Wednesday, October 29, 2014

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 BlairLiliana BocanegraPhuong MaiLindsay 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.

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?

Saturday, October 25, 2014

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.

Friday, October 24, 2014

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:

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:

WEST

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.

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.

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

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.

Why Don't More Women Get Venture Funding? A VC Speaks

Why Don't More Women Get Venture Funding? A VC Speaks: Pitch with your team, bring along a male executive, and "get in front of the other woman," says Canaan Partners' John Balen










Thursday, October 23, 2014

No matter the job, women don’t want to work in tech -- FORTUNE

The tech industry can no longer use the education excuse to explain the shortage of women working in the field, according to a new study.

“It’s a pipeline problem.”
That’s what many tech industry executives say when asked why there are so few women working in their field. More women need to graduate with STEM-related degreesbefore the gender gap will be solved, they’ll add at the end of their excuse.
Yet a new study conducted by Catalyst shows that plenty of women are graduating with technical degrees – they just don’t want to work in the tech industry. Looking specifically at the gender divide in business roles within the tech industry, the nonprofit found that while 75% of MBA grads have a tech background, only 36% return to tech-intensive industries — like oil and gas or energy – after completing their MBA. Women MBAs are less likely than men to enter these industries to start, and they are more likely to leave tech-intensive industries quickly.
“We found that no matter the job, these companies are a particular difficult place for women to work in,” said Catalyst’s research director and the study’s author Anna Beninger.

Catalyst’s Global Report Uncovers New Layers of Inequity for Women in STEM Industries

Catalyst’s Global Report Uncovers New Layers of Inequity for Women in STEM Industries:

Catalyst’s new report provides specific steps on how organizations attract and retain talented women in the STEM industry.


NEW YORK (October 23, 2014)—It’s no secret that women in tech roles in STEM—the science, technology, engineering and math industries—face significant challenges. Catalyst’s groundbreaking new global report, High Potentials in Tech-Intensive Industries: The Gender Divide in Business Rolesshows that those on the business side are impacted too, and it reveals a culture that is particularly unwelcoming to women, no matter what the job.
This research is the first to study men and women in business roles in technology-intensive industries such as high tech and telecommunications, oil and gas, and automotive manufacturing. It shines a light on the male-dominated culture of STEM companies as a whole and provides specific steps organizations can take to better attract and retain talented women across both its tech and business sectors. 
“STEM companies face a serious talent drain as women take their skills elsewhere, but these organizations also have a remarkable opportunity to turn things around by focusing on how they can make all their talent—men and women alike—feel equally valued,” says Deborah Gillis, President and CEO, Catalyst.



Key Findings:
Women are less likely to enter tech-intensive industries and more likely to leave once they join.  
  • Only 18% of women opted for a business role in a tech-intensive industry immediately following their MBA, compared to 24% of men.
  • 53% of women who started out in a business role in a tech-intensive industry post-MBA left to take a position in another industry, compared to 31% of men.
Women are outsiders and on unequal footing from day one.
  • Despite having the same education as their male counterparts, women in business roles in tech-intensive industries were more likely than men to start in entry-level positions (women, 55%; men, 39%) and to be paid less.
  • Of those who took their first post-MBA job in a business role in a tech-intensive industry, men were more than three times as likely (83%) as women (27%) to say they felt similar to most people at work.
  • High potentials who took their first post-MBA job in a business role in a tech-intensive industry were significantly more likely to work on a team with 10% or few women than those in other industries (tech-intensive industries, 21%; other industries, 16%).
Barriers include lack of role models and vague evaluation criteria, so it’s not surprising that women in business roles in tech-intensive industries have lower aspirations.
  • High potentials were significantly less likely to have a female supervisor than those working in other industries (tech-intensive industries, 15%; other industries, 21%).
  • Women in tech-intensive industries were significantly less likely than women in other industries to say that their supervisors clearly showed them how their work would be evaluated (tech-intensive industries, 42%; other industries, 55%).
  • Women in their first post-MBA job were less likely than men to aspire to the senior executive/CEO levels (women, 84%; men, 97%).
By intentionally addressing the barriers, tech-intensive companies CAN transform their cultures, become an employer of choice for women, and gain a competitive advantage.
  • Catalyst offers concrete suggestions and action steps for reversing the talent drain:
    • Start men and women at equal levels and pay.
    • Evaluate company culture: Is hostile behavior toward women tolerated? Do events outside of the office exclude women? Consider how the organization can make women feel valued and included.
    • Recruit senior male executives to sponsor up-and-coming women.
    • Make performance standards crystal clear.
    • Provide a flexible work environment.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Girl Scouts of the USA and Dell Parter on Video Game Dev Training for Girls

Game On! Girl Scouts of the USA and Dell power up to invest in our future:

NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dell and Girl Scouts of the USA have come together to support Information Communications Technology programming for underserved girls and a number of Girl Scout councils with the enhanced "Be the Video Game Developer" Program. The...



