Relive the ‘Hack the Gender Gap’ Women’s Hackathon and Symposium

Relive the ‘Hack the Gender Gap’ Women’s Hackathon and Symposium:

When PBS MediaShift began planning the bi-coastal “Hack the Gender Gap” event with WVU’s Reed College of Media, we knew this would be a complex undertaking. A women’s panel at Google HQ in Mountain View, Calif. with top tech and media people in attendance? Check. A women’s hackathon on wearables at WVU focused on female college students, faculty and pros? Check. But could we bring them together?

With the magic of Google Hangouts on Air, we were able to have a panel of top women discuss current issues as well as how they had succeeded, with students at WVU watching, being inspired and asking questions. The entire weekend event, from Oct. 24 to 26, was a huge success not only because of the great participation and smart ideas at the Hackathon — but because it showed just how powerful women can be when given the space and time to show their skills.

Relive the ‘Hack the Gender Gap’ Women’s Hackathon and Symposium

Relive the ‘Hack the Gender Gap’ Women’s Hackathon and Symposium:

When PBS MediaShift began planning the bi-coastal “Hack the Gender Gap” event with WVU’s Reed College of Media, we knew this would be a complex undertaking. A women’s panel at Google HQ in Mountain View, Calif. with top tech and media people in attendance? Check. A women’s hackathon on wearables at WVU focused on female college students, faculty and pros? Check. But could we bring them together?

With the magic of Google Hangouts on Air, we were able to have a panel of top women discuss current issues as well as how they had succeeded, with students at WVU watching, being inspired and asking questions. The entire weekend event, from Oct. 24 to 26, was a huge success not only because of the great participation and smart ideas at the Hackathon — but because it showed just how powerful women can be when given the space and time to show their skills.

Communication Is Key To Getting More Women Involved In OpenStack [Video]

Communication Is Key To Getting More Women Involved In OpenStack [Video]:

At the Women of OpenStack working breakfast this week at OpenStack Summit Paris, women got together to share their experiences, support each other and discuss ways to increase the number of women involved in OpenStack. Currently, only about 10 percent of OpenStack Summit attendees are women.

One way to get more women involved in OpenStack is through communication with the community about upcoming events and the roles women play in OpenStack and technology.



In the video above, we hear from some of the Women of OpenStack.

Check out more coverage from OpenStack Summit Paris.

Stanford President Has 4 Ideas For Boosting Women In Tech -FORBES

Stanford President Has 4 Ideas For Boosting Women In Tech: Stanford President John Hennessy acknowledges that women are underrepresented in technical fields, and offers four changes that might help fix the problem.

1. better role models and inspiration for girls, aimed at “getting them to believe that they can create a better world.”

2. the rise of a “gamification culture” that put heavy emphasis on “killing people and killing monsters.” Boys may like such on-screen diversions, but, as Hennessy noted, “it’s not what girls found attractive.” That problem may be fixing itself, he suggested, as computers now provide a gateway to social media, with high levels of engagement by girls.

3. the “isolation effect” at universities, particularly for students who end up being the only woman in a tough math or science course of 30 people. In such situations, a woman getting a disappointing B or C may become discouraged and lack any peer encouragement to bounce back. His remedy: better support networks for female students.

4. the risk that female students see computer science as a lonely pursuit that involves “sitting in front of a terminal for 10 hours a day, coding all the time, without any interaction with anyone else.”

Room for Debate: Hacking Sexism in Tech

Room for Debate: Hacking Sexism in Tech: What can be done to eliminate both subtle and blatant discrimination against women in the tech industry?

FIRST® Women in Science and Technology Forum to be Held on November 7, 2014 in Manchester, NH

FIRST® Women in Science and Technology Forum to be Held on November 7, 2014 in Manchester, NH: --(BUSINESS WIRE)--FIRST® Women in Science and Technology Forum to be Held on November 7, 2014 in Manchester, NH. 300+ High-School Girls Network and Learn from 40+ Successful Women in STEM.

Where Are All the Women Execs?

Where Are All the Women Execs?:

How many U.S. companies have at least one female executive on staff? According to a new report from marketing-data company Infogroup Targeting Solutions, a mere 27 percent fit that description.

The one region bucking that trend is the San Francisco Bay Area, where Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Emeryville all boast higher percentages of women executives. “Silicon Valley is actually faring really well [in] comparison to the balance of the U.S.,” Andrea Haldeman, Infogroup’s senior vice president of sales, told Fortune magazine. The study looked at companies with at least 10 employees, in cities with at least 100 companies.

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Among the nation’s tech giants, women still make up a minority of employees. Earlier this year, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, and other firms all released diversity reports that suggested men make up the substantial majority of their respective corporate ranks. At Yahoo, for example, women constituted 37 percent of the company’s global workforce; at Google, the number was 30 percent.

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And it’s not just the C-suite: Whereas women make up 47 percent of the total workforce, they’re only 20 percent of all software developers. Although many tech executives have blamed the education system for the lack of women entering highly technical industries, some analysts and pundits place the blame squarely on company cultures and lack of mentorship for women.

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• Women in Tech Triumph in Kickstarter Funding

Image: max sattana/Shutterstock.com

The post Where Are All the Women Execs? appeared first on Dice News.

Italian to become first woman head of CERN physics centre

Italian to become first woman head of CERN physics centre: GENEVA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Italian physicist Fabiola Gianotti was chosen on Tuesday to head the CERN particle physics research centre that houses the giant LHC "Big Bang" machine, making her the first woman nominated to lead a top global scientific institution in the field.

