AnitaB.org (formerly Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, and Institute for Women in Technology) is a global nonprofit organization based in Palo Alto, California. Founded by computer scientists Anita Borg, PhD and Telle Whitney, PhD, the institute's primary aim is to recruit, retain, and advance women in technology.
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. 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.
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.
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History
AnitaB.org was founded in 1997 by computer scientists, Anita Borg, PhD and Telle Whitney, PhD 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. In 2002, Whitney became President and CEO, and in 2003, the institute was renamed the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. In 2017, Whitney retired and Brenda Darden Wilkerson took over as President and CEO. The organization was also renamed AnitaB.org.
Maps AnitaB.org
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.
Activities
Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference (GHC)
The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing 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. The 2017 conference was held in Orlando, Florida. The 2018 conference will be held in Houston, Texas.
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. 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.
Awards
AnitaB.org presents a number of awards annually at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing to recognize technical women and those who support them. These include: Anita Borg Social Impact Award, Anita Borg Technical Leadership Award, Denice Denton Emerging Leader Award, A. Richard Newton Educator Award, Anita Borg Change Agent Awards, and TechWomen Change Agent Awards.
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.
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 (NCWIT). 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. There have been 17 regional conferences to date, with 12 upcoming conferences planned.
Women of Vision Awards
The AnitaB.org Women of Vision Awards is an annual awards program that honors technical women. Three awards are presented each year, in categories of Innovation, Leadership, and Social Impact, at the annual Women of Vision Awards Banquet. Past Women of Vision 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, and Pamela Samuelson.
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. Subsequent recipients include:
- 2012 - American Express.
- 2013 - Intel corporation
- 2014 - Bank of America
- 2015 - BNY Mellon
- 2016 - ThoughtWorks
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 Corporation, Intuit, Microsoft Research, SAP, and Symantec.
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.
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.
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.
Corporate partners
AnitaB.org is supported by corporate partners within and outside of the technology sector. Current notable partners include:
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.
See also
- Ada Initiative
- The Ada Project (TAP)
- Anita Borg
- Discrimination
- Sexism in the technology industry
- Women in computing
References
External links
- AnitaB.org
- Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing
- Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India
- Grace Hopper Regional Consortium
- TechWomen
- Systers
- Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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