Why Should You Start an ACM-W Chapter at Your School?

We know that, even as the number of students in computing increases, there are still relatively few women. There have been many articles and reports describing the situation of women in computing (such as The Incredible Shrinking Pipeline). You can counter this trend at your schools!


What can an ACM-W Student Chapter do? A LOT!

Download "101 Ideas for ACM-W Chapters" here.

  • Activities to educate women about the opportunities in the computing field;
  • Engage women students in exciting computing activities;
  • Connect students with women leaders in the field;
  • Encourage students to promote the field of computing to young girls;
  • Promote the activities of ACM;
  • Network with other ACM-W Chapter leaders and members;
  • Mentor chapter members and pre-college girls;
  • Broaden the computing community; and
  • Extend the “conversation” about why it’s important to increase the number of women in computing.

The ACM-W Student Chapter Program is part of the larger ACM Student Chapter Program. You will receive guidance from ACM-W about activities and the day-to day running of a Chapter plus you can draw on the resources and experiences of the larger ACM-W and ACM Student Chapter network – over 500 Student Chapters worldwide.

To start an ACM-W chapter: http://www.acm.org/chapters/students/form-acmw.
Local Activities Contact (for questions about starting or running an ACM-W Student Chapter):Local_Activities at hq.acm.org

For more information and ideas, check the resource jointly developed with the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT). How to Create and Sustain a Women in Computing Group on Your Campus

To See Current ACM-W Chapters

Contact Us!

If you have any concerns, please let us know how we can help you. You will find that the rewards of forming an ACM-W Student Chapter go far beyond the honing of your leadership and project management skills; you will be making a contribution to the future of the computing field.




Paula Gabbert Virginia Grande Gloria Childress Townsend
Professor, Computer Science Research Assistant, Computer Science Professor, Computer Science
Furman University Uppsala University DePauw University
Paula.Gabbert at furman.edu vgrande at acm.org gct at depauw.edu