Kenya’s female graduate students to benefit from mentorship programme courtesy of Microsoft and other local partners

Kenya’s female graduate students to benefit from mentorship programme courtesy of Microsoft and other local partners:

NAIROBI, Kenya — Nov. 3, 2014 — Over 150 female graduate students from 24 universities across Kenya have been selected for the EmployMentor programme starting Monday. The programme is a partnership between Microsoft Corp., its 4Afrika Initiative and the African Centre for Women in Information and Communications Technology (ACWICT) to promote skills development and job placement for young female graduates in technology and business.

The program consists of one-on-one Skype sessions and on-the-field EmployMentor week training. The Skype component will demonstrate the effective utilisation of technology to gain information worker knowledge for 20 of the mentees for eight months.

The candidates will benefit from a combination of Microsoft’s skilled talent base and Microsoft finance mentors around the world. Already through the MySkills4Afrika programme, Microsoft employees are volunteering their time and talent to provide personalised mentorships in several countries across the continent, while gaining a better understanding of African markets.

“Unemployment is a challenge for many youth, and initiatives such as EmployMentor can bridge the skills gap between academia and the working world,” said Kunle Awosika, Microsoft Kenya country manager. “Through the 4Afrika Initiative, Microsoft aims to play an active role in the evolution of Africa from a labour-based economy to a knowledge economy, by empowering local innovation, up-skilling youth with 21st century ICT skills and providing Internet access.”

During the EmployMentor week, all participants will engage in exciting mock interview and business case challenges, coupled with financial-modelling training that will help them experience a real-world business pitch and interview scenario. This could also lead to an interview for a position at Microsoft. In addition, a mobile app development and guest speaker series will be included in the weeklong event. Skills training, content development and support will be provided through the recently launched Kenyan Employability Portal, Tukoworks and the Microsoft Virtual Academy during the EmployMentor week. The curriculum will be localised to ensure it is in line with the requirements in Kenya and complemented by the ACWICT’s Life Skills curriculum.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, youth unemployment rates in Kenya are several times higher than the rates among adults and particularly high in cities and among females. “There is a huge opportunity for women to fill the growing demand for ICT and business skills in Kenya, but many still face limited access to training and education,” Awosika said. Women are underrepresented in high-growth fields such as science, technology and engineering, key drivers of a country’s innovation, connectedness and competitiveness in global markets.

“When women are included in the mainstream economy, the spinoff effect is social uplift for their families and surrounding community,” said Olive Mugenda, vice chancellor of Kenyatta University. “All women mentees from Kenyatta University demonstrate a positive attitude, strong work ethic and passion to impact their community positively through business-oriented IT solutions. We are looking forward to what they will achieve in a few years’ time, and they will be ambassadors for more women who aspire to succeed in the business and IT fields.”

The ACWICT’s mission is to promote women’s access to and knowledge of ICT as tools for social, economic and political development by partnering with universities to source candidates, providing staff and space for the management of the mentor program, and assisting in content development. Mentees will be provided with job placement follow-up support from ACWICT. “The future of the ICT sector is exciting. These are unchartered waters open to creativity, innovation and entirely new ways of working, interacting and learning that should appeal to women and men alike,” said Constantine Obuya, executive director of ACWICT.

Microsoft BizSpark, an online platform providing tools, resources, networking and training opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs, will be connecting successful startup owners to mentors to help them create business plans. The EmployMentor participants will also be fielded as prospective talent for established BizSpark businesses.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.

About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)

Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft employs more than 16,000 people in over 64 subsidiaries, delivering products and services in more than 139 countries and territories.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft in EMEA, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/emea or the EMEA Press Centre at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at the time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact the appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/contactus.mspx.

How the Women’s Hackathon on Wearables Inspired Students to Lead

How the Women’s Hackathon on Wearables Inspired Students to Lead:

The results of the Women’s Hackathon on Wearables are in. Co-sponsored by West Virginia University Reed College of Media and PBS MediaShift, this hackathon was a pivotal event for the eight teams who participated in an immersive weekend envisioning a startup use of wearable tech from a women-only perspective.

More than 50 women from WVU and other universities including Penn State, Howard, Syracuse and Carnegie Melon participated in the weekend event that launched with a symposium at Google of women leaders in the technology industry who set a clear tone of assertive ambition for the young women.

“You’re not the next generation of women of wearables,” we said to participants, emphasizing the opportunities for women at the beginning of an emerging market. “You’re the first generation.”

The winning team delivers a fast-paced, 4-minute pitch to the panel of judges and an audience of their competitors. WVU Reed College of Media Dean Maryanne Reed and hackathon participants interact with the women leaders in technology symposium at Google. The symposium kicked off the Hackathon Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. Photo by David Smith/Reed College of Media.

“Patent Now!”

Competition was fierce. Each team delivered an ignite-style pitch to a panel of five judges that featured Lynn Dombrowski, co-founder of STEMPLOY, an initiative to mentor young women in science, technology, engineering and math fields; Brett Carpenter and Brendan Gibat, software engineers for Morgantown company ListHub; Ashley Hardesty Odell, a partner at Bowles Rice LLP; and Michelle O’Connor, an investment manager for WV Jobs Investment Trust. Acknowledging that each team pitched compelling concepts for viable products, the judges struggled to select a winner from ideas that included a hands-free system for journalists to streamline reporting in the field optimized for Google Glass, a bra that conducts regular breast examinations, a fashionable earpiece that sends scheduling reminders and an application young people can use to take a “timeout” from technology.