Robots Podcast: Engaging girls in robotics

Robots Podcast: Engaging girls in robotics:

Link to audio file (48:49)

Earlier this year, the Robots Podcast team came across a story about two 17 year old twin sisters who started their own robotics outreach group. The story about the Tipperman sisters got us curious. What kind of robotics outreach activities are out there to inspire children? Do any of these activities make a difference in getting more girls interested in robotics?

In this episode, AJung Moon conducted a series of three interviews. She spoke to the Tipperman sisters to find out more about their activities, and with Ross Mead, a PhD student who has years of experience organizing robotics events and inspiring young minds. She then talks with Professor Elizabeth Croft, a roboticist who also studies the topic of women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Hannah and Rachael Tipperman

DSC_0090Hannah and Rachael Tipperman are high school seniors. They became interested in robotics almost “accidentally” when Hannah participated in a one-time robotics workshop for middle school girls. Since then, they have participated in the FIRST Lego League, FIRST Tech Challenge, FIRST Robotics Challenge, and they founded and captain their school’s Vex Robotics Team. They developed Robot Springboard in the summer between 9th and 10th grade as a way of “paying it forward” and helping other children and communities learn more about, and become involved in, robotics. They run week-long programs in robotics and computing for communities as diverse as Homer, Alaska and Monteverde, Costa Rica. They have also run a week-long “Robot Springboard Technology Camp @ Drexel University” for middle school girls with the help and support of the National Center for Women and Information Technology and Drexel University.

This past year, they launched BrightStart Robotics, a program tailored to younger children (kindergarten through 3rd grade) and their parents. The BrightStart program has been remarkably successful and has hosted over 100 parents and 100 children in the past year. They are presently training other high school students to help run these programs. Hannah and Rachael Tipperman plan to pursue studies in Computer Science in college.

Ross Mead

r-meadRoss Mead is a Computer Science PhD student, former NSF Graduate Research Fellow, and former fellow of the USC Body Engineering Los Angeles program (part of the NSF GK-12 initiative). His research focuses on the principled design and modeling of fundamental social behaviors (such as social spacing, eye gaze, gesturing, turn-taking, and other nonverbal social cues) that serve as building blocks to facilitate natural face-to-face human-robot interactions. For over a decade, Ross has been involved with robotics outreach programs, such as Botball and FIRST, serving as an international program instructor, regional coordinator, competition designer, event host, technical mentor, and seasoned competitor. His Master Thesis was designed and implemented using hardware and software platforms used in these outreach programs, demonstrating the applicability of inexpensive and accessible technologies in real-world scenarios. Over the years, Ross has worked directly with thousands of K-12 and higher-education students, in an effort to improve the understanding of STEM principles and promote the pursuit of STEM studies and careers. Ross is the first to have formally introduced sociable robotics into the standard K-12 curriculum; this distinguishes itself from traditional robotics activities, which tend to focus on tasks that are “dirty, dangerous, and dull” for a human to perform. His goal is to use sociable robotics topics to increase interest and self-efficacy of K-12 students underrepresented in STEM, such as females, African-Americans, Latinos/Latinas, and Native Americans.

Elizabeth Croft

Elizabeth A. Croft

Elizabeth A. Croft is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Associate Dean, Education and Professional Development for the Faculty of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She holds the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, BC/Yukon at UBC and leads the Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology (WWEST) program.

Elizabeth founded WWEST in order to attract, recruit, and retain women in engineering and science careers. WWEST works at national, regional, and local levels with organizations engaged in increasing the number of women in science, engineering, and technology (SET) disciplines through multilateral partnerships spanning community, academic, and private sector partners. Elizabeth frequently gives talks and runs educational sessions to promote women in engineering from elementary school through graduate studies, academe and industry careers. She has received numerous awards for her activities promoting women in engineering.

She is also the director of the Collaborative Advanced Robotics and Intelligent Systems Laboratory at UBC. Her research investigates how robotic systems interact with people, and be perceived to behave, in a safe, predictable, and helpful manner.

