1. How did you decide to pursue a career in technology?
I took my first computer science course as a sophomore in college and really enjoyed the problem solving. I found myself enthralled by the challenge of creating my own working programs. I continued to take computer science courses because I enjoyed them and eventually changed my major. My faculty advisor strongly encouraged me to continue to graduate school. I planned on completing a master’s degree and getting a job, but I decided to try the PhD preliminary exam challenge, passed and then decide to continue. I am very happy that I continued on with my education which enabled me to pursue a career that combines research, teaching, and service in projects in which I have a passion to volunteer.
2. Based on your own experience, what skill(s) or characteristic(s) do you think are most important for technical women to succeed?
Similar to men, technical women need to be good problem solvers, persistent, and able to communicate and collaborate well. I believe it is also important to stay self confident and be willing to take risks.
3.What was the greatest challenge that you overcame in your career?
My greatest challenge has been building my self confidence and being assertive. I still sometimes get into situations where I can feel my self confidence fading and I become less assertive.
When in those situations, I build my self confidence by being extra prepared for meetings and presentations, recalling my previous successes and my own personal strengths, and thinking about how I’m in good company with all the successful women who have talked about experiencing the imposter syndrome. I can feel myself becoming more assertive as I regain my confidence.
4. How do you manage work/life balance?
My husband and I have 3 children, now ages 22, 20, and 15. They were born after graduate school but some before tenure. My husband and I work well as a team sharing the responsibilities and the joys of our children. I feel like my husband and I balance our professional and private lives quite well. I am very organized and efficient, which helps. We have a family calendar on the refrigerator so we all see what is coming up. If it isn’t there, we aren’t responsible for driving. I put my children’s sports games and other events on my calendar like a meeting and ensure I get to them, then make up for that time later. When they needed help with homework, we did our “homework” together at the kitchen table, and I did mine as they worked and asked for help. I taught them how to make cookies so they could make their cookies for their school events. My husband teaches high school science at the same school where our children attend so he is home in the summers with them and drives them to and from school. We had childcare at our home until they were preschool age. When they were sick, I toted them to school or stayed home. We always have dinner as a family talking about our days. We instituted our family motto early on — “be flexible”, so when things go awry, we just remember the family motto and laugh it off.
5. What advice would you give to women in high tech who want to advance on the management track specifically?
Learn to be assertive and self confident. Go to leadership workshops to learn how to manage people well. Network to make contacts for current and future positions and projects.
6. How do you stay current in your technical field?
I read technical papers, attend conferences and lectures by visiting scholars, and volunteer to teach topics that are a bit of a stretch for me. I also collaborate with researchers in other fields of study and learn from them.
7. In your opinion, what (if any) are the remaining barriers faced by women in technology?
I believe there are still barriers in terms of isolation, lack of mentors, and lack of self confidence and assertiveness. There are fewer and fewer women in the computer science major, and this will cause even more isolation in coming years. There are women in organizations where they have few mentors that they feel comfortable asking questions and getting advice. The most common theme when talking with young women at technical conferences is lack of self confidence and assertiveness.
For 24 years, Lori Pollock has enjoyed mentoring student researchers, teaching CS with collaborative classroom activities and service learning, and working to increase the successful participation of women in computing research. She is a Professor of CIS at the University of Delaware. Her research focuses on developing automatic software analyses for better software maintenance tools, software testing, and optimizing compilers for parallel computing systems. Her group is currently analyzing and modeling the natural language in programs, to automatically generate comments and improve code search tools. Another project focuses on automating aspects of testing web applications, particularly test case generation and test oracles. She was honored as an ACM Distinguished Scientist in 2010. Lori is Associate Editor for ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology.
Lori Pollock teaches courses primarily in compiler construction, parallel programming, automatic program analysis and transformation, and software testing. Lori was awarded the University of Delaware’s Excellence in Teaching Award. She currently co-leads a service learning course matching CS teams with middle school teachers to design and deploy XO laptop learning games.
As a member of the Computing Research Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing (CRA-W), she has organized Career Mentoring and Graduate Cohort workshops, and served as cochair. She was awarded the University of Delaware’s E. A. Trabant Award for Women’s Equity in 2004.
Lori earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh in 1986 and 1983, respectively, and her B.S. in Computer Science and Economics at Allegheny College in 1981.