Girls In Tech

“100 Women – 100 Visions” is a portrait series celebrating women scientists and engineers, from all academic levels at the Imperial College in London in support of International Women’s Day. 

On the whole, the series aims to capture a sense of the growing community of women scientists and engineers across the college, and their increasingly important role in all disciplines and levels of academic work.  Each photo gives the women a chance to express themselves; and also shows the diversity of the students and senior staff included in the project.

These portraits include women such as:

• A pharmacologist who has become a myocardial physiologist and finally a stem cell biologist.
• An undergraduate student in neuroscience, division of surgery, oncology, reproductive biology and anaesthetics.
• A MRes student in Green chemistry, energy and the environment, department of chemistry
• A professor of respiratory pharmacology, National Heart and Lung Institute
• A research post-graduate in the department of communications and signal processing, department of electrical and electronic engineering

To check out more of the profiles, and read about this great project, go to: http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/scc/100women100visions/index.html

We have all heard about, read about, and even talked right here about  – the issue of the lack of women in the technology field, particularly here in the Valley.  But, did you ever stop to wonder what it was like for women when the first computers were being developed?  Well, one who has in the past been seen on 60 Minutes and the David Letterman show could shed some light on it — She’s Grace Hopper.

One of the first women — specifically, the 3rd programmer on the world’s first computer — in the field, Ms. Hopper was a rarity and not only as far as computer engineering!

Grace Hopper was also the first woman ever to receive a doctorate in Mathematics from Yale. Breaking three different barriers in the 1940’s where women were concerned, she not only attended an Ivy league school, she also joined the Navy and went into the business world. Kurt W. Beyer has written a book about her entitled “Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age,” which is definitely worth a read. In it, she is noted to be “the most numerically popular computer pioneer on the web.” Try googling her and you will see. It tells of her career from being a mathematics professor, to leaving that job to serve in the Navy in World War II, and going on to become one of the leaders of the computer revolution.

So, if you are in technology and ever in doubt about how you can make a dent in the gender gap, wondering if you should even try, I would read this book on Hopper to gather inspiration.  A very notable woman for our time, and  it is great to see her recognized in this way. (check out more here:  http://admiralgracehopper.com/)

Forgive me if I am wrong, but I believe Valentine’s Day is one of the least romantic days of the year. The majority of men become robots for a day; purchasing flowers, chocolates, and jewelry for their sweethearts because that is what everyone else is doing. This year, bypass the glittery red confetti, cheesy “I Love You” bears, generic red roses, and genetically engineered gigantic chocolate dipped strawberries to try something personal for a change. Below are eight tips written by New York-based psychologist and author Marty Babits. Read on for creative, thoughtful, and fun ways to show your partner you love them—minus all the cheesy Valentine’s Day swag.

8 Tips for Renewing Your Relationship This Valentine’s Day
By Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD,

Author of “The Power of Middle Ground: A Couple’s Guide to Renewing Your Relationship”

1. How many ways do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Pick at least three qualities about your partner that you love. Gift each one of these with something special. For example, give him a CD by her favorite recording artist in celebration of whatever you consider to be his most appealing facial feature. Choose a clothing accessory that includes the color that you think best flatters your partner and celebrate the way they look in that color. Come up with a quality that you have always valued, from the start of your relationship onward and feature that in a message written in a blank card by you with a tender sign-off. De-emphasize the gifts and emphasize the qualities that you want to call attention to and celebrate.

2. Surprise! Believe it or not some psychoanalysts evaluate the psychic well-being of their clients by determining the degree to which they are capable of surprise! A person who is not responsive to surprise elements in their life is unable to respond spontaneously. Their capacity for joy — and feeling in general — is impaired. Give your partner a reason to light up the surprise center in their mid-brain! Think of something that they would like but will not suspect. Have you written them a poem lately? Have you recorded the opening strains of “You are the Sunshine of My Life” on a hand-held tape recorder lately and handed it to them with a post-it instruction to hit the play button? When was the last time you brought your sweetheart a passion fruit chocolate truffle from one of the finest chocolatiers in your community? Whatever it is, make it pleasant and surprising. By the way, the residual benefit of surprising your partner is that you activate your own surprise center. No pun intended, it will be surprisingly beneficial for you.

