Undergraduate Women’s Experiences Building and Leveraging Social Capital to Secure Computing Internships

• In Event: Experiences in Higher Education

Abstract

Internship engagement is associated with post-graduate employment outcomes, so disparities in women’s internship access and participation may perpetuate inequities in the U.S. workforce, especially in STEM. Understanding how undergraduate women build and use their networks and resources to secure internships thus provides insight into their career development strategies. This phenomenological study uses Social Capital Theory and Feminist Standpoint Theory to explore how 40 undergraduate women in computing programs built and leveraged social capital to secure computing internships. Results demonstrate that the women formed relationships with other women in the field and engaged with and leveraged established networks, such as institutional resources and professional organizations, to obtain computing internships.

Authors

• Maria Aguilar Walls, Temple University

• Katie N. Smith, Temple University