AnitaB.org

Last updated
AnitaB.org
Founded1997
Type 501(c)(3) Nonprofit organization [1]
Focus Women in computing
Location
Area served
Global
Method Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference
Key people
 Anita Borg (co-founder)
Telle Whitney (co-founder)
Brenda Darden Wilkerson (President & CEO)
Website AnitaB.org
Formerly called
Institute for Women in Technology
(1997–2003)
Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology
(2003-2017)

AnitaB.org (formerly Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, and Institute for Women in Technology) is a global nonprofit organization based in Belmont, California. [2] Founded by computer scientists Anita Borg and Telle Whitney, the institute's primary aim is to recruit, retain, and advance women in technology. [3]

Contents

The institute's most prominent program is the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference, the world's largest gathering of women in computing. [4] From 2002 to 2017, AnitaB.org was led by Telle Whitney, who co-founded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing with Anita Borg. [5]

AnitaB.org is currently led by Brenda Darden Wilkerson, the former Director of Computer Science and IT Education for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and founder of the original “Computer Science for All” initiative.

History

AnitaB.org was founded in 1997 by computer scientists Anita Borg and Telle Whitney as the Institute for Women in Technology. The institute was preceded by two of its current programs: Systers and the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference. Systers, the first online community for women in computing, was founded in 1987 by Anita Borg. In 1994, Borg and Whitney organized the first Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

Anita Borg served as CEO of the Institute for Women in Technology from 1997 to 2002. [6] In 2002, Whitney became president and CEO, and in 2003, the institute was renamed the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. [7] [8] In 2017, Whitney retired and Brenda Darden Wilkerson took over as president and CEO. [9] The organization was also renamed AnitaB.org. [10]

Mission

Its mission is to increase the impact of women on all aspects of technology, and increase the positive impact of technology on the world's women. [11]

Activities

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference is the world's largest gathering of women in computing. Named in honor of Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, the conference is presented by AnitaB.org and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The conference features technical sessions and career sessions, including keynote speakers, a poster session, career fair, and awards ceremony. [12] The 2022 conference was held in a hybrid fashion - Orlando, Florida and virtual. [13] The 2017 conference was held in Orlando, Florida. [14] The 2018 conference was held in Houston, Texas. [15]

The Technical Executive Forum, held annually at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, brings together high-level technology executives to discuss challenges and solutions for recruiting, retaining, and advancing technical women. [16] A two-day workshop for K–12 computer science teachers is also held at the conference, hosted by the Computer Science Teachers Association and the AnitaB.org. [17]

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India is the largest conference for technical women in India. Established in 2010, the two-day conference is modeled after the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing and includes multiple tracks with keynote speakers, panels, social networking sessions, and a poster session. [18]

Grace Hopper Regional Consortium

The Grace Hopper Regional Consortium is an initiative of AnitaB.org, the ACM Council on Women in Computing, and the National Center for Women & Information Technology. Two-day regional conferences attract between 50 and 200 attendees and include keynote speakers, poster sessions, panel discussions, professional development workshops, birds of a feather (Twitter) sessions, and research presentations. [19] There have been 17 regional conferences to date, with 12 upcoming conferences planned. [20]

Abie Awards

The Abie Awards honor women technologists and those who support women in tech. There are a total of eight Abie Awards: the Technical Leadership Abie Award, Student of Vision Abie Award, Emerging Technologist Abie Award, Educational Abie Award in Honor of A. Richard Newton, Social Impact Abie Award, Technology Entrepreneurship Abie Award, Emerging Leader Abie Award in Honor of Denice Denton, and Change Agent Abie Award.

Previously, AnitaB.org hosted an annual Women of Vision Awards Banquet [21] where three Abie Awards were presented. However, it was decided that it was more fitting to present the Abie Awards at Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC), the world's largest gathering of women technologists. The final Women of Vision Awards Banquet was held in 2016. [22]

Now, five Abie Awards are presented at every GHC (the Technical Leadership Abie Award and Student of Vision Abie Award are awarded every year, while the remaining awards alternate each year). Past Abie Award winners include: Mary Lou Jepsen, Kristina M. Johnson, Mitchell Baker, Helen Greiner, Susan Landau, Justine Cassell, Deborah Estrin, Leah Jamieson, Duy-Loan Le, Radia Perlman, Nimmi Ramanujam and Pamela Samuelson. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]


The 2022 Abie Award Winners were: [30]

