Dr. Anita Borg tenaciously envisioned and set about to change the world for women and for technology. Believing technology will affect everything: our economic, political, social and personal lives, she fought tirelessly for the development technology with positive social and human impact.
Anita Borg sought to revolutionize the world and the way we think about technology and its impact on our lives. Fond of quoting, “It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission” and wearing a t-shirt that declared, “Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History”, she devoted much of her life to dismantling the barriers that keep women and minorities from entering computing and technology fields.
Born, Anita Borg Naffz, on January 17th, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois, She grew up in Palatine, Illinois, Kaneohe, Hawaii, and Mukilteo, Washington. Anita found her way to a computer keyboard in her mid-20s. She received a Ph.D. in computer science from the Courant Institute at New York University in 1981 and embarked on a brilliant research career for some of the industry’s commercial giants. Her success in breaking through the “silicon ceiling” was an exception that proved the rule.
Systers: In 1987 while attending a major industry conference, she realized there were only a handful of women attending. She pulled that small group together and started Systers, an e-mail list and information-sharing community providing mentors, support and encouragement to women in computing. Today, Systers has grown to include over 2,500 women in 38 countries.
Grace Hopper: In 1994, Dr. Borg co-founded along with Dr. Telle Whitney the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing inspired by the legacy of Navy Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper. The conference brings the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. Today it is the largest gathering of Women in Computing in the World.
Institute for Women and Technology: In 1997, Dr. Borg left the industry to found and lead the Institute for Women and Technology (IWT). Besides assuming responsibility for existing programs - including Systers and the Grace Hopper Celebrations - IWT is an experimental research and development organization focused on increasing the impact of women on technology, as well as heightening the positive impact of technology on women around the world.
In 1999, President Clinton appointed Anita to the Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering, and Technology. In 2002 she received the Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment. She was a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery and a member of the Board of Directors of the Computing Research Association. During 1998-9, she served as a member of the National Academy of Engineering’s Committee for the Celebration of Women in Engineering which created the Summit on Women in Engineering in May 1999. She served on the National Research Council’s Committee on Women in Science and Engineering
On April 6th, 2003 Anita passed away at her mother’s home in Sonoma, California after a long fight battle with brain cancer. She was 54. Anita left behind a vibrant community and touched lives. Shortly after her passing the Institute for Women and Technology was renamed the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) in her honor.
Anita Borg’s capacity to mix technical expertise and fearless vision inspired, motivated and moved women to embrace technology, not of fear or ignore it. She touched and changed the lives of countless women in the computing fields and beyond. She was responsible for including women in the technological revolution - not as bystanders, but as active participants and leaders.
Her work continues today through all those people and through the continuing work of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.