In the end, judges declared BioBit the winning startup with the most feasible, valuable use case for wearable technology. BioBit is designed as an attachment to the popular fitness wearable, Fitbit, and measures biomarkers crucial to women’s health in real-time. We’d tell you more…but we’re mindful of the judges’ concluding comment to team members to “Patent now!”

Team Spirit

Each young woman was handed a toy mascot at the beginning of the weekend and instructed to find their fellow team members. Team “Ghost” started as awkward strangers and ended up as fast friends, co-conspirators and possible business partners with their winning startup pitch.

Meet Team Ghost: Valerie Bennett, a senior advertising student at WVU from Masontown, West Virginia; Alex Garip, a freshman film student at Penn State University from Hackensack, New Jersey; Alise Bundage, a freshman broadcast journalism student at Howard University from Oklahoma City; and Carlee Lammers, a senior print journalism student at WVU from Middletown, Maryland.

The winning team’s facilitators Ann Chester and Lindsay Emery observe their team in action.  Photo by David Smith/Reed College of Media.

Ann Chester, assistant vice president/social justice, project director for the Health Sciences & Technology Academy and Lindsay Emery, the former business development manager for the WVU Office of Research & Economic Development, served as the team’s faculty facilitators.

In keeping with the spirit of the Hackathon — adding women’s absent voices to the technology industry and creating a network for women of wearables — let’s listen in as the team members talk about their experience in their own words:

Women First

Let’s start at the beginning. What were your expectations coming into this?

“I thought I was actually going to be coding into a computer. So this was just different. I didn’t know there was going to be this much creativity involved.”  — Alise Bundage, Howard University freshman

“I had no idea what we were going to be doing! I knew it was about women in media, but I did not know that we were going to be competing. And I had no idea how innovative it was going to be and all the creative freedom we were going to be able to have and how much work was going to be involved. But it was great work and fun and now they’re some of my greatest friends…and hopefully business partners in the future.”  — Alex Garip, Penn State University freshman

How did you tackle this? You got the challenge, you took off racing to find a room, then what?

“We actually were weaving all over the place. We were trying to problem-solve for women and thinking about how time is a big factor in their lives. Valerie must have said a hundred times, ‘It’s back to time, back to time.’ I have so many apps on my phone that require me to type everything in, and I’m even too lazy to delete them. And then were like, wouldn’t it be cool if the information we wanted was just right there. And then we had the idea of partnering with a company that’s already established. It just seems so feasible to us. Like we can do this.”  — Carlee Lammers, WVU senior

“…The moment that it all hit, I wish we could have recorded it or something. We were all connected, it was like ‘this is it!” — Valerie Bennett, WVU senior

“…And it was so cool because every time we got a step closer to our final product, we were all ‘high five,’ yes that’s it! We had these problems within the bigger problem, but every bridge, we crossed.” — Alex Garip

You all are used to working in teams, but what is it like to be in a team made up exclusively of women?

“It was unlike anything I’ve ever done before. We come with these different backgrounds, but we all want to tell the same story.” — Carlee Lammers

“We are all passionate women. Everyone here is a fighter, everybody has dreams laid out and working with other women…it was hard to describe. You automatically felt connected, right off the bat. There wasn’t any awkwardness, where it’s quiet for the first minute. It was just straight into it.” — Valerie Bennett

“I think what’s really cool too is that you can look at this product and say, ‘Yeah this is a woman-first device.’” — Alex Garip

How has this event changed your perception as a woman in the technology industry or the media industry? And what lies ahead?

“Doing something like this, win or lose, we felt so empowered all the way through. There’s not enough of that. People always say, you can do whatever you put your mind to. But this showed me that.” — Carlee Lammers

“It was really cool doing this outside of class and actually implementing everything we’ve learned. That’s what made it so beautiful. This is real, this is happening right now. We solve problems all the time in our daily life, but figuring out a way to not just solve them by yourself, but to work with a group. It taught me how to approach things differently.” — Valerie Bennett

“This conference just made dreams tangible. Ugh, that is so cheesy. Oh that is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever said. But I’ve never been so much a part of something made from scratch. This weekend secured my decision that these are the kind of women I want to be working with in my life. — Alex Garip

“This weekend made me feel like I can have more say in the technology industry. We just threw everything out there on the table. I’ve never done anything like that before. It changed the way I view technology. It made me feel like I have a voice.” — Alise Bundage

Team Ghost celebrates their winning pitch for BioBit, from left to right: Alise Bundage, Carlee Lammers, Valerie Bennett, and Alex Garip. Photo by David Smith/Reed College of Media.

Dana Coester is an assistant professor at the PI Reed School of Journalism, West Virginia University, and also serves as creative director for the school’s media innovation center. Coester’s work focuses on community media and the economic development potential in technology disruption. Her research examines the future of storytelling with special interests in mobile, augmented reality and wearable technology at the intersection of narrative and neuroscience. Coester earned her master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1993.

ABI Opens Applications for 2015 Top Company for Women in Computing ABIE Award Initiative

ABI Opens Applications for 2015 Top Company for Women in Computing ABIE Award Initiative:

Technology Organizations Encouraged to Participate in Diversity Measurement, Benchmarking, and Accountability Initiative

PALO ALTO, Calif. — October 9, 2014 – The Anita Borg Institute, (ABI) a non-profit organization focused on advancing women in computing, today opened submissions for the 2015 Top Company for Women in Computing ABIE Award, the only industry-wide initiative focused on quantitative measurement of women’s participation in the technical workforce. In light of the recent release of disappointing diversity data from technology firms such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and others, ABI’s Top Company initiative takes on significance as a true measure of progress for organizations that are dedicated to building diverse technical teams.

