Breaking barriers for women in IT

In the spring of 2022, the University Information and Technology Executive Team led by Chief Information Officer Andrea Ballinger nominated six women from OSU to attend a five-week EDUCAUSE series for central IT workers called Women Advance Technology. Throughout the series, the cohort had a chance to reflect on the challenges, obstacles and opportunities they had encountered in their careers. As they continued to meet, they saw an opportunity to create a community of support and provide more resources for women working in IT roles at OSU. Because as they compared notes and shared their experiences, they realized that the barriers they’d encountered weren’t unique. It wasn’t “just me.” Other women were having parallel experiences, leading to self-doubt, burnout, retention issues and additional stress at work.