3. Hand your partner a prerogative pass. (Print it out on an index card if you like.) With this pass he will be able to exercise their prerogative in a situation where there is usually a conflict over who gets their way. The one limit to the pass is that they are not allowed to exercise a prerogative if it forces you to do something that you feel uncomfortable doing. Next time you have a conflict over which restaurant to go to your partner can flash the prerogative pass and you’ll go Italian if that’s their choice rather than whatever else you might have felt in the mood for. Again, this presupposes that you like Italian — whether or not it would have been your pick that evening or not.

4. Look your partner in the eye and tell them three things that you love about them. They can be big ticket items, like the way you feel together when you are making love. They can be smaller fare, like the way you love it when they wrinkle their nose and close their eyes when they are hysterical with laughter. They can be somewhere in between like when they listen to you explain something in a way that you yourself realize is quite impossible to follow without complaining that they got lost four times in the telling. Write down what you are going to say before beginning this one. Then read it with feeling as if you were auditioning for a part in a movie starring opposite whoever your greatest heart-throb might be. By the way, you can fantasize about a star from any era in this exercise. Living or dead, domestic or foreign — anything goes. Only make sure you deliver your lines with feeling.

5.  Think about something that you and your partner have had trouble coming to terms with in the past year — like speaking civilly to each other when either of you is angry; or perhaps, discussing a conflict in your financial situation. Without referencing your partner, give a commitment to improve your own ability to speak about the topic without blaming. Tell your partner that you are going to accentuate understanding the issue from their point of view and that you are hoping to have fewer hurtful arguments this coming year. Tell them that you want to conduct your relationship in the middle ground as much as you possibly can; this means that you want to work together, acknowledge and appreciate each other’s hopes and dreams and make all plans with these understandings in mind.

6.  Is your partner an exercise enthusiast? If so, did you happen to catch Marisa Tomei doing hula hoop exercises on The Ellen DeGeneres Show? The exercise looks like fun — read about comments on this product on Amazon — and if you think your partner would enjoy a novel kind of exercise, purchase the item and attach a note pledging, “I hope you enjoy going through this hoop. I look forward to going through all sorts of hoops with you! And I’m lovin’ it.” Note: Only take this suggestion if you and your partner have a similar sense of humor and you think this would tickle them.

7. Do you prepare a food dish that your partner loves? If the answer is yes, put an announcement inside your Valentine’s Day card saying that on such-and-such a date you will be cooking a blankety-blank dinner for them to continue on with the celebration of the love you share. Ask them to contribute on that night by bringing along whatever will enhance the meal for you — a favorite beverage or dessert that they can purchase or make.

8.  Take a minute to think about a trait of yours that your partner has communicated having a problem with — for example, a hot temper or messiness. Think about any constructive suggestions that your partner has made that you think, when you are considering this calmly and not when you are in the heat of a disagreement, is reasonable and possibly something that you might be able to put into practice. This tip works best if you feel that the trait is something that you actually would like to change within yourself. Research self-help either on the internet or in the self-help section of your favorite book store and find out what authors suggest may be helpful in your particular situation. Jot down the best helpful tip you can find and write your partner a note stating that you have heard their complaint, take it seriously and are poised to work on it. Outline the plan that you have read about that makes sense and feel you can realistically implement. Describe it to your partner. Sit back and let the communication magic do its work. You will have just demonstrated acknowledgment of their feelings; appreciation of their communications on a difficult topic; acceptance of their concerns. You well may have instilled hope and mutuality into your dialogue.

So this Valentine’s Day be original and take things to a new level! Chocolate and flowers have their appeal, but they lack emotional value. Think you have a more creative idea than the ones above? Comment below and share with us!
Remember: timing is everything! So hurry—it’s almost Valentine’s Day!

J.B.

I’d like to introduce Jane, GIT Athens’ latest blogger. We are happy to have another brave soul come on board here in Athens.  One by one we are getting women into tech!

Technology Trekking by J. Briganti

It doesn’t require special clothing or special shoes but if you’re 40 something and haven’t been doing much technology trekking then it can be a bit perplexing.  I recently was invited to preview Google Wave.  Interesting I thought, so I clicked whereas instructed and hoped for the best.

Not having a Google account I was prompted to create one.  I paused for a few seconds and then thought to myself, why not.  I proceeded to follow the step by step instructions, clicking away here and there and before I knew it, I had myself a Google account.  Hurray, so far so good, I thought.   Feeling inspired, I then decided to download something called Google Chrome, which I would later learn is a web browser aiming to improve security, speed and stability.  What a great tool to have, I thought.

