Page 15 - The MIL Connection: Summer 2024

dedicated to helping girls and young women pursue computer science and engineering
careers, Saujani created a new and innovative way to help bridge the opportunity gap for GWC
participants. Each year, her organization introduces high school girls to creative computer
science fields like robotics and game design through clubs, at-home, and summer programs
and young college-age students and early in their career professionals with assistance applying
for internships, prepping for job interviews, and developing leadership skills.
According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics’ publication Diversity
and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities 2023 (Special Report NSF 23-
315), women earn only 21% of comp sci undergraduate degrees.
Since its founding in 2012, GWC and Saujani’s efforts have impacted the lives of thousands of
girls by inspiring them to aspire and then preparing them for a future in a STEM field. Saujani
recognizes that men are still the key players in the computer science/technology industry,
stating that women comprise only 22 percent of computer science professionals. However,
according to Saujani, “It is so baked into our DNA to think that we are not adequate–when, in
fact, we might even be more qualified than our male peers. Unlike men, we had to fight to be in
the room.”
To get a first-hand account of what it means to be a female computer scientist, we asked MIL
Program Manager and member of the AANHPI community Ashima Lall to share a little of her
own personal journey as a woman in tech. What we discovered is that despite the statistical
underrepresentation and the challenges girls and women may face in the still male-dominated
industry, happily it’s not everyone’s experience.
Before entering this field, did you know the extent to which women were and are
underrepresented in computer science?
Ashima: I did not. I graduated with a B.S. in Information Systems Management and got a
job in a large IT company straight out of college. Several other students (male and female)
were selected based on their GPA scores; I did not see any underrepresentation then. After
working in this field for almost 23 years, I felt that IT is one of those fields where gender isn’t
a qualifying criteria, it is the caliber and skillset of the person that determines their success.
Therefore, I did not face any challenges based on gender.
Would a program like Girls Who Code have made a difference to you in the beginning/
during your technical education and or early in your professional development?
Ashima: While any training programs are beneficial to students who are close to graduating
and entering the corporate world, training on software development would benefit anyone
regardless of their gender.
Have you had the opportunity to create and innovate in your IT career thus far?
Ashima: Yes, the opportunities to create and innovate began in college when we were assigned
project work, for example programming assignments. Those involved implementing what we
learned in our own style thus using our creativity and innovation. Similarly, when I started
working as an IT professional and most importantly as a manager, I used my creativity, based
on IT and management principles, to develop standard operating procedures to operationalize
processes on the team.

About Ashima
Ashima currently heads up MIL’s IT contracts at the Library
of Congress, managing a portfolio of contracts and teams
delivering networking, cabling, and service desk support
to Library stakeholders and users. Part of Ashima’s remit is
to help bring process improvements to the Library through
proactive planning that follows ITSM standards. Along with
over two decades of IT industry experience, Ashima earned
her undergrad degree in Information Systems Management
(referenced above) from UMBC. She also received an MBA
from Johns Hopkins University and holds a PMP certificate
from the Project Management Institute.

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