WICS @ SFU: assessing the impact and outcomes of a women in computing science student group at the college level

In 2002, Women in Computing Science at Simon Fraser University (WICS) was established first as an email list and later as a full-fledged student group for individuals with a wide diversity of backgrounds with the following goals: first, to promote women in Computing Science; second, to support women throughout their study of Computing Science; third, to build a strong network of friendly faces for women in Computing Science, and four, to challenge the biases and myths faced by women in Computing Science [1]. In this paper, we assess the impact of WICS on its members and its value in SFU's CS Department through the results of a survey and statistics on WICS activity. We also propose future directions for the group as well as recommendations for those wishing to start similar groups.