Stephanie, me, Candice and Jen with the GHC 2008 sign
Myself with the Lockheed Martin recruiting team
A really pretty sunrise Friday morning
Two USS Grace Hopper sea mates and myself
Showing posts with label Grace Hopper Conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grace Hopper Conference. Show all posts
15 December 2008
Friday Funday
Ergh, this is what happens when you wait months and months to write up a post. I was good and got the images uploaded (see below), but I don't have much of a post to go with them. So, I'll leave it at that and caption the photos for your enjoyment.
Stephanie, me, Candice and Jen with the GHC 2008 sign
Myself with the Lockheed Martin recruiting team
A really pretty sunrise Friday morning
Two USS Grace Hopper sea mates and myself
Stephanie, me, Candice and Jen with the GHC 2008 sign
Myself with the Lockheed Martin recruiting team
A really pretty sunrise Friday morning
Two USS Grace Hopper sea mates and myself
31 October 2008
The Numbers of Women & IT
The National Center for Women & Information Technology sponsors the Grace Hopper Women in Computing conference, and each year they put out some statistics regarding women and IT. Here's their recap: By The Numbers:
51% - percentage of professional occupations in the 2006 US workforce held by women
26% - percentage of professional IT-related occupations in the 2006 US workforce held by women
13% - percentage of corporate officer positions at Fortune 500 technology companies held by women
1,000,000 - number of computer and information-related jobs expected to be added to the US workforce by 2014
50% - percentage of these jobs for which US universities will graduate candidates with Computer Science bachelor's degrees
56% - percentage of AP test-takers in 2006 who were girls
48% - percentage of AP Calculus test-takers in 2006 who were girls
15% - percentage of AP CS test-takers in 2006 who were girls
54% - percentage of 2005 Intel Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) finalists in Biochemistry who were girls
24% - percentage of 2005 ISEF finalists in Mathematics who were girls
12% - percentage of 2005 ISEF finalists in CS who were girls
59% - percentage of 2006 undergraduate degree recipients who were women
21% - percentage of 2006 C&I Sciences undergraduate degree recipients who were women
14% - percentage of 2006 CS undergraduate degree recipients at major research universities who were women
37% - percentage of 1985 CS undergraduate degree recipients who were women
70% - percentage of decline in the number of incoming undergraduate women interested in majoring in CS between 2000 and 2005
29% - percentage of Computer Scientists in 2004 who were women
4% - percentage of Computer Scientists in 2004 who were women and African American
2% - percentage of Computer Scientists in 2004 who were women and Asian
1% - percentage of Computer Scientists in 2004 who were women and Hispanic
Note: Computer Science and Computer & Information Technology (both at Purdue and other STEM universities) are not the same. The GHC conference is geared towards CS, but Computing does include C&IT spaces.
51% - percentage of professional occupations in the 2006 US workforce held by women
26% - percentage of professional IT-related occupations in the 2006 US workforce held by women
13% - percentage of corporate officer positions at Fortune 500 technology companies held by women
1,000,000 - number of computer and information-related jobs expected to be added to the US workforce by 2014
50% - percentage of these jobs for which US universities will graduate candidates with Computer Science bachelor's degrees
56% - percentage of AP test-takers in 2006 who were girls
48% - percentage of AP Calculus test-takers in 2006 who were girls
15% - percentage of AP CS test-takers in 2006 who were girls
54% - percentage of 2005 Intel Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) finalists in Biochemistry who were girls
24% - percentage of 2005 ISEF finalists in Mathematics who were girls
12% - percentage of 2005 ISEF finalists in CS who were girls
59% - percentage of 2006 undergraduate degree recipients who were women
21% - percentage of 2006 C&I Sciences undergraduate degree recipients who were women
14% - percentage of 2006 CS undergraduate degree recipients at major research universities who were women
37% - percentage of 1985 CS undergraduate degree recipients who were women
70% - percentage of decline in the number of incoming undergraduate women interested in majoring in CS between 2000 and 2005
29% - percentage of Computer Scientists in 2004 who were women
4% - percentage of Computer Scientists in 2004 who were women and African American
2% - percentage of Computer Scientists in 2004 who were women and Asian
1% - percentage of Computer Scientists in 2004 who were women and Hispanic
Note: Computer Science and Computer & Information Technology (both at Purdue and other STEM universities) are not the same. The GHC conference is geared towards CS, but Computing does include C&IT spaces.