  1. Daphne Koller, Ph.D. (San Francisco, California) - Technical Leadership Award Winner
  2. Kris Dorsey, Ph.D. (Boston, Massachusetts) - Emerging Leader Award in Honor of Denice Denton Award Winner
  3. Katherine Vergara (Santiago, Chile) - Student of Vision Award Winner
  4. Paula Coto (Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina) - Change Agent Award Winner
  5. Neha Narkhede (Menlo Park, California) - Technology Entrepreneurship Award Winner

Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Award

The Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Award recognizes companies for their recruitment, retention, and advancement of technical women. The first Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Award was awarded to IBM in 2011. [31] Subsequent recipients include:

Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Workshop

The Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Workshop provides coverage of best practices for recruiting, retaining, and advancing technical women. Representatives from different companies learn from each other and share practices. Companies participating in the 2011 workshop included CA Technologies, Cisco, Google, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Microsoft Research, SAP, and Symantec. [38]

TechWomen

TechWomen is a professional mentorship and exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program brings 38 technical women, aged 25–42, from the Middle East and North Africa to the United States for a five-week mentoring program at technology companies in Silicon Valley. The initiative is administered by the Institute of International Education, in partnership with AnitaB.org. [39]

Online communities

The AnitaB.org runs several email lists and online groups that connect technical women. Systers is the largest email community of technical women in computing in the world and predates AnitaB.org, having been founded in 1987 by Anita Borg. Systers provides a private and gender exclusive space for women in computing to ask personal and technical questions. [40]

Local communities

The AnitaB.org local Communities usually referred to as ABI.local is a network of locally organized communities that bring women technologists together in cities around the world. These communities organize events and meet up, where women in tech get connected, find new opportunities and meet their career goals. ABI.local has been Featured in various cities across the globe including Chicago, London, Nairobi, Amsterdam, Seattle, Tokyo, Houston, New York, Delhi and more.

Research

AnitaB.org publishes research about the state of women in technology. Past reports have focused on mid-level technical women, ethnic minorities in computing, senior technical women, and more. [41] [42] [43]

Corporate partners

AnitaB.org is supported by corporate partners within and outside of the technology sector. Current notable partners include: [44]

In 2017, Forbes , Fortune , and other outlets notably reported that the organization severed ties with Uber over its treatment of female employees and lack of engagement. [45] [46] [47]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional membership group, claiming nearly 110,000 student and professional members as of 2022. Its headquarters are in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Borg</span> American computer scientist

Anita Borg was an American computer scientist celebrated for advocating for women’s representation and professional advancement in technology. She founded the Institute for Women and Technology and the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

Duy-Loan T. Le is an engineer and the first woman and Asian elected as a Texas Instruments Senior Fellow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayanna Howard</span> American roboticist

Ayanna MacCalla Howard is an American roboticist, entrepreneur and educator currently serving as the dean of the College of Engineering at Ohio State University. Assuming the post in March 2021, Howard became the first woman to lead the Ohio State College of Engineering.

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) is a series of conferences designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. It is the world's largest gathering of women in computing. The celebration, named after computer scientist Grace Hopper, is organized by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. GHC 2022 conference was held hybrid in Orlando and virtually at the end of September 2022.

The Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Awards honor exceptional technical women. Three awards are presented by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology each year, recognizing women in the categories of Innovation, Leadership, and Social Impact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telle Whitney</span> American computer scientist

Telle Whitney is the former CEO and President of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. A computer scientist by training, she cofounded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing with Anita Borg in 1994 and joined the Anita Borg Institute in 2002.

Anne Elizabeth Condon, is an Irish-Canadian computer scientist, professor, and former head of the Computer Science Department of the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on computational complexity theory, DNA computing, and bioinformatics. She has also held the NSERC/General Motors Canada Chair for Women in Science and Engineering from 2004 to 2009, and has worked to improve the success of women in the sciences and engineering.

Lydia E. Kavraki is a Greek-American computer scientist, the Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science, a professor of bioengineering, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical engineering at Rice University. She is also the director of the Ken Kennedy Institute at Rice University. She is known for her work on robotics/AI and bioinformatics/computational biology and in particular for the probabilistic roadmap method for robot motion planning and biomolecular configuration analysis.