The winner of the Top Company Award and other participants in the initiative will be featured at the 2015 Women of Vision Awards Banquet in Santa Clara, CA on May 14, 2015. The deadline to participate in the 2015 Top Company for Women in Computing initiative is November 21, 2014.

“Participating in the Top Company initiative is an important next step for companies that are serious about the inclusion of women in their technical workforce,” said Telle Whitney, president and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute. “Measurement is essential to accountability, and we are thrilled to see an increasing number of companies publicly acknowledge their focus on building diverse technical teams.”

The call for participation in the Top Company initiative comes on the second day of ABI’s annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC), where 8,000 attendees, representing 925 technology organizations, have come together for the largest gathering of women technologists in the world.

This year’s conference features a track on organizational change that includes participants from the 2014 Top Company Award initiative.

The Organizational Change track includes the following sessions:

• Accountability and Metrics featuring Laszlo Bock (Google), Danielle Brown (Intel – 2013 Top Company Winner), Theresa Kushner (VMWare), and Denise Menelly (Bank of America – 2014 Top Company Winner)
• Dynamics of Hyper-Effective Teams: How Inclusive Environments Drive Innovation lead by Lori Mackenzie (Clayman Institute for Gender Research) and Caroline Simard (Clayman Institute for Gender Research)
• Accelerating the Advancement of Women Technologists featuring Michelle Angier (eBay Inc.), Susan Davis-Ali (Leadhership1), Peggy Irelan (Intel – 2013 Top Company Winner), and Susan Puglia (IBM – 2011 Top Company Winner)

Past winners and 2014 participants in the Top Company initiative are also featured at the career fair and highlighted in the career fair guide.

ABI partner companies will also take part in the Anita Borg Institute’s Technical Executive Forum, an invitation-only event at GHC, for top industry leaders to discuss the challenge of getting more women in technical roles. This year’s Technical Executive Forum boasts 88 participating executives from leading technology firms, including CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, and other executives. The Executive Forum includes discussions about eliminating bias in recruiting, the advancement of women in technical roles, programs to support the retention of women technologists, and addressing cultural challenges of the technology industry as a whole. ABI encourages its partners, sponsors and all companies who view technology innovation as a strategic imperative to participate in the Top Company initiative.

“Participating in the Top Company initiative gives companies an opportunity to benchmark their progress and to identify areas to improve their numbers,” added Whitney. “We applaud all participants and recognize their commitment to building inclusive environments.”

Every year, ABI provides each participating company a confidential report benchmarking their performance against industry norms and aggregated peer data. ABI evaluates companies using research-based industry benchmarks in hiring, retaining, and promoting women technologists as well as representation across career levels (entry, mid, senior and executive levels). At the end of the process, ABI recognizes one company with the Top Company for Women in Computing ABIE Award for demonstrating measurable results in the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in technical jobs at all levels. Companies who receive the award are widely recognized as leaders in leveraging diverse talent for greater innovation.

In 2014, 24 leading technology organizations participated in the Top Company Award initiative, and participation in the program is expected to increase this year. Bank of America was recognized with the 2014 Top Company for Women in Computing ABIE Award, for exceptional representation of women technologists in both its technical management and team of technical experts. The Company has the highest percentage of women among its technical experts of any company ever considered by the Anita Borg Institute for a Top Company Award. In addition, Bank of America successfully retains the vast majority of its female technologists, with only 3% voluntary turnover annually.

To participate in the 2015 Top Company for Women in Computing ABIE Award initiative, fill out the application on the Anita Borg Institute website.

# # #

About the Anita Borg Institute (ABI)

The Anita Borg Institute (ABI) connects, inspires, and guides women in computing and organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative. Founded in 1997 by computer scientist Anita Borg, our reach extends to more than 67 countries. We believe technology innovation powers the global economy, and that women are crucial to building technology the world needs. As a social enterprise, we recognize women making positive contributions, and advise organizations on how to improve performance by building more inclusive teams. ABI partners include: Cisco, Google, HP, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, CA Technologies, Dell, Dropbox, eBay Inc., Facebook, First Republic Bank, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Juniper Networks, National Science Foundation, NetApp, SAP, Symantec, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Amazon, Bank of America, EMC, GoDaddy, LinkedIn, Lockheed Martin, Nationwide, Neustar, Rackspace, Salesforce.com, VentureLoop, Viacom, VMware, and Yahoo! The Anita Borg Institute is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization. For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org.

Follow the Anita Borg Institute on Twitter at @anitaborg_org and become a fan at www.facebook.com/anitaborginstitute.

For More Information, contact:

Kate Carey

New Venture Communications
kcarey@newventurecom.com

650-814-3088

Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code:

Miranda Chaiken, Aida Piccato and Sunnam Quispe are seniors at Stuyvesant High School and the creators of NYC Happenings. Their site, which guides users to events, is powered by The New York Times Event Listings API and searchable by genre and borough. They explained that they found themselves doing the same activities every day and decided to build a functional website as a cure for their boredom. While all three have taken computer science classes at Stuyvesant’s prestigious computer science program, they attended the Girls Who Code Club at Twitter’s headquarters to hone their programming skills.