03 October 2008
Kicking Off the GHC
GHC08 - Thursday, 2 October
(Top: a beautiful morning view, Bottom: Fran Allen delivering her keynote speech) Today was full of insightful, moving and inspiring stories. Officially kicking off the conference this morning was the Welcome and keynote address from Fran Allen. Fran's address regarded the history of computing, reaching back to COBOL and pressing forward to the future of computing for women. This year Fran was the first woman to receive the A.M. Turing Award, the most prestigious award in Computer Science (aka the Nobel Prize of Computing). Here is something incredible: 54 people have received this award. Fran is the first woman after the award's establishment in 1966. Fran said, "The patterns of computing seem laid out like carefully choreographed dance steps where men lead and women follow. We must break out of this box. Many designs are already too antiquated for the new global systems and refitting old solutions to new situations is not going to work.
The Thursday agenda is this: breakfast (I was forced to eat cake as the lesser of two evils when compared to donuts, hehe), the welcome and keynote, session 1, break, session 2, break and lunch, a CTO plenary forum, break, session 4, Birds of a Feather, the awards ceremony reception and the awards ceremony itself.
So what was I up to with all of that going on? After the welcome and keynote I went to a session entitled "How to Manage Your Career When "Life Gets in the Way." While I was on the young end of the spectrum of the audience I gained valuable insight on some challenges Life will likely put towards me. Panelists included Kathleen E Naughton of HP, Jody Mahoney of the ABI, Celeste Null of Intel, Valentina Salapura of IBM, Rebecca Coleman of Microsoft and Henry Schauer, also of HP, who offered a male perspective on the subject. The panelists discussed their background, situation and how they handled (or how they are currently handling) family issues such as elderly parents, handicap children, cancer, etc. One panelist really captured me when she stated that the only way to overcome these challenges is to make the best decision you can based on what you know at that time and what your heart is telling you, and don't look back.
(Jen, Candice, myself and Stephanie at lunch) I took a break to work on my last blog entry during the second session, and met up with Jen, Stephanie and Candice for lunch, which was delicious (tiramisu for dessert and Tazo tea!).
Next up was the CTO Plenary which was very fascinating (also new to the conference). Panelists discussed leading technology and included Sophie Vandebroek of Xerox, Nan Mattai of Rockwell Collins, Greg (say this 10 times fast) Papadopoulos of Sun Microsystems, and Justin Rattner of Intel. Kate Greene of MIT Technology Review moderated. Each panelist had a fabulous story and a great personality. I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere with these leaders and hearing about their experiences. It was great to hear that each of them started out like many new hires and just worked their way up, demonstrating that anyone can make it to the top if they apply themselves and prove worthy.
(Myself, Margot and another lady working on our Snap Circuit, Jr. project) I mingled and networked with other attendees, causing me to miss the third session. That led into a break and then the fourth session which I thoroughly enjoyed: Inspiring Girls in Technology: How to Make Every Outreach a Success. Panelists for this interactive discussion and forum included Linda Kekelis of the Chabot Space and Science Center, Shannon Madison of Google, Reena Singhal Lee, also of Google, and Marie-Ange Eyoum of Intel. These ladies were so energetic, had valuable insight and creative ideas that got me thinking ahead towards coordinating with Lockheed Martin and working with young girls in the Orlando area. I had the great pleasure of meeting a fabulous lady, Margot Miller of Sun Microsystems, who became my partner for the exercises the audience took part in. One really cool thing we did was that we learned about voltage, current and resistance using a fantastic kit called Snap Circuit, Jr. I don't know where this kit was when I took ECET 214, but, man! It was so cool! Margot and I also did a drawing activity that represented giving instructions to a computer. Both of us, and several others, I'm sure, walked out of the room with tons of great ideas for engaging young girls into the field of Technology.
