About Us: Annual Report

The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) experienced substantial growth in 2007, expanding its industry partners, sponsor organizations, impact and programs. In addition to growth, ABI instituted key measurement programs designed to insure that we measure the effectiveness of our programs.

In 2007, the measurable impact of the Anita Borg Institute included:

Grace Hopper Celebration

The Grace Hopper Celebration became an annual event in 2007. In addition, the 2007 Grace Hopper Celebration was held in conjunction with the Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing in Orlando, Florida. ABI and Tapia hosted a Bridge Day for the scholarship students attending both conferences. Students were invited to spend the day behind the scenes at Disneyworld and offered a behind the scenes tour of the technology of the theme park. Key results of the 2007 Grace Hopper Celebration included:

  • Sold-out attendance with 1408 attendees
  • 68 companies participated including 7 platinum sponsors
  • 206 academic institutions
  • 650 students attended the conference
  • 12 government labs and agencies were represented
  • 258 scholarships awarded
  • 82 committee members volunteered
  • 291 conference speakers presented
  • We hosted a pilot CTO Forum with senior technical executives to meet with students, and attend a roundtable to discuss observations and ideas.
  • We hosted a Global TechLeaders program for Social Innovators one day before the conference with a focus on international technology solutions, which was highly rated for quality and impact by attendees. This is our first offering that goes directly to the second half of the Anita Borg Institute mission, to increase the positive impact of technology on the world’s women. 80 women attended the Global TechLeaders Program. It was also the first time a presenter used Second Life, eliminating travel and the carbon footprint required for her travel.
  • Attendees from 23 countries: Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, Georgia, Germany, India, Israel, Mexico, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sudan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States of America.
  • For the first time, the Grace Hopper Celebration offered subsidized childcare during the Grace Hopper Celebration.
  • Impact measurements from the Grace Hopper Celebration included:

    • Recruitment

      - 71% report GHC increased commitment to continue degree in technology
      - 79% report GHC increased their commitment to mentor other women
      - 79% report the intention to go into technology
      - 85% felt inspired by role models

    Retention

      - 79% report GHC increased their commitment to their technical career
      - 90% report that GHC made them feel part of a community of technical women

    Advancement

      - 66% increased their professional network
      - 80% who attended GHC in the past report positive impact on their professional development
  • A new award was added to the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, the Denice Denton Emerging Leader Award for junior faculty members under the age of 40. The first Denice Denton Award was awarded to Rachel Pottinger, Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia.
  • Change Agents, a scholarship program, became an awards program. Three Change Agents traveled to the Grace Hopper Celebration from Bahrain, Egypt and Georgia.

    • Syster Pass-It-On Grants

    Systers Pass-It-On Grants were awarded for the first time in 2007. A total of six awards were made – five to women in the United States and one to a woman in Nigeria.

    TechLeaders

    TechLeaders was offered six times in 2007

  • Mid-level women
      • - Realizing Your Vision at Intel in Oregon
      - Realizing Your Vision at Google in New York City
      - Strategic Persuasion and Change Leadership at Microsoft in Silicon Valley
  • Senior women
      • - Leading Across Cultures at Cisco in Silicon Valley
      - *NEW for senior women in government - Expanding Your Horizons at Airlie House in Washington DC
  • New for all levels
      • - TechLeaders for Social Innovators GHC in Orlando, FL
  • Impact Measurement for 2007 TechLeaders Workshops
      • - 87% of 2007 TechLeaders participants reported that they were attending the workshop for the first time
      - 80% of mid-level 2007 TechLeaders participants felt more energized and confident about their careers as a result of attending TechLeaders
      - 85% of mid-level and Social Innovator participants would strongly or absolutely recommend the workshop to others in their field
      - 72% of mid-level 2007 TechLeaders participants felt less isolated as a technical woman as a result of attending TechLeaders
      - 77% of 2007 TechLeaders participants reported that TechLeaders increased their professional network
      - 96% of TechLeaders for Social Innovators attendees felt inspired by the workshop
      - 97% of TechLeaders for Social Innovators attendees felt that they workshop made them think about their own social impact as a technologist

    The Women of Vision Awards Banquet

    The Women of Vision Awards Banquet became an annual event in 2007

  • The three winners honored were:
      • - Deborah Estrin, Professor of Computer Science, UCLA
      - Leah Jamieson, Dean of Engineering, Purdue University
      - Duy-Loan T. Le, Senior Fellow, Texas Instruments
  • Duy-Loan T. Le’s posted video on You Tube drew over 17,000 hits in 2007

    • Anita Borg Institute Newsletter

    The Anita Borg Institute newsletter grew to a distribution of 5400.

    Linked-In For Good

    ABI implemented a new community – Linked-In For Good in November 2007.

    Research Reports

    ABI continues to work to influence change through the publication of research reports. ABI published several research reports in 2007:

  • Barriers to the Advancement of Technical Women: A Review of the Literature (2007)
  • Mentoring in Academia (2007)
  • Women Representation in Technology Around the World (2007)
  • The Business Case for Gender Diversity (2007)
  • The State of Women in the High Tech Industry (2007)

    • Institute Industry Partners

    In 2007, we welcomed six new Institute industry partners: CA, Capgemini, Genentech, NetApp, Symantec and Juniper. The Anita Borg Institute ended 2007 with a total of 16 industry partners resulting in increased revenue of 55%. The support of corporations, universities, and individuals underpin ABI’s success. In 2007, 16 industry partners, along with scores of sponsors and supporters, contributed valuable time, resources, expertise and financial investments to the Institute. ABI remains deeply grateful by the support of our entire community, and we thank them all.

    In 2008, ABI will focus our efforts on the continued growth of our existing programs and increasing the impact of the Institute on the culture of technology.

    Sincerely,

    Telle Whitney
    CEO and President, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology

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