The idea of having real-time communication and collaboration is very exciting and I was eager to send a wave.  So, without further hesitation I clicked on contacts, choosing the only name which was in my box, proceeded to write a brief message in the window provided and then finally clicked on done, located at the bottom of the text window.  I was pretty sure that my wave went but was not totally convinced.  The absence of a confirmation in the form of sent left me with a little uncertainty.

Randomly clicking away at the various options available in the navigation, inbox and text windows, I soon realized how important it is to be able to utilize all of these different tools in order to endure all that Google Wave has to offer.  So, I decided to browse through the Google Wave Help and am I glad I did.  It was very user friendly and I found a “how to” explanation for every transaction that I would soon be interested in using.  Needless to say, I am ardently waiting to fill my contact box with fellow wavers.

My accomplishments may seem trivial to some, I’m sure, but for me it was exhilarating.  Technology and I are still a union in the making and I am excited about venturing into new territories.  I personally plan to hike over one small hill at a time, enjoying the scenery as I go.  Many thanks to Google Wave Help for supplying the answers to questions that I hadn’t yet thought to ask.

In her new book:  When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How to Stick Their Necks Out, Nikki Stone, motivational speaker and aerial skiing Olympic gold medalist, shares the techniques she used to overcome a debilitating injury to achieve the gold, helping readers realize and reach their own personal and professional goals.  She is a motivational speaker for Fortune 500 companies and has seen what makes an individual most successful in the boardroom and on the slopes.  Over the last five years, she researched the similarities of 40 different highly-successful individuals — including the Prince Albert of Monaco, Dr. Stephen Covey, Shaun White medal-winning snowboarder, Steve Young and many more.  And no matter the field or endeavor, she found that ”The Turtle Effect philosophy” was at the core of everyone’s success.

Taught to her by her mother, Stone describes “The Turtle Effect” as including these elements:

Have a Soft Inside — let your heart drive your actions — This includes the great advice of:  Do the things you hate first so you can truly get pleasure from the parts of your job and day that you are most passionate about.  First thing in the morning write down five things you don’t like to do. Do each before 11:00 a.m., and check off that you’ve done them. Doing the thing you hate most will allow you to spend the rest of the day or week focusing on the things you enjoy the most.

Develop Your Hard Shell — stay strong against life’s challenges.  This includes:

• Enhance Your Focus
• Be Committed
• Overcoming Adversities  (Ask yourself, “If I knew I couldn’t fail, what would I try?” After you answer this question, ask yourself why it would be so awful to fail at the task or activity. We learn much more from our failures than we learn from our accomplishments.)

Be Willing to Stick Your Neck Out –

• Build Your Confidence
• Start Taking Risks &
• Find Your Teamwork

Applying this philosophy, she finds that “the same factors work to put someone at the top of their game, whether you are a triumphant athlete, Fortune 500 CEO, an accomplished politician, successful educator, or even an effective parent.”  Here’s to your turtle-like successes!

And check out her book or the website:  Click here 

Valentine’s Day is just over a week away and I thought I’d share a few sweet (and affordable) gift ideas.

Tunes

Remember when we used to make mixed tapes to express our affection to our crush? Well, thanks to the internet that is a LOT easier these days:

Slacker Personal Radio has a collection of DJ-programmed Valentine’s Day stations that you can listen to on the web or your mobile phone. As always with Slacker, if you like a song “heart” it and it will play more often, and if you don’t like it, “ban” it and it will never play again.

Slacker allows anyone to capture a moment by playing romantic music wherever you are. Also, with Slacker, in a matter of minutes, you can create a custom station based on any artist or number of artists you like and then share that station with the one you love.

Here are a few of the highlighted stations:
Rock Ballads – http://slacker.com/r/5Kyb
Country Love – http://slacker.com/r/HgZM
Broken Heart – http://slacker.com/r/5Ky5

Words

FastPencil.com offers an amazing DIY gem for those looking for affordable, thoughtful and one of a kind Valentines Day gift ideas.  FastPencil is an online publishing tool that allows you to print your own books — you can use it to make a really fabulous thoughtful gift or you could publish a handful of poems, complete with glossy photos and personal anecdotes to give the one you love. The sky is the limit.

FastPencil is currently offering users an incentive to get their book project going!
- What – A free printed book, a free eBook and free shipping & handling
- When – This offer is valid through Feb. 27th
- Who – The first 1,000 FastPencil users to sign up
- How – Visit https://www.fastpencil.com/offer/consumerpromo

Food

Have an iPhone? The California Strawberry Commission has recently launched its free STRAWBERRIES iPhone app.

