Latinas in Computing: Latinas in GHC07

Latinas in Computing will have 3 events at the 2007 Grace Hopper Conference in Orlando, FL.

  1. A panel titled Successful Latinas Opening Doors to the Future: Advancing Latinas in Computing on Oct 19th at 1:40PM.
  2. A BOF session titled Latinas in Computing on Oct. 19th at 5:10PM. This session is intended as a follow-on to the panel.
  3. A lunch event on Oct. 19th 12:15-1:30 in the Gardenia Room on the mezzanine. This event is for 30 people so RSVP the list keeper.

Brochure LiC GHC07 is the brochure prepared to advertise these events as well as our community.

For the Successful Latinas Opening Doors to the Future panel, we have invited six distinguished Latinas from the Industry and the Academia to participate in this panel. We hope to make of this initiative a tradition and look forward to its success at GHC07. Below a description of the topics to discuss subdivided into two sections.

Professional Section

In this section leading Latinas in the Computing industry would share their experiences as Latinas in the Industry, including missconceptions and stereotypes they have encountered, as well as ways to leverage the Latino culture to succeed in our professional career. Some of the key topics to be debated in this panel are:

  • Strategies and means to help professional Latinas to advance in their careers
  • Practical advice regarding how to take the next step onto the ladder of success without lossing focus, getting side-tracked or demotivated.
  • Challenges faced by Latinas when it comes to networking with people outside their local community which is crucial to get established as professionals.
  • Effective approaches well aligned with the Latino culture to overcome stereotypes and misconceptions in the workplace.
  • Ways to deal with being a double-minority and ways to identify issues that overlap what and cause division in other related minority groups, such as groups that focus on the issues of white females.

Student Section

In this section Latinas would share their experience as active members in the Academia and discuss the strategies and initiatives to support young Latinas at colleges and universities as they make progress toward their degrees. Some of the key topics to be addressed in this panel are:

  • Challenges faced by young Latinas when it comes to creating mentor relationships at the undergraduate and graduate level due to the lack of support and under-representation of Latinas in their community.
  • Proposed effective mechanisms and initiatives to extend the social network of Latina students outside their local community when seeking for role models and peers.
  • The language barrier as main obstacle when networking in the academia, its prejudicial effects and how to overcome it.
  • Practical advice on several issues including choosing an advisor, choosing a mentor, getting letter of recommendations, coping with the language barrier in interivews and applying for scholarships.