{"id":25135,"date":"2015-03-11T13:04:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T17:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=25135"},"modified":"2016-05-19T13:14:20","modified_gmt":"2016-05-19T17:14:20","slug":"fiu-mis-women-reach-out-to-high-school-girls-to-pull-it-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2015\/03\/fiu-mis-women-reach-out-to-high-school-girls-to-pull-it-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"FIU MIS women reach out to high school girls to \u201cpull it forward.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"womenit-02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When Jennifer Baker was in high school in Texas, no one discussed a possible future in Management Information Systems (MIS). Now that she\u2019s a junior at Florida International University (FIU) working on a bachelor\u2019s degree in MIS, she\u2019s determined to spread the word: MIS is a field high school girls should take seriously.<\/p>\n

Baker is the current president of ITWomen NextGen<\/a>, an organization in the College of Business that is working to increase the number of women in the fields of technology and engineering. ITWomen NextGen held a four-woman panel discussion entitled \u201cMIS Careers: The Jobs of Tomorrow\u201d for 40 female high school students enrolled at the Miami Lakes Educational Center (part of Miami-Dade Public Schools), on February 20, 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like big sisters talking to their kid sisters, truly one of the best panels I\u2019ve seen,\u201d said Karlene Cousins, associate professor in the Decision Sciences and Information Systems Department who co-founded ITWomen NextGen along with Gladys Simpson (PhD \u201911), an instructor in the Decision Sciences and Information Systems department. \u201cThese four women are passionate about their future in MIS. They were eager to share what they know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"womenit-04\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Baker, who is now working on a bachelor\u2019s degree in Asian Studies as well as MIS, welcomed the opportunity to mentor younger women.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur organization has benefited from women in the field coming to speak with us at FIU about their professions, pulling us forward by sharing what they know. Now it was our turn to do the same for high school girls,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what motivated me to be part of the panel discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIU instructor Simpson said the audience was very receptive to what the FIU students were sharing.<\/p>\n

\u201cMessages coming from other students who are just slightly older beats any marketing campaign,\u201d she pointed out. \u201cThe response from the attendees was very positive. They asked so many questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also on the panel were FIU MIS majors Alana Ascanio, Ana Marinez and Laura Smith, the founding president of ITWomen NextGen, the first college chapter of ITWomen, a not-for-profit organization based in South Florida.<\/p>\n

\"womenit-03\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Women should know the advantages of MIS career. <\/em><\/p>\n

A disproportionate number of people in MIS are men. According to a 2012 Forbes estimate, women are only 26 percent of the field. But it\u2019s a field less troubled by gender parity than others; women\u2019s earnings are 97 percent of men\u2019s earnings.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur panel discussed the need for more women in MIS and why we are choosing careers in the field,\u201d said Smith, a graduating senior with a double major in MIS and International Business who moderated the panel. \u201cWe also shared why we selected FIU, spoke about the high regard we have for our instructors and peers, and discussed the skills we\u2019re gaining in our classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cousins reported that 30 out of the 40 attendees requested more information about an \u201cMIS boot camp\u201d for high school girls to be held at FIU this summer.<\/p>\n