After the fourth session I saw that I had an hour of downtime during which I chatted with Adam. He's doing well back home with interviews and exams. A change in the GHC schedule was that the big sit-down dinner was moved from tonight to Friday night, and since I was already back at my suite by the time I learned this, I skipped dinner to nap (although it was more tossing and turning). I woke up and tuned into the VP Debate re-run on CNN. That's over now (more on the debate in a later post), I'm warping this post up, and heading to bed. Check back again for a post on tomorrow's events at the GHC!
-Amanda
(Top: a beautiful morning view, Bottom: Fran Allen delivering her keynote speech) Today was full of insightful, moving and inspiring stories. Officially kicking off the conference this morning was the Welcome and keynote address from Fran Allen. Fran's address regarded the history of computing, reaching back to COBOL and pressing forward to the future of computing for women. This year Fran was the first woman to receive the A.M. Turing Award, the most prestigious award in Computer Science (aka the Nobel Prize of Computing). Here is something incredible: 54 people have received this award. Fran is the first woman after the award's establishment in 1966. Fran said, "The patterns of computing seem laid out like carefully choreographed dance steps where men lead and women follow. We must break out of this box. Many designs are already too antiquated for the new global systems and refitting old solutions to new situations is not going to work.The Thursday agenda is this: breakfast (I was forced to eat cake as the lesser of two evils when compared to donuts, hehe), the welcome and keynote, session 1, break, session 2, break and lunch, a CTO plenary forum, break, session 4, Birds of a Feather, the awards ceremony reception and the awards ceremony itself.
So what was I up to with all of that going on? After the welcome and keynote I went to a session entitled "How to Manage Your Career When "Life Gets in the Way." While I was on the young end of the spectrum of the audience I gained valuable insight on some challenges Life will likely put towards me. Panelists included Kathleen E Naughton of HP, Jody Mahoney of the ABI, Celeste Null of Intel, Valentina Salapura of IBM, Rebecca Coleman of Microsoft and Henry Schauer, also of HP, who offered a male perspective on the subject. The panelists discussed their background, situation and how they handled (or how they are currently handling) family issues such as elderly parents, handicap children, cancer, etc. One panelist really captured me when she stated that the only way to overcome these challenges is to make the best decision you can based on what you know at that time and what your heart is telling you, and don't look back.
(Jen, Candice, myself and Stephanie at lunch) I took a break to work on my last blog entry during the second session, and met up with Jen, Stephanie and Candice for lunch, which was delicious (tiramisu for dessert and Tazo tea!).Next up was the CTO Plenary which was very fascinating (also new to the conference). Panelists discussed leading technology and included Sophie Vandebroek of Xerox, Nan Mattai of Rockwell Collins, Greg (say this 10 times fast) Papadopoulos of Sun Microsystems, and Justin Rattner of Intel. Kate Greene of MIT Technology Review moderated. Each panelist had a fabulous story and a great personality. I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere with these leaders and hearing about their experiences. It was great to hear that each of them started out like many new hires and just worked their way up, demonstrating that anyone can make it to the top if they apply themselves and prove worthy.
