BRAID: Building, Recruiting, and Inclusion for Diversity

As a part of this initiative, a UCLA Research team — led by Dr. Linda Sax — is conducting a mixed-methods longitudinal study of departmental changes with respect to these commitments across the 15 annual BRAID Schools. The research team is collecting data from students, faculty, staff, department chairs, and administrators in order to answer a variety of research questions related to attracting and retaining women and underrepresented minority students in computing majors. See the latest research updates, as presented at the 2019 Grace Hopper Celebration.

2019 will usher in the fifth year of this study, supported in part by the National Science Foundation. The four BRAID commitments are strategies that BRAID Beacon Schools — institutions leading the way in gender diversity within their CS departments — had implemented prior to the start of this initiative. Each BRAID School receives an annual stipend to support the implementation of their commitments, funded by leading technology companies and AnitaB.org.

BRAID Schools act to address a minimum of three of the following commitments:

• Modify introductory CS courses to make them more appealing and less intimidating to underrepresented students.
• Lead outreach programs for high school teachers and students to build a diverse pipeline of students.
• Build confidence and community among underrepresented students.
• Develop and/or promote joint majors in areas like CS and biology that are attractive to underrepresented students.

Read more on activities BRAID Schools are undertaking.

Learn more about the results of the BRAID initiative.

Take a look at BRAID in 2020.

BRAID Affiliates are institutions that participate in BRAID on a one-year rotation to learn from and with Beacons and BRAID Schools while implementing the BRAID Commitments on their campuses. BRAID Affiliates are not guaranteed funding through the initiative. As of 2019, however, BRAID Affiliates will be able to apply for small grants to support on-campus efforts that act on one or more of the four BRAID Commitments. Learn more about how to get involved.

We’re dedicated to creating a diverse workforce reflective of our society. We believe that effort starts by engaging university students of all backgrounds. The Building, Recruiting, and Inclusion for Diversity (BRAID) initiative aims to increase the number of women and members of underrepresented minority groups in computer science departments.

To address diversity and inclusion in CS, BRAID schools implement a number of programs that have proven useful for all academic institutions, regardless of BRAID affiliation. We invite all academic institutions to partake. Learn more about how to get involved.

BRAID is funded by Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Discover, and iRobot. The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT (CMD-IT) are nonprofit partners on the BRAID initiative.

Beacon Schools are model institutions that have been successful at increasing the diversity of their undergraduate computing programs. The BRAID program was designed, in part, around the successes seen at our Beacon Schools which include: California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, Harvey Mudd College, University of British Columbia, and University of Washington.