Women of Color Initiative (WOCI)

WOCI HOME
Events, activities, workshops
cohorts and initiatives
woci awards
past honorees

Empowering Women of Color

Open to all who seek to enhance the advancement of women in industry, research, and higher education, the Women of Color Initiative (WOCI) through targeted research-based strategies, scholarship, collaboration, technological innovation, and cultivation of student-driven productivity spaces.​

WOCI also has a WOC City-wide Collaborative in Higher Education component which is a partnership with Emory, Georgia Tech, Spelman, and STEM Atlanta Women.

WOCI Atlanta Collaborative in Higher Education is a city-wide strategic partnership between Georgia Tech, Emory University, Spelman College, STEM Atlanta Women, and STEAM-DB (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math, Design, and Business) industry leaders. Through WOCI, we are committed to the advancement and uplift of women, recognition of the contributions of women of color, and addressing disparities at the intersection of race and gender.

For More Information:

Sybrina Atwaters, Ph.D.
Director, OMED: Educational Services
404.894.8756
sybrina.atwaters@omed.gatech.edu

Statistics

When the Women of Color Initiative (WOCI) was launched in 2019, the statistics below reflected a major opportunity to enhance the excellence of Georgia Tech’s talent pool through targeted initiatives aimed at supporting, recruiting, and retaining ethnically, racially, and cognitively diverse cohorts of students. 

Black Women in the United States1

  • 13.7 percent of all women in the United States were Black
  • 6.9 percent of the total United States Population were Black women
  • 11.4 percent of all bachelor’s degrees earned by women in the United States in 2017-2018 were earned by Black Women

Black Women at Georgia Tech

Undergraduate Population
  • 3.2 percent of the undergraduate population were Black women
  • 8.2 percent of undergraduate women who matriculated were Black
Graduate Student Population
  • 2.1 percent of the graduate student population were Black women
  • 6.7 percent of women graduate students who matriculated were Black
Source:

1 Catalyst, Quick Take: Women of Color in the United States (March 19, 2020).

Non-White LatinX Women in the United States1

  • 17.8 percent of all women in the United States were LatinX
  • 8.9 percent of the total United States Population were LatinX women
  • 14.9 percent of all bachelor’s degrees earned by women in the United States in 2017-2018 were earned by LatinX women

Non-White LatinX Women at Georgia Tech

Undergraduate Population
  • 3.5 percent of the undergraduate population were LatinX women
  • 9 percent of undergraduate women who matriculated were LatinX
Graduate Student Population
  • 2 percent of the graduate student population were LatinX women
  • 6.5 percent of women graduate students who matriculated were LatinX

Underrepresented Minority Students (URM) at Georgia Tech (2011-2019)

URM Women Population
  • 75 percent increase in the number of women in the URM undergraduate population, from 687 to 1,202.
  • 56 percent increase in the number of women in the URM graduate student population, from 226 to 353.
Women of Color Population
  • 41 percent increase in the number of women of color (WOC) within the undergraduate population, from 4,490 to 6,327.
    • Black women: 54 percent increase (from 339 to 521)
    • LatinX women: 106 percent increase (from 276 to 568)
  • 38 percent increase in the number of women of color (WOC) within the graduate student population, from 1,795 to 2,477
    • Black women: 22 percent increase (from 135 to 165)
    • LatinX women: 109 percent increase (from 77 to 161)