Crain’s: CUNY, Cornell Tech Launch Women in Tech Initiative

Cornell Tech and CUNY, with founding partner Verizon, today announced the Women in Technology and Entrepreneurship in NY initiative, or WiTNY, which aims to increase the number of women in technology in NYC, Crain’s New York reports.

The tech talent pipeline has always been narrower for women than for men. That may take a long time to change, but starting in the fall the nation’s largest public college system will be trying something different.

In partnership with Cornell Tech and Verizon, and with help from other tech companies, the City University of New York will launch an introductory computer-science class designed to appeal to women and increase the population at the start of the pipeline. The class is part of a wider initiative called Women in Technology and Entrepreneurship in NY, or WiTNY, which will include internship and mentoring programs in coordination with local companies and tech leaders.

The introductory class, which Cornell Tech helped design, teaches computer science not as an abstract discipline but as a subject that can apply to broader issues and concerns.

Read the full article on Crain’s New York.