Already comfortable with Python and with some HTML experience, but new to Javascript and CSS, they built the site using Bootstrap and Flask, figuring out what they needed as they went along. Ms. Chaiken, Ms. Piccato and Ms. Quispe chose The Times’s API because it was free and easy to use. They found themselves relying on the documentation and hope to expand the site to use more information from the API, as well as additional data sources. For more, check out https://github.com/apiccato/NYC-Happenings. You can follow Ms. Quispe at @konceq or find her on GitHub.

Solving the Mystery of Declining Female CS Enrollment

Solving the Mystery of Declining Female CS Enrollment: theodp writes After an NPR podcast fingered the marketing of computers to boys as the culprit behind the declining percentages of women in undergraduate CS curricula since 1984 (a theory seconded by Smithsonian mag), some are concluding that NPR got the wrong guy. Calling 'When Women Stopped Coding' quite engaging, but long on Political Correctness and short on real evidence, UC Davis CS Prof Norm Matloff concedes a sexist element, but largely ascribes the gender lopsidedness to economics. "That women are more practical than men, and that the well-publicized drastic swings in the CS labor market are offputting to women more than men," writes Matloff, and "was confirmed by a 2008 survey in the Communications of the ACM" (related charts of U.S. unemployment rates and Federal R&D spending in the '80s). Looking at the raw numbers of female CS grads instead of percentages, suggests there wasn't a sudden and unexpected disappearance of a generation of women coders, but rather a dilution in their percentages as women's growth in undergrad CS ranks was far outpaced by men, including a boom around the time of the dot-com boom/bust.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Women of Color STEM Conference Recognizes 10 Northrop Grumman Employees

Women of Color STEM Conference Recognizes 10 Northrop Grumman Employees:

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Oct. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Ten Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) employees received awards for their achievements at the 19th Annual Women of Color STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Conference inDetroit, Michigan, this weekend. The conference recognizes outstanding women in the STEM fields and provides opportunities for professional development, networking and recruiting.

Photos accompanying this release are available at: http://media.globenewswire.com/noc/mediagallery.html?pkgid=28646.

Shawn Purvis, sector vice president and general manager, Cyber division, Northrop Grumman Information Systems, received a Managerial Leadership-Industry award. She leads a group responsible for delivering cyber and security solutions to intelligence, defense, federal, state and international customers. Previously she was vice president of Integrated Intelligence Systems. Prior to joining Northrop Grumman, Purvis was a senior vice president at SAIC in Intelligence Systems and senior systems engineer at Lockheed Martin. She earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from Hampton University and a master's in information systems from George Mason University.

Ragini Saxena received a Career Achievement-Industry award. She is the acting hardware engineering director and sensor engineering manager for Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems and is responsible for directing cross-functional engineering teams and developing high accuracy sensors for various navigation applications in space, air, land and sea. Previously, Saxena served as chief systems engineer and architect for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Inertial Navigation, Control and Display Systems where she received patents for the first 17" diagonal ruggedized display for the all-glass cockpit. In her 25-year career in sensors and optical engineering, she has received six patents and authored 27 peer-reviewed articles. She earned a bachelor's degree in physics and master's in nuclear physics from Banaras Hindu University, India, and a doctorate in quantum optics from the University of Hyderabad, India.

Jessica Sun is an information technology program manager for Northrop Grumman Enterprise Shared Services responsible for delivering cost-effective solutions that drive superior business performance. She received a New Media/IT Leadership award. She recently led the deployment of a digital signage solution and the consolidation of intranet and collaboration systems. She earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Maryland at College Park and a master's in software engineering from theUniversity of Maryland University College.

Northrop Grumman employees receiving Technology All-Star awards at the conference were Melissa Botticelli and Gina Woullard. Employees receiving Rising Stars awards were: Emily Blair, Liliana Bocanegra, Phuong Mai, Lindsay May and Gretchen Valle.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visitwww.northropgrumman.com for more information.

Three Northrop Grumman Employees Honored at Society of Women Engineer's Conference

Three Northrop Grumman Employees Honored at Society of Women Engineer's Conference:

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Oct. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Three Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) employees received awards this weekend at the annual conference of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), held in Los Angeles.

Gene Fraser, vice president of Programs, Quality and Engineering, received the Rodney D. Chipp Memorial award which celebrates the work of a man or company who has made a significant contribution to the acceptance and advancement of women in engineering. Fraser was recognized for his support of women engineers and establishing the Women in Leadership program in the Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems sector.

Zohra Hemani, senior engineering manager, Northrop Grumman's Information Systems, received an Emerging Leader award for her active engagement in engineering and outstanding technical accomplishments; and Diana Joch, systems engineer, Northrop Grumman Information Systems, received a Fellow Grade award for continuous service to the advancement of women in the engineering profession.

Fraser leads Northrop Grumman's program management, quality and engineering initiatives. Previously, he oversaw all engineering functions for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector, was vice president for Strike and Surveillance Systems and program manager for the B-2 Spirit bomber. Fraser served more than 27 years in key leadership positions on government programs in the U.S. Marine Corps including command of an F/A-18 strike fighter squadron and commanding officer of the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Test Wing. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Florida.

Hemani manages a multidisciplinary team of more than 40 engineers supporting enterprise systems for the federal government. She has managed several large programs for Northrop Grumman including one which successfully migrated geospatial information to a service-oriented-architecture for a Department of Defense (DOD) customer. She has developed patent pending technologies, published six articles and in 2007 received a Women of Color Rising Star award. Hemani earned a bachelor's degree in computer science fromGeorge Washington University and a master's in business from the University of Maryland.