Systers, founded by Anita Borg, is an international electronic mailing list for technical women in computing. The Syster community strives to increase the number of women in computer science and improve work environments for women. The mailing list has operated since 1987, making it the oldest of its kind for women in computer science. It is likely the largest email community of women in computing. The name 'Systers' originated from the combination of the words systems and sisters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irene Greif</span> American computer scientist

Irene Greif is an American computer scientist and a founder of the field of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW). She was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tal Rabin</span> American cryptographer

Tal Rabin is a computer scientist and Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania. She was previously the head of Research at the Algorand Foundation and the head of the cryptography research group at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of women in computing</span>

This is a timeline of women in computing. It covers the time when women worked as "human computers" and then as programmers of physical computers. Eventually, women programmers went on to write software, develop Internet technologies and other types of programming. Women have also been involved in computer science, various related types of engineering and computer hardware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ACM-W</span> Subdivision of the Association for Computing Machinery

The Association for Computing Machinery's Council on Women in Computing (ACM-W) supports, celebrates, and advocates internationally for the full engagement of women in all aspects of the computing field, providing a wide range of programs and services to ACM members and working in the larger community to advance the contributions of technical women. ACM-W is an active organization with over 36,000 members.

ACM Student Research Competition is an annual multi-tiered research presentation competition conducted by Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and Microsoft. The competition spans more than 20 major ACM conferences, hosting special poster sessions to showcase research at the undergraduate and graduate level. Selected semi-finalists add a slide presentation and compete for prizes in both undergraduate and graduate categories based on their knowledge, contribution, and quality of presentation. Those taking first place at the second-level competitions are invited to compete in the annual Grand Finals. Three top students in each category are selected as winners each year, representing approximately the top 1-2% of competing students.

Valerie Barr is an American computer scientist, and is the Margaret Hamilton Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Bard College. She formerly held the Jean Sammet endowed chair in the department of Computer Science at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She is known for her work with women in computing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruthe Farmer</span>

Ruthe Farmer is an American policymaker and activist focused on increasing girls' participation in technology and engineering. She is founder and CEO of the Last Mile Education Fund and also serves as the Chief Evangelist for CSforAll and she was a senior policy advisor for tech inclusion at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Obama administration and Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at the National Center for Women & Information Technology.

Dr. Shikoh Gitau is a Kenyan computer scientist. She finished her undergraduate studies in Computer Science at the Africa Nazarene University and attained her PhD at University of Cape Town. She is known for inventing M-Ganga and Ummeli, mobile applications for promoting health and medicine and matching unemployed workers with employment opportunities. Gitau was the first African to win the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship, received in the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing based on her inventions and thesis. She contributes and manages the Technology Innovations for Inclusive Growth program, where she is presently employed in the Africa Development Bank (AfDB).

Andrea Delgado-Olson is a computer scientist, founder of Native American Women in Computing (NAWiC), and a member of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians. She is the chief operating officer of technology startup ZaaWink.

Laboratoria is an organization empowering women who dream of a better future to start and grow careers in technology. It seeks this through a 6-month totally remote bootcamp, focused on technical and life skills, aimed at women who haven´t been able to start their careers. After the bootcamp, they guide their graduates to find quality jobs in the tech sector. Laboratoria also has a very powerful community of more than 3,300 women who are each playing a key role in a more diverse and competitive digital economy.