(Myself, Margot and another lady working on our Snap Circuit, Jr. project) I mingled and networked with other attendees, causing me to miss the third session. That led into a break and then the fourth session which I thoroughly enjoyed: Inspiring Girls in Technology: How to Make Every Outreach a Success. Panelists for this interactive discussion and forum included Linda Kekelis of the Chabot Space and Science Center, Shannon Madison of Google, Reena Singhal Lee, also of Google, and Marie-Ange Eyoum of Intel. These ladies were so energetic, had valuable insight and creative ideas that got me thinking ahead towards coordinating with Lockheed Martin and working with young girls in the Orlando area. I had the great pleasure of meeting a fabulous lady, Margot Miller of Sun Microsystems, who became my partner for the exercises the audience took part in. One really cool thing we did was that we learned about voltage, current and resistance using a fantastic kit called Snap Circuit, Jr. I don't know where this kit was when I took ECET 214, but, man! It was so cool! Margot and I also did a drawing activity that represented giving instructions to a computer. Both of us, and several others, I'm sure, walked out of the room with tons of great ideas for engaging young girls into the field of Technology.After the fourth session I saw that I had an hour of downtime during which I chatted with Adam. He's doing well back home with interviews and exams. A change in the GHC schedule was that the big sit-down dinner was moved from tonight to Friday night, and since I was already back at my suite by the time I learned this, I skipped dinner to nap (although it was more tossing and turning). I woke up and tuned into the VP Debate re-run on CNN. That's over now (more on the debate in a later post), I'm warping this post up, and heading to bed. Check back again for a post on tomorrow's events at the GHC!
-Amanda
30 September 2008
Off to Colorado
GHC08 - Wednesday, 1 October
Yesterday at a ridiculous hour of 5:30a, Adam and I headed to the airport. I was quite sad to part from him for what will total to four nights (possibly three = ), but the trip (the GHC, details in a moment) I was embarking on has already changed my life as a woman in a technical field. The trip to the Keystone Resort in Colorado was smooth, but long: to Indy airport, to Denver (no lay-overs!), shuttle to resort, shuttle to room (because the resort is enormous). The suite I am sharing with Jen Russo is extremely nice; I was particularly impressed with the well-equipped kitchenette (they even had salt and a dishwasher!
My networking started early on during my trip. At the airport while I was waiting for the shuttle I met a Sowmya (IBM, India), and Shanna (Ph.D. Candidate, Berkeley, CA). I was pleasantly reminded of Australia when Sowmya said "haytch" for the pronounciation of the letter "h" - that would be British English, which is spoken in India and Australia alike. I also met and chatted with three women from IU (woo hoo, Indiana folks). I explained my idea of the difference between CS and C&IT, shared my Study Abroad experience with them, and learned that IU was working towards making an abroad experience a requirement for degrees there.
(Photo of Rear Admiral Grace Hopper) For those who are unfamiliar with the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference (GHC), let me tell you about it: Grace Hopper was an extraordinary woman. She was a Rear Admiral in the US Navy, and was quite a spunky woman. Here is a clip of her that really expresses her wonderful personality. She worked on Mark 1 at Harvard, the first computer in the US. Grace once said, "it is much easier to apologize that to get permission." That is one of my favorite quotes, and it is very Grace Hopper. Another fascinating lady involved in the GHC is Anita Borg. She founded the Anita Borg Institute (ABI) with Telle Whitney. This not-for-profit organization works and succeeds at promoting women in Technology and connecting women to Technology. The ABI puts together the GHC, the first conference of which was held in Washington, DC in 1994 with 500 women attendees. The conference now caps off at 1400!
This year's conference is held in Keystone, Colorado at the Keystone Resort. The theme is "We Build a Better World." The word "we" was chosen specifically to demonstrate unity; and the focus is on women's contributions to a better world in all kinds of ways: psychologically, environmentally, and, of course, technologically. In fact, the reason Keystone Resort was chosen as the facility is because it's excellence in recycling and green efforts.
On the way to the resort I noticed some brilliant gold trees speckling the mountains. These trees are known as Quaking or Trembling Aspens. One of the IU ladies explained that the trees have great root systems that aid them in fire disaster recovery. Pretty cool, and very beautiful. Also on the mountain and among the Aspens are pine trees. It is very unfortunate that an insect known as the Mountain Pine Beetle has been sweeping through. The same lady informed me that in New Mexico the same pines have been wiped out entirely. I have witnessed the dead grey and dying brown pines in the Colorado mountains, and it's pretty sad, even with the sunny-hued Aspens sprinkled in.