Diana Joch manages major software interoperability and certification testing for a DOD customer and has worked in information technology designing, building and maintaining distributed systems for various organizations in the DOD. She has been a member of the SWE since 1991 helping create the group's organizational framework and serving on the board of directors and board of trustees. She earned a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from Boston University and a master's in information systems from American University.

After Shattering Glass Ceiling, Women CEOs Fall Off the Glass Cliff

After Shattering Glass Ceiling, Women CEOs Fall Off the Glass Cliff: Chief execs who are women are fired far more than men in the top exec role. What gives?

It's no secret there's a massive gender disparity in the upper echelons of the American business world. Women account for just 4.8% of Fortune 500 CEOs and that's actually a fact to be celebrated, as it's the highest we've ever seen.

That's bad enough it itself.

There's a real problem here and women in business have had to work hard to break through that glass ceiling, both as individuals and collectively. Considering how underrepresented women are in big business management, there's still a lot of work to do even on that front.

Once they do, though--once a woman beats all the odds and earns the top seat in a major company--the fight begins for her to keep that job. A recent PWC study found that over the ten-year period ending in 2013, female CEOs are forced out of their jobs far more often, with 38% getting the boot, compared to 27% of their male counterparts.

What's going on here? How is it possible that with so fewer female CEOs, they're shown the door that much more often?

Samsung Teams Up with Girls Who Code to Launch a National Mobile App Challenge

Samsung Teams Up with Girls Who Code to Launch a National Mobile App Challenge

Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC (Samsung Mobile) will work with Girls Who Code (GWC) to create an immersive digital curriculum and a mobile app development competition, Samsung Mobile App Challenge.



The Samsung Mobile App Challenge will enable Girls Who Code members, young women in 6th to 12th grade, to work together to design and code a mobile application that addresses a need in their school or community.

“Samsung wants to level the playing field and provide more opportunities for women to increase technology skills and better prepare them for a career in STEM,” said Gregory Lee, president and CEO of Samsung Telecommunications America and Samsung Electronics North America Headquarters. “In order to expand STEM education and career opportunities to women, we have to give girls exposure to STEM via an accessible, fun experience with real world learnings - and we’re doing just that through this partnership.”

“In true Girls Who Code spirit, the Samsung Mobile App Challenge enables girls to use technology to solve a problem relevant to them,” says Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO of Girls Who Code. “The Challenge shows girls that computer science is all around us in our day-to-day lives, and that learning this skill set can empower them to effect positive change.”

The mobile app module will align with the Samsung Mobile App Challenge, which will be launched this fall exclusively for Girls Who Code club members.

Samsung Teams Up with Girls Who Code to Launch a National Mobile App Challenge

Samsung Teams Up with Girls Who Code to Launch a National Mobile App Challenge

Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC (Samsung Mobile) will work with Girls Who Code (GWC) to create an immersive digital curriculum and a mobile app development competition, Samsung Mobile App Challenge.



The Samsung Mobile App Challenge will enable Girls Who Code members, young women in 6th to 12th grade, to work together to design and code a mobile application that addresses a need in their school or community.

“Samsung wants to level the playing field and provide more opportunities for women to increase technology skills and better prepare them for a career in STEM,” said Gregory Lee, president and CEO of Samsung Telecommunications America and Samsung Electronics North America Headquarters. “In order to expand STEM education and career opportunities to women, we have to give girls exposure to STEM via an accessible, fun experience with real world learnings - and we’re doing just that through this partnership.”

“In true Girls Who Code spirit, the Samsung Mobile App Challenge enables girls to use technology to solve a problem relevant to them,” says Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO of Girls Who Code. “The Challenge shows girls that computer science is all around us in our day-to-day lives, and that learning this skill set can empower them to effect positive change.”

The mobile app module will align with the Samsung Mobile App Challenge, which will be launched this fall exclusively for Girls Who Code club members.

Women In Aerospace: Challenges And Opportunities - FORBES

There has been much discussion and attention paid recently to women and STEM careers. Rather than continue this conversation in general terms, I thought it would be helpful to take a look at specific STEM industries in which women are underrepresented to highlight some of the opportunities for women and as well as the challenges. Aerospace is the first industry I’m exploring relative to these issues.

Susan Chodakewitz, President of Tetra Tech, believes that the opportunities for women in the aerospace industry are limitless from both a technical and management/executive perspective.

I asked Susan about the current representation of women in aerospace.

Full article here

This woman is waging a quiet war on tech's gender gap - Fortune

Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani is partnering with big Silicon Valley companies to teach young girls to love computer science.

Reshma Saujani is a former hedge fund lawyer, New York City deputy public advocate and the first Indian-American woman to run for Congress (she lost a primary race in 2010). In the spring of 2012, she shifted gears and launched Girls Who Code, a non-profit that aims to close the gender gap in technology and engineering.

In a relatively short amount of time, Saujani has gotten the likes of Twitter  TWTR -3.88% , General Electric  GE -0.85% , Square and Google  GOOG 0.08%  to sign on to her initiative: two-month long programs that teach young women to code and offers mentorships. The companies host the girls at their headquarters; Square and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has been a big supporter.

Saujani also been outspoken about the so-called “brogrammer” culture that has spread in Silicon Valley companies and why getting more girls to code isn’t a moral issue, but rather an economic necessity. (Hint: There is a growing talent shortage in technology.) We recently caught up with Saujani to find out more about her take on the challenges and opportunities in closing the gender gap.

Edited excerpts:

Fortune: How do girls get turned off of computer science?

