to pathways that introduce programming in a gentler way, so more people will learn to love computer science as much as I do. As the only full-time female professor in the computer science department, the innovation I project is by being in the classroom. I believe seeing a female in the classroom helps other women see themselves.”
According to the Office of Institutional Research and Development, only six out of 18 professors in computer science are women, and one in five students in the major is female. However, a wide range of interdisciplinary courses combine traditional majors with technology, and the integrated courses at Lehman are right in step with the expansion in job opportunities created by global markets. That can create doors for women and minorities in a profession that is predominantly male and white.
“The revolution in big data has spawned a second look by students, as it integrates other majors that include courses that allow students to learn coding,” said Lehman Dean Elin Waring.
This incorporation of data science “can be seen in majors across the spectrum. Coding is being used to correlate mapping, graphs and plots, qualitative and quantitative data visualization, while also calculating statistical inference.”
“I believe seeing a female in the classroom helps other women see themselves.”
- Computer Science Lecturer Eva Sofianos
Waring cited chemistry, sociology, economics, biology, psychology and geography as courses that have “brought data to those professions,” along with the nursing program’s use of lab instruments “while gathering and documenting essential data.”
The tech revolution has gained momentum at all CUNY institutions. Upcoming workshops on campus include Open Data NYC on April 6, sponsored by the Leonard Lief Library and the Bronx-based non-profit The Knowledge House, which will present a forum on Data Privacy in an Open Data World on April 7. The tech and data expansion for women has a long road ahead, and Lehman students are gearing up for the long haul.