All you need is to download this app and you will have tons of dinner and dessert recipes in your pocket that are instantly accessible during your trip to the grocery store. Let’s face it, nobody appreciates anything more then a home-cooked meal.

The app offers a collection of more than 50 strawberry recipes from food bloggers and chefs from around the web. Strawberries are among the healthiest foods in the world and the STRAWBERRIES app demonstrates a range of recipes such as strawberry shortcake to more exotic dishes like strawberry ceviche and strawberry dumplings.

Strawberry Recipe App is available now for free download in the App Store:
- More than 50 recipes, categorized by dish type.
- Access your favorite recipes – and shopping lists – in the kitchen, at the store, or anywhere!
- Share recipes on Twitter, Facebook and email.
- Discover and link to the food bloggers and chefs behind the recipes.

You can download the app here: http://bit.ly/8LANJo

So, please enjoy these three fabulous, simple and sweet Valentine’s day ideas and please share with us what you decide on for your Valentine!

Girls in Tech sponsor, NextSpace Coworking + Innovation, UC Santa Cruz and the City of Santa Cruz have come together to create the ‘What’s Next Lecture Series‘ and is kicking off its five part Innovation program with a look at “Sustainability and Social Innovation: Doing Well by Doing Good,” on February 18, 2010 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Downtown Santa Cruz.

The panel will feature Peter Meehan, CEO of Newman’s Own Organics, KoAnn Skrzyniarz, CEO of Sustainable Life Media, and Joshua Levine, Vice President of Socially Responsible Investing at RBC Wealth Management.   Sandy Skees, CEO of Communications4Good, will moderate the panel as it explores trends and success factors in companies with a social and environmental mission.

These outstanding speakers will provide the audience with current thinking, best practices and trends in sustainability and social innovation, examining how brands and the media are framing this business shift.  Topics will include an exploration of how businesses are responding to the social, environmental and economic challenges of today’s world with innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Future topics in the year-long series will feature topics that include Energy, The New Workplace, Innovation in Research & Development, and Gaming & Social Media.

If you live in Santa Cruz or will be in the area be sure to check it out. Tickets are $15 for the general public.  Students are free but must register in advance.  For more information or to purchase tickets, see http://www.whatsnextlectures.com.

As the next generation of leaders prepares to take its place as the decision makers of tomorrow, well trained and educated engineers are becoming more and more in demand. Many industries rely on engineers to provide both expertise and a creative vision of the future. And In spite of the urgent need to develop our nation’s engineering talent, the fact remains that a large majority of engineers are men. Girls often feel discouraged from pursuing opportunities in engineering. We’d like to see that changed! So, we are encouraging you to participate in the National Engineers Week Foundation’s Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day – February 18th in cities around the U.S.  Women engineers and their male counterparts will mentor and reach as many as 1 million girls around the country with workshops, tours, on-line discussions and a host of hands-on activities at local businesses, universities and libraries.  All of these events deliver the message that a career in engineering is within the grasp of every young woman who is looking to play a role in addressing the issues her generation will face as it comes of age.

“The Girl Day vision is to broaden the way girls and young women look at engineering and help them to see that it touches our lives in ways we might not even be aware of,” said Leslie Collins, executive director, National Engineers Week Foundation. They want to make sure to deliver the message that “making more women engineers needs to be one of this nation’s most important engineering projects.”

Some of the events happening in various locales include:

• Siemens Industry, Inc. in West Chicago , IL will hold its annual ‘Introduce a Girl to Engineering event’ for girls in 5th through 11th grade, hosted by women engineers. Girls who attend will complete several experiments associated with different engineering disciplines. Other highlights will include a short video about engineering and a factory tour.

• The New York City Transit Museum will present a program recognizing the key role that women engineers play throughout the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (MTA) agencies. Attendees will hear first-hand from representatives of various programs about their goals, ambitions, and experiences in the MTA workforce. Panelists include a Design Manager with NYC Transit Capital Program Management – Signals and Systems Program and a Design Manager, NYC Transit Capital Program Management – Stations Program.

• In Kihei , Hawaii , Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) Women In Technology Project will host Maui ’s 10th annual ‘Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day’ event. Middle school girls will be given an opportunity for a half-day of job-shadowing with an engineer and fun, hands-on engineering-based activities. The event is free and open to 7th & 8th grade girls. The WIT Project is also expanding its outreach by arranging presentations by local engineers at Maui County middle schools.