Read the interview at this link

The CataLyst: Are We Better Together? - STEMist

The CataLyst: Are We Better Together?:

About a month ago Scotland decided to remain part of the UK, and the “Better Together” campaign celebrated that a 300 year old union was not split up. I’m not going to get into politics here or my opinions about the Scottish referendum, as this is not the place for it. Instead, I want to talk about the concept of “Better Together”, the campaigns, how it’s left two groups of people very divided, and what we can learn from all this.

In any given group of people – be it family, work, school or randomly selected in public – you’re going to get different opinions about anything. So in a workplace that’s diverse and has representatives from all different backgrounds you could assume that people would think differently. This is natural as we have different life experiences that have shaped who we are. In the case of Scotland (a bit of an extreme to make my point, I’ll admit), we have two distinct groups with opposing opinions about their future. So, even though the “Better Together” campaign won, Scotland is now a nation where nearly half the population (45%) would rather have left. I question how good that is for unity.

Now let’s translate that into a work environment, a research group at university or a school class. How good is it to have such opposing opinions working together (by force or by choice)? I think it creates a very distinct “us and them” mind set. And this is where I think we have something to learn from Scotland’s predicament. The referendum campaign in Scotland was very harshly pushed from both sides. There was very little room for listening and trying to understand the other camp’s point of view. And where there was opportunity for compromise, many people were shouted down by those most extreme on either side. All of a sudden, there wasn’t a reasonable “middle” anymore, there was just black or white, us or them, yes or no.

I’m sure the people of Scotland have a whole range of diverse opinions, but when put in a situation where there are only two choices, people easily turn to an extreme. Likewise, in a workplace with a diverse group of people, we have to ask ourselves if everyone’s voice is being heard. Is it always the loud one who gets an opinion across, and do the people in charge take the time to ensure everyone gets involved? Maybe the quiet person who is a bit shy has a really great idea or solution, but no one ever asked them? Maybe the minority female staff have some ideas on how to increase equality, or make it easier to bring up diversity issues?

Any group of people can be diverse, and I think it’s great that we’re all working towards a world where the makeup of our society is reflected at every stage. BUT, a diverse society/family/workplace/school is nothing if we don’t use that diversity in an inclusive way, where everyone’s experiences are allowed to be heard. So are we better together? Of course we are, but the key is to not forget we come from different places, and can contribute different things. We need to continually work against our own prejudices (which we all have), if we are to move forward.

The CataLyst: Are We Better Together? - STEMist

The CataLyst: Are We Better Together?:

About a month ago Scotland decided to remain part of the UK, and the “Better Together” campaign celebrated that a 300 year old union was not split up. I’m not going to get into politics here or my opinions about the Scottish referendum, as this is not the place for it. Instead, I want to talk about the concept of “Better Together”, the campaigns, how it’s left two groups of people very divided, and what we can learn from all this.

In any given group of people – be it family, work, school or randomly selected in public – you’re going to get different opinions about anything. So in a workplace that’s diverse and has representatives from all different backgrounds you could assume that people would think differently. This is natural as we have different life experiences that have shaped who we are. In the case of Scotland (a bit of an extreme to make my point, I’ll admit), we have two distinct groups with opposing opinions about their future. So, even though the “Better Together” campaign won, Scotland is now a nation where nearly half the population (45%) would rather have left. I question how good that is for unity.

Now let’s translate that into a work environment, a research group at university or a school class. How good is it to have such opposing opinions working together (by force or by choice)? I think it creates a very distinct “us and them” mind set. And this is where I think we have something to learn from Scotland’s predicament. The referendum campaign in Scotland was very harshly pushed from both sides. There was very little room for listening and trying to understand the other camp’s point of view. And where there was opportunity for compromise, many people were shouted down by those most extreme on either side. All of a sudden, there wasn’t a reasonable “middle” anymore, there was just black or white, us or them, yes or no.

I’m sure the people of Scotland have a whole range of diverse opinions, but when put in a situation where there are only two choices, people easily turn to an extreme. Likewise, in a workplace with a diverse group of people, we have to ask ourselves if everyone’s voice is being heard. Is it always the loud one who gets an opinion across, and do the people in charge take the time to ensure everyone gets involved? Maybe the quiet person who is a bit shy has a really great idea or solution, but no one ever asked them? Maybe the minority female staff have some ideas on how to increase equality, or make it easier to bring up diversity issues?

Any group of people can be diverse, and I think it’s great that we’re all working towards a world where the makeup of our society is reflected at every stage. BUT, a diverse society/family/workplace/school is nothing if we don’t use that diversity in an inclusive way, where everyone’s experiences are allowed to be heard. So are we better together? Of course we are, but the key is to not forget we come from different places, and can contribute different things. We need to continually work against our own prejudices (which we all have), if we are to move forward.

Silicon Valley May Be Friendlier to Female Execs Than It Seems, Study Says

Silicon Valley May Be Friendlier to Female Execs Than It Seems, Study Says:

Despite the controversy, one new study shows that, compared to the rest of the country, Silicon Valley is a pretty friendly place for women.

The post Silicon Valley May Be Friendlier to Female Execs Than It Seems, Study Says appeared first on WIRED.

Facebook, Box, Pinterest Launch Women Mentorships - DICE

Facebook, Box, Pinterest Launch Women Mentorships:



Over the summer, a handful of tech giants released diversity reports that showed their respective companies weren’t diverse at all, with white males occupying the majority of positions from the engineering ranks to the C-suite. At Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Yahoo, males constituted 80 percent or more of employees.