(Top: Slope Side suite building that I'm staying in, Middle: a beautiful view outside my suite, Bottom: a view of the ski slopes behind the suite building) After I got settled in to the suite, I was planning on going for a run around the resort. Unfortunately it didn't happen, thank you, high altitude of almost 2 miles. I was winded after hauling my duffle bag up some stairs... hmph. So no run yesterday. And, no run today - what? I couldn't sleep last night - I tossed and turned more than ever since yearning for Christmas morning presents as a child. I think it's because I was dehydrated and my body was coping with a rather large change in atmosphere, so I didn't run this morning. There won't be time through the day either. I'm planning to run tomorrow morning, pending a decent night's rest.
After deciding against a run yesterday afternoon, I met up with Candice (a first-timer GHC attendee) and Julie (the professor who is taking me, Candice, Stephanie (second-timer), and Jen (also a first-timer). Stephanie was interviewing with Lockheed Martin (woot!) while Candice and Julie hit a grocery store for a few things, and I grabbed some tasty soup and a jalapeno bagel at a marvelous little coffee/book shop called Inxpot. I fell in love, and I really hope I have an opportunity to visit again before the trip concludes. Once Stephanie was finished interviewing, the three of us headed to Julie's suite to kill some time before the New Comer's meeting.
We shuttled to the conference center, checked in, and browsed the company booths, picking up gobs of SWAG (stuff we all get), and mingled with other women. This was my third New Comer's meeting, so I knew what was going to be said, but I always enjoy going because it keeps me focused on why I'm here, and that is to network with other women in Technology. And that's what makes the GHC so cool for me: it's all about socializing with people who know where you're coming from, who can support you, who can learn from you, who can grow with you. It's very cool.
Next up was the Poster Session. The first two years of coming to the conference I just looked around at the posters; maybe I stopped to hear about one or two. Not very effective, really. This year I took a different approach. The posters are outlined in the GHC booklet, and I looked through and made a list (complete with check boxes) of the posters I was interested in. They were all very cool to learn about. One lady from New Zealand (awesome!) spoke about "Engendering" Technology and how women perceive the challenges of being a woman in the field. For example, one group of women say it's not worth the effort - obviously they make no progress. A second group looks at it as a challenge and finds drive in that idea; these women also resist giving up and are very resilient. The final group prospered because they welcomed the challenge and had the best attitude, and that's what I took away from her poster: it's all about attitude. = )
When I was done browsing the posters and snacking on the delicious hors dourves, I shuttled back to my room, got ready for bed, had a lovely chat with Adam, and, like I mentioned earlier, tried to get a good night's rest. Check back for a post on Thursday's happenings!
-Amanda
Yesterday at a ridiculous hour of 5:30a, Adam and I headed to the airport. I was quite sad to part from him for what will total to four nights (possibly three = ), but the trip (the GHC, details in a moment) I was embarking on has already changed my life as a woman in a technical field. The trip to the Keystone Resort in Colorado was smooth, but long: to Indy airport, to Denver (no lay-overs!), shuttle to resort, shuttle to room (because the resort is enormous). The suite I am sharing with Jen Russo is extremely nice; I was particularly impressed with the well-equipped kitchenette (they even had salt and a dishwasher!
My networking started early on during my trip. At the airport while I was waiting for the shuttle I met a Sowmya (IBM, India), and Shanna (Ph.D. Candidate, Berkeley, CA). I was pleasantly reminded of Australia when Sowmya said "haytch" for the pronounciation of the letter "h" - that would be British English, which is spoken in India and Australia alike. I also met and chatted with three women from IU (woo hoo, Indiana folks). I explained my idea of the difference between CS and C&IT, shared my Study Abroad experience with them, and learned that IU was working towards making an abroad experience a requirement for degrees there.