25 women in robotics you need to know about (2014) - from ROBOHUB

Just last week at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella gave women some questionable career advice: “It’s not really about asking for the raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will actually give you the right raises as you go along. Because that’s good karma.” The event moderator, Professor Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College and a Microsoft director, immediately disagreed with Nadella’s advice, suggesting instead that women do their homework on salary levels and practice asking for pay raises. 
Indeed, good karma seems to be slow coming. Women account for only 17% of Microsoft’s management and technical staff. It’s been calculated by the National Women’s Law Center that women still earn only 78c on the dollar compared to their male counterparts. And the consequences of not negotiating a starting salary at the beginning of one’s career can amount to the loss of millions in earnings over a woman’s lifetime.
From Hypatia to Grace Hopper, there have been many amazing women who have carved themselves out a name in the fields of science, engineering, mathematics and technology, despite the lack of financial reward. However, these comparatively few women can easily be lost from the pages of history without an ongoing push to make sure that they are represented; women are still well under 20% of the tech workforce, and role models are important.
And yet there is movement in the right direction: This spring, Harvey Mudd College broke new ground when 56% of its engineering degrees were awarded to women – the first time the college’s women graduates have outnumbered men in this discipline. And this fall, Lynne Parker announced a 50 strong all-female organizing committee for ICRA – one of the premier academic robotics events worldwide.
If Ada Lovelace Day is about sharing stories of women in science, technology, engineering and math to create new role models for girls and women in these male-dominated fields, stories like these can only inspire us to keep pushing.
In celebration we’ve once again created a short list of women in robotics that everyone should know about (see also 25 women in robotics you need to know about (2013)).
Although all the women listed here are doing great things, our list isn’t by any means a ranking. Rather, it is a range: from early stage to emeritus, from many different countries and in a variety of robotics disciplines; researchers, entrepreneurs and academics, innovators, artists and policy makers. In short, here are 25 more reasons why women can do anything. Please share. 

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Satya Nadella email to employees: RE: Grace Hopper Conference

Satya Nadella email to employees: RE: Grace Hopper Conference:

From: Satya Nadella
Sent: Thursday, October 9, 2014 5:24 PM
To: Microsoft – All Employees (QBDG); Retail: All FTE
Subject: RE: Empowering Others

All – Today I was interviewed on stage by Maria Klawe at the Grace Hopper Conference – I encourage you to watch the video. It was great to spend time with so many women passionate about technology. I was honored to be a part of it and I left the conference energized and inspired.

Toward the end of the interview, Maria asked me what advice I would offer women who are not comfortable asking for pay raises. I answered that question completely wrong. Without a doubt I wholeheartedly support programs at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap. I believe men and women should get equal pay for equal work. And when it comes to career advice on getting a raise when you think it’s deserved, Maria’s advice was the right advice. If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.

I said I was looking forward to the Grace Hopper Conference to learn, and I certainly learned a valuable lesson. I look forward to speaking with you at our monthly Q&A next week and am happy to answer any question you have.

Satya




From: Satya Nadella
Sent: Wednesday, October 8, 2014 6:18 AM
To: Microsoft – All Employees (QBDG); Retail: All FTE
Subject: Empowering Others

At Microsoft, we are passionate about creating technology that impacts the world and empowers people and organizations to do more and achieve more. This big vision demands that we have a vibrant and diverse workforce — an issue all companies in the technology industry face today. However, now is the time for us to get more involved and that’s just what we’re doing this week.

First, today kicks off an initiative to bring the Hour of Code to 100 million youth during Computer Science Education Week, Dec. 8–14, 2014. Microsoft is proud to be a lead supporter of this global movement that helps students discover the fun of coding and, more importantly, how it can be a catalyst to create and achieve great things. There are opportunities for every Microsoft employee to get involved as a teacher or mentor. For those new to coding — give it a try yourself. Get involved, I am.

Second, this Thursday, I’ll join hundreds of other Microsoft employees and more than 8,000 female engineers from around the world at the annual Grace Hopper Conference. I’m going to the conference to learn and to listen. I’m also going with the hope of inspiring talented female engineers to continue pursuing careers in technology while also making valuable connections with potential candidates for Microsoft. While there, I’ll be interviewed on stage by Maria Klawe — a member of Microsoft’s Board of Directors and president of Harvey Mudd College — to further the discussion on women in technology.

It is an amazing time to be in tech — the pace of innovation and opportunity to make an impact are boundless. These efforts are part of what Lisa mentioned in her mail last week to increase the pipeline for tomorrow’s technology leaders both within our company and across the industry.

Let’s see what we can achieve together.

Satya