After that data became public, many of these companies vowed to do better. “I’m not satisfied with the numbers… They’re not new to us, and we’ve been working hard for quite some time to improve them,” Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a statement at the time.

Now Facebook, Pinterest, and Box have taken things another step further, with a mentorship program titled “Women Entering and Staying in Tech” (also known as WEST). According to a posting on Box’s website, WEST is “aimed at early to mid-career women in technical roles including: engineering, product management, operations, design, and web development.” Mentors for the program will come from the aforementioned companies.

There are some caveats: The initial program is only available in the Bay Area, and the companies haven’t revealed how many mentee slots they’ll open in 2015. Those interested in the 1:1 mentorships can apply at the WEST website.

Why are so few women even on the business side of tech companies? - Washington Post Blog

More coverage from the recent Catalyst report:

The conventional explanation for why there are so few women in high tech has hinged on a simple statistic: Only about 18 percent of computer science and engineering degrees go to women every year.

Yet tech companies have experts in finance, marketing, sales — not just programming. And women account for nearly 40 percent of all MBA graduates. Moreover, many financial services companies hire equal numbers of men and women at the entry level. So Catalyst, a nonprofit research organization focused on the advancement of women, wanted to figure out if women are faring better on the business side of the fast-growing tech world.

They aren’t.

Among MBA graduates, fewer women than men choose to go into tech-intensive fields, Catalyst found in a report released Thursday. And when women with MBAs do opt in, they tend to start out in lower-paying, lower-level positions than their male counterparts do. They also are significantly more likely to leave — not the workforce, as many assume, but the tech industry itself.

Catalyst analyzed the career paths of nearly 10,000 MBA graduates from 2007 to 2014 in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. It found that 53 percent of the women left tech-intensive professions for other work, compared to 31 percent of the men.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

The Venn Diagram of Hard Odds: Female Technical Founders With Venture Funding

The Venn Diagram of Hard Odds: Female Technical Founders With Venture Funding (From Re/Code)

The odds are not in their favor.

Only three percent of venture-backed startups are founded by women. An even smaller slice of that three percent, if you can imagine it, are technical founders. And it felt like they were all at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., last night, where about 200 current and aspiring technical founders got together to mix and mingle.

“It’s already hard enough getting women in computer science — then getting funding?” said 19-year-old Nathalie Scrimshaw, a symbolic systems major who said women needed more than one or two iconic success stories. “There’s a critical support system that’s missing. The Sheryl Sandbergs and Marissa Mayers, they’re kind of stand-alones. We wanted to bring more women in to share their stories.”

The technical founder — favored by influential investors like Marc Andreessen — is the person who codes, rather than sells and markets, the startup.

Canvas Venture Fund Panelists Amy Chang,
Rebecca Lynn, Mariam Naficy, Diana Williams, and Zenobia Moochhala

At the University’s on-campus Black Community Services Center, a little shingled brown house with a patio, attendees enjoyed crab cakes and wine (though some of the undergrads reported that bartenders were checking IDs). The women of the student coding group She++, which had organized the event, talked about the obstacles they’d have to overcome, and about how they see their male classmates drop out to start companies but rarely see women do the same. They said around 20 percent of the computer science majors are women, but that many don’t want to take the risk of starting their own companies.

What are some of the challenges that female technical founders may face?

“It might be hard to convince people you’re actually technically capable,” said 23-year-old computer science major Omosola Odetunde.

“When you say female technical founders, they’re facing the problem of being technical and a founder and also going to a VC, which brings its own set of challenges,” said Saguna Goel, a 21-year-old symbolic systems major. “Like a Venn diagram.”



Inside, a panel of speakers took the stage, and women filled the folding chairs quickly. The room was packed, and some stood around the edges. Rebecca Lynn, general partner at Canvas Venture Fund and the evening’s moderator, said there were some benefits to being female: “In corporate life, it’s been helpful, people remember me — ‘Oh, you were the woman in the room,'” she joked.

To introduce the panel, Lynn said, “These are the women who have beat the odds. And what odds they are.”

She repeated those odds — that three percent. It’s a familiar statistic, but always jarring. Many of the undergraduates in the room shifted in their seats. They looked at each other. A few of them sighed.

Lynn asked the panelists if, during their careers, they had followed Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s “karma” plan for getting raises. At a women’s conference earlier this month, Nadella had infamously recommended that women not ask for raises, and instead wait and expect good karma to come their way.

The panelists each said they had definitely not followed the karma principles.

“I’m a full believer in karma, but not when it comes to raises,” said Amy Chang, the CEO and co-founder of Accompani.

Lynn challenged all the young women in the audience to ask for a raise in their very first year of employment, to get used to the experience. “Just try,” she said, and then opened the floor for questions.

Nellie Bowles

One student asked how, if she has a male co-founder, to make sure equity and salary is fair between them. Another student stood and asked what criteria the panelists had used to choose supportive mates.

“That is the most important decision you’ll ever make in your whole life,” Lynn said. “When I talk to guys, and they say, ‘My wife can never do what you do,’ I look at them and say, ‘Probably  cause you don’t help that much.'”

“And the No. 1 question my husband gets is: ‘What is it like to be married to her?'” she said.

It was dark by now, and the students and panelists milled for more “networking time” on the patio, circling the panelists with questions. I asked Lynn why technical women weren’t holding demonstrations or marches. She said the best thing to do was to be a good role model, to reach out to young women and keep working at it.

Volunteers put away the folding chairs as a tap-dancing practice group started up, and the technical women headed back to their dorms.