Program seeks more women for computer fields

HOUGHTON, Mich. (AP) - Michigan Tech University has been chosen for a program designed to get more women involved in computer-related disciplines.

Twenty universities and 14 companies were selected for the National Center for Women and Information Technology Pacesetters program, in which leaders commit to increasing the number of women in the nation's computing and technology workforce.

It's sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Google and Qualcomm.

Admissions Director Allison Carter says Michigan Tech will seek young women alumni willing to share their experiences with prospective students about undergraduate research, co-ops and internships.

Program leaders say women hold only 25 percent of all computing-related jobs in the U.S. and earn just 18 percent of computing and information sciences degrees granted by the nation's universities.