Perspectives on volunteering for initiatives for women in computing: A case study

Initiatives for women in computing exist since the 70´s. However, little research has been done to study the effect they have on the women involved. Hence, this case study presents observations of the perceived value of the initiatives from the perspective of these women. This is a case study of one of the organizations contributing to this kind of initiative, the ACM (and its branch ACM-W), and how its volunteers see this work. The study is based on semi-structured interviews that were thematically coded and analysed. Results show that, depending on their generation, volunteers have different motivations and target their efforts at different audiences. Interviewees also reflected on how to further support women in computing. Finally, implications for future studies and lines of action are presented in the paper.