• The Redding, California members of the Society of Women Engineers will host a Girl Day event where approximately 50 young women will learn about science and engineering. Hands on workshops will include: Best Bounce, Spaghetti Egg Drop, Electromagnetism, and Kinetic Energy.

For more information on the Foundation’s week of events, and Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, visit their website at:   www.eweek.org.

Want to know if that business idea you wrote down on a crumpled napkin can actually lead to crisp dollar bills? Have too many crumpled idea napkins and don’t know where to start? Join Women 2.0 for a two-day workshop February 6-7 in Microsoft’s San Francisco office. The “Will it Launch” workshop will be lead by David Weekly (Founder and CEO of PBWorks) and Poornima Vijayshankar (Founding Engineer, Mint). The two of them will quickly assess startup ideas and then teach you how to perfect that startup pitch so you leave the workshop ready to find co-founders, customers, investors, volunteers, the like-minded — anyone who will help you launch and or buy your product.

The two-day schedule is as follows:

Saturday, February 6th, 2010
9:00am — Breakfast
9:30am — Welcome & Introductions
10:00am — Introductory Improv Session
1:00pm — Lunch
2:00pm — “Will It Launch?” Workshop (with David Weekly and Poornima Vijayashanker)
5:00pm — Social drinks
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
10:00am — “Will It Launch” Co-Working
12:00pm — Snacks & Drinks
1:00pm — Open Office Hours (with Betty Kayton, Jorge Calderon, Poornima Vijayashanker, and Saad Khan)
2:00pm — Improv Session
3:00pm — Elevator Pitches (with judging and advice from Betty Kayton, Dave Mcclure, David Ulevitch, Poornima Vijayshanker, and Rashmi Sinha)
5:00pm — Closing Remarks

 
Interested? Click here to register.

 
Want to go, but not in San Francisco? Tune in here for a live stream.

For more information visit www.women2.org/willitlaunch/

New research shows what many have long suspected:  women entrepreneurs are poised to lead the next wave of growth in global technology ventures.  This report, prepared by Illuminate Ventures, documents the out-performance of women entrepreneurs in the past decade and the trends that are propelling them towards critical mass in the high-tech sector.

Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency: The high-tech companies women build are more capital-efficient than the norm. The average venture-backed company run by a woman had annual revenues that were 12 percent higher, using an average of one-third less committed capital.

Big Progress in Recent Times: More women are serving as officers of venture-backed companies with successful exits. In 1988, only 4% of the 134 firms that went public in the U.S. had women in top management positions growing to over 41% percent by 2004. Of 2009’s 19 high-tech IPOs, all but two had at least one woman officer.

Fewer Failures: Despite often being capital-constrained, women-owned businesses are more likely to survive the transition from raw start-up to established company than the average.

Expanded IP Contributions: From 1985 to 2005, the annual number of U.S. female-invented fractional software patents increased 45-fold – three times the average growth rate in that sector.

Growing Influence in Tech: Women-owned or led firms are the fastest growing sector of new venture creation in the U.S., growing at five times the rate of all new firms between 1997 and 2006 – now representing nearly 50% of all privately held businesses.  These companies are being founded in the same business sectors at similar ratios to those led by men.

Venture-level Returns: In the past 10 years more than 125 companies with over 200 women co-founders or officers have achieved IPOs or >$50M M&A exits in the U.S. high-tech sector alone

Diversity Improves Performance: Organizations that are the most inclusive of women in top management achieve 35% higher ROE and 34% better total return to shareholders versus their peers – and research shows gender diversity to be particularly valuable where innovation is key.

Financial Bottleneck: $1M+ woman led companies are twice as likely as those led by men to gain debt versus equity capital.  In 2008 woman co-founded tech businesses gained less than 10% of venture investment in the high-tech sector

Impact of Women Investors: Women now represent just over 15 percent of the angel investors, but just 5%-7% of the partner-level high-tech venture capital investors in the U.S.  Firms with women investment partners are 70 percent more likely to lead an investment in a woman entrepreneur than those with only male partners.

The bottom line: More than ever before, women are influencing the face of business.  They are on the cusp of becoming a leading entrepreneurial force in technology.  As the global economy regenerates, new business models are needed to stimulate economic and job growth. Investors seeking to reinvigorate bottom-line performance and to favorably impact the entrepreneurial strength of our economy would be wise to support strategies that enable high-tech start-ups that are inclusive of women entrepreneurs.