(Photo of Rear Admiral Grace Hopper) For those who are unfamiliar with the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference (GHC), let me tell you about it: Grace Hopper was an extraordinary woman. She was a Rear Admiral in the US Navy, and was quite a spunky woman. Here is a clip of her that really expresses her wonderful personality. She worked on Mark 1 at Harvard, the first computer in the US. Grace once said, "it is much easier to apologize that to get permission." That is one of my favorite quotes, and it is very Grace Hopper. Another fascinating lady involved in the GHC is Anita Borg. She founded the Anita Borg Institute (ABI) with Telle Whitney. This not-for-profit organization works and succeeds at promoting women in Technology and connecting women to Technology. The ABI puts together the GHC, the first conference of which was held in Washington, DC in 1994 with 500 women attendees. The conference now caps off at 1400!This year's conference is held in Keystone, Colorado at the Keystone Resort. The theme is "We Build a Better World." The word "we" was chosen specifically to demonstrate unity; and the focus is on women's contributions to a better world in all kinds of ways: psychologically, environmentally, and, of course, technologically. In fact, the reason Keystone Resort was chosen as the facility is because it's excellence in recycling and green efforts.
On the way to the resort I noticed some brilliant gold trees speckling the mountains. These trees are known as Quaking or Trembling Aspens. One of the IU ladies explained that the trees have great root systems that aid them in fire disaster recovery. Pretty cool, and very beautiful. Also on the mountain and among the Aspens are pine trees. It is very unfortunate that an insect known as the Mountain Pine Beetle has been sweeping through. The same lady informed me that in New Mexico the same pines have been wiped out entirely. I have witnessed the dead grey and dying brown pines in the Colorado mountains, and it's pretty sad, even with the sunny-hued Aspens sprinkled in.
(Top: Slope Side suite building that I'm staying in, Middle: a beautiful view outside my suite, Bottom: a view of the ski slopes behind the suite building) After I got settled in to the suite, I was planning on going for a run around the resort. Unfortunately it didn't happen, thank you, high altitude of almost 2 miles. I was winded after hauling my duffle bag up some stairs... hmph. So no run yesterday. And, no run today - what? I couldn't sleep last night - I tossed and turned more than ever since yearning for Christmas morning presents as a child. I think it's because I was dehydrated and my body was coping with a rather large change in atmosphere, so I didn't run this morning. There won't be time through the day either. I'm planning to run tomorrow morning, pending a decent night's rest.After deciding against a run yesterday afternoon, I met up with Candice (a first-timer GHC attendee) and Julie (the professor who is taking me, Candice, Stephanie (second-timer), and Jen (also a first-timer). Stephanie was interviewing with Lockheed Martin (woot!) while Candice and Julie hit a grocery store for a few things, and I grabbed some tasty soup and a jalapeno bagel at a marvelous little coffee/book shop called Inxpot. I fell in love, and I really hope I have an opportunity to visit again before the trip concludes. Once Stephanie was finished interviewing, the three of us headed to Julie's suite to kill some time before the New Comer's meeting.
We shuttled to the conference center, checked in, and browsed the company booths, picking up gobs of SWAG (stuff we all get), and mingled with other women. This was my third New Comer's meeting, so I knew what was going to be said, but I always enjoy going because it keeps me focused on why I'm here, and that is to network with other women in Technology. And that's what makes the GHC so cool for me: it's all about socializing with people who know where you're coming from, who can support you, who can learn from you, who can grow with you. It's very cool.
Next up was the Poster Session. The first two years of coming to the conference I just looked around at the posters; maybe I stopped to hear about one or two. Not very effective, really. This year I took a different approach. The posters are outlined in the GHC booklet, and I looked through and made a list (complete with check boxes) of the posters I was interested in. They were all very cool to learn about. One lady from New Zealand (awesome!) spoke about "Engendering" Technology and how women perceive the challenges of being a woman in the field. For example, one group of women say it's not worth the effort - obviously they make no progress. A second group looks at it as a challenge and finds drive in that idea; these women also resist giving up and are very resilient. The final group prospered because they welcomed the challenge and had the best attitude, and that's what I took away from her poster: it's all about attitude. = )
When I was done browsing the posters and snacking on the delicious hors dourves, I shuttled back to my room, got ready for bed, had a lovely chat with Adam, and, like I mentioned earlier, tried to get a good night's rest. Check back for a post on Thursday's happenings!
-Amanda
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