References

  1. ↑ anitab.org Archived 2011-06-26 at the Wayback Machine , accessed 2011-06-27
  2. ↑ "AnitaB.org is Moving to a New Global Tech Center Headquarters Location". AnitaB.org. 2019-05-29. Archived from the original on 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  3. ↑ "2015 State of DevOps Report" (PDF). Puppet Labs, Pwc, IT Revolution Press. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  4. ↑ "Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing". ghc.anitab.org. AnitaB.org. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  5. ↑ Anderson, Melissa (11 May 2011). "Telle Whitney, CEO and President, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology". The Glass Hammer. Evolved People Media LLC. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  6. ↑ Hafner, Katie (10 April 2003). "Anita Borg, 54, Trailblazer For Women in Computer Field". The New York Times . Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  7. ↑ "The Most Influential Women in Technology: Telle Whitney". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  8. ↑ "Grace Hopper celebration gathers women techies from around the world". Diversity/Careers. June–July 2008. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  9. ↑ "AnitaB.org Names Brenda Darden Wilkerson as President and CEO". AnitaB.org. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  10. ↑ "Our New Name and Logo Reflect Our Community - AnitaB.org". AnitaB.org. 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  11. ↑ "About Us: Mission". Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. Archived from the original on 24 May 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Ordille, Joann J. (January 2010). "CRA-W Showcases Its Programs at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing". Computing Research News. Computing Research Association. 22 (1). Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  13. ↑ AnitaB.org. "AnitaB.org Honors Five Trailblazing Women Technologists with Abie Awards at 2022 Grace Hopper Celebration". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  14. ↑ "2017 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing". ABI. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  15. ↑ "Grace Hopper Celebration - AnitaB.org". Grace Hopper Celebration. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  16. ↑ Vivek, Wadwa; Whitney, Telle (8 October 2010). "Practical Ways to Get More Women to Lead Businesses". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  17. ↑ "Dr. Suzanne Westbrook Brings First K-12 Computing Teachers Workshop to Tucson". University of Arizona Computer Science Events & News. Arizona Board of Regents. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  18. ↑ "Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology Announces First Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India". gracehopper.in. Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. 8 December 2010. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  19. ↑ "MinneWIC: first upper Midwest conference for women in computing". Diversity/Careers. Diversity/Careers. April–May 2010. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  20. ↑ "Grace Hopper Regional Consortium". ACM. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  21. ↑ "Awards encourages women to break tech glass ceiling". ABC7News. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  22. ↑ "Women of Vision ABIE Awards get Bigger Stage". AnitaB.org.
  23. ↑ Gilmour, Nicki (27 May 2010). "Women in Technology: Staying Technical and the Importance of Being an Expert". ValleyZen. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  24. ↑ Barrett, Jerri (26 May 2011). "Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Awards: Inspiration for All". ValleyZen. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  25. ↑ Mccall, Margo (24 February 2009). "2009 Women of Vision Named". computer.org. IEEE Computer Society. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  26. ↑ "Women of Vision awards presented at Anita Borg Institute banquet". Diversity/Careers. Diversity/Careers. August–September 2008. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  27. ↑ "IEEE Annual Report" (PDF). IEEE Computer Society. 2007. p. 21. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  28. ↑ Fuller, Brian (18 October 2005). "Perlman, Samuelson, Tsao, honored for innovations". EETimes. UBM Electronics. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  29. ↑ "Duke biomedical engineering professor wins social impact award". WRAL TechWire. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  30. ↑ AnitaB.org. "AnitaB.org Honors Five Trailblazing Women Technologists with Abie Awards at 2022 Grace Hopper Celebration". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  31. ↑ "IBM Named Top Company for Technical Women - 2011". IBM Systems Magazine. IBM. 29 March 2011. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  32. ↑ "American Express Named Top Company for Technical Women - 2012". ABI. 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-08-09. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  33. ↑ "Intel Named Top Company for Technical Women - 2013". ABI. 26 February 2013.
  34. ↑ "Bank of America 2014 Top Company for Technical Women". ABI. 18 March 2014.
  35. ↑ "BNY Mellon Wins Top Companies for Women Technologists Award". ABI. 30 April 2015.
  36. ↑ "ThoughtWorks: Much More than Good Intentions". ABI. 19 October 2016.
  37. ↑ "2022 Top Companies for Women Technologists". AnitaB.org. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  38. ↑ "Anita Borg Institute celebrates 2011 Women of Vision". Diversity/Careers. June–July 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  39. ↑ Jaben-Eilon, Jan (2 June 2011). "State Department Launches 'TechWomen'". Womenetics.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  40. ↑ Kadaba, Lini S. (30 May 1995). "Cybersisters Who Order Men To Buzz Off Their Network". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  41. ↑ Mackenzie, Lori Nishiura (2 April 2010). "Senior Technical Women: A profile of success". Gender News from the Clayman Institute for Gender and Research. Stanford University. Archived from the original on 31 May 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  42. ↑ Dubie, Denise (27 October 2009). "Flight risk? High-tech talent set to take off post economic recovery". Network World. Network World, Inc. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  43. ↑ Ross, Andrew S. (24 November 2008). "Few women at top in Silicon Valley". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications Inc. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  44. ↑ "About Us: ABI Partners". Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. 14 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  45. ↑ Burns, Janet (May 26, 2017). "Silicon Valley Women's Group Breaks With Uber Over Treatment Of Female Employeess". Forbes . Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  46. ↑ Shen, Lucinda (May 26, 2017). "A Women's Tech Group Is Dumping Uber Over Its 'Treatment of Women Employees'". Fortune . Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  47. ↑ Swisher, Kara (May 25, 2017). "A Silicon Valley technical women's group has cut ties with Uber, citing 'continuing allegations' about the treatment of female employees". Recode . Retrieved November 26, 2017.
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