We welcome links to faculty and student papers with research about women at Tech for this section. Help us build our knowledge about women at Tech - past and present.

Fact Book
Each year, Georgia Tech's Office of Institutional Research & Planning produces a detailed report of statistics in the Georgia Tech Fact Book. For the current numbers of women students in each college, see this year's Fact Book for a chart with a breakdown of each major by gender and ethnicity.

50th Anniversary of Women

Women's Recruitment Board
In 1952, the Board of Regents of the State of Georgia voted to admit women into the Georgia Institute of Technology. Four months later, Elizabeth Herndon and Diane Michel made history by enrolling at Tech and blazing the trail for others. In just 50 years, Georgia Tech has evolved from accepting no female students in engineering and science to being the number one producer of female engineers in the country, exemplifying Tech's commitment to diversity and its investment in producing high caliber graduates regardless of race or gender.

InGear Report
The Report on the Status of Women at Georgia Tech was initiated in 1995 under the auspices of a multi-year grant from the National Sciences Foundation. The NSF selected the Georgia Institute of Technology as the lead institution in a consortium of Georgia schools seeking to provide leadership in creating models for scientific and technological education built on a commitment to enhancing gender equity in these fields. The statewide project, called InGEAR: Integrating Gender Equity and Reform, sought to encourage gender equity among faculty and students, fair teaching practices, and equal access to programs in science, engineering and mathematics.

Some of the findings in focus groups and surveys with Georgia Tech students included the negative impact of the following classroom practices: " Negative reactions from male classmates to questions asked by women. " Faculty not calling on female students for answers and contributions.

" High reliance on individual competitive activities rather than group work. " Very high level of competition for grades. " Curve Grading" to weed out students. " Perceived impersonal and uncaring faculty. [Since InGEAR a number of programs for women (including the WRC) have been expanded and gender equity workshops have been implemented to address the concerns raised by female students.]

Other Research

Yvette Upton's Thesis -- Lasting Impressions "Viewing the Georgia Institute of Technology Experience Through the Lenses of First-Year and Senior Women"

The number of women attending the Georgia Institute of Technology grew from two in 1952 to more than 4,000 (29 percent) in the academic year 2000-2001. The first women describe unique challenges entering a predominantly male institution. Now that women make up a critical mass of the students, do they still face challenges specific to their gender? Nineteen first-year and senior women documented their experiences with a disposable camera and notebook. Using a feminist framework to examine the photographs and journals, these students were found to have “gendered” experiences specific to being women at Georgia Tech. Through their comments and journals, these students described Georgia Tech’s rigorous academic environment, some noting additional challenges as women or women of color. Distinctions in experiences were also found based on how much time the student had spent at Georgia Tech and if the student had lived on campus.

The ADVANCE program
The ADVANCE program is conducting research to measure the status and progress of women faculty at Georgia Tech.

Living History Project
The Georgia Tech Alumni Association has a Living History Project that includes oral histories of many of the early women at Tech. For more information about these videos available at Georgia Tech library, visit GT library.

News Articles
Parent makes commitment to benefit women students
A parent's pledge to support women students
The Body Revisited 2002: confronting the beauty myth
WAM brings important issues to light
Women's Resource Center opens for the first time
Consensus Editorials
Tech Women have a friend in Resource Center
New center provide comfort for women
Women's Leadership Conference offers speakers, seminars
Women's Awareness Week educates, supports
Women's Awareness activites a shock
Tech represented at UN's Women's Conference
Should young women think of themselves as feminist?
The Buzz @ Student Affairs (GT Student Affairs Newsletter)
Whatley Named Woman of Distinction (Buzzwords, monthly email newsletter from the GT Alumni Association)
Women of Distinction Named (The Whistle, GT weekly faculty/staff newspaper)
Tech's Women of Distinction Named (Daily Digest, daily electronic newsletter to Tech campus community)
Women take leads at Tech (newspaper article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)