GHC News: ANITA BORG INSTITUTE CONCLUDES 10th GRACE HOPPER CELEBRATION OF WOMEN IN COMPUTING
Record-breaking Attendance, Thought-provoking Keynotes, and 2nd Annual K-12 Workshop Highlight Largest Gathering of Women in Computing in the World
PALO ALTO, Calif. — October 5, 2010—The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) concluded this year’s Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing with the second annual K-12 Computing Teachers Workshop and Town Hall Meeting, a thought-provoking keynote delivered by Turing Award Winner Barbara Liskov, and an Imposter Syndrome Plenary Panel. The world’s largest gathering of women in computing, the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) is a five-day technical conference designed to bring together the research and career interests of women in computing and highlight their accomplishments across industry, academia and government. The conference, attended by 2147 people, was held in Atlanta, Georgia September 28 – October 2nd.
Themed Collaborating Across Boundaries, this year’s GHC had attendees from 29 countries including 940 undergraduate and graduate students. Friday’s keynote speaker, Barbara Liskov, Professor at MIT and Associate Provost for Faculty Equity and 2008 ACM Turing Award Winner, highlighted the evolution of her career and the technical papers that influenced her thinking. Some of the wisdom she shared included the need to persevere, the importance of doing work that is interesting rather than expedient, and the rewards that are derived from intellectual honesty.
A group of high-ranking technology executives who spoke on a plenary panel entitled The Imposter Syndrome: Addressing Unique Challenges, provided insights to conference attendees about the common but typically unacknowledged condition. Participants included Fran Berman, Vice President for Research and Professor of Computer Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Diane Gonzalez, Vice President of Product Development – Shared Services & Tools, Intuit; Yolanda Rankin, Research Scientist, IBM Research – Almaden; Katie Siek, Assistant Professor in Computer Science, University of Colorado, Boulder; and moderator Debra Richardson, Professor of Informatics and Founding Dean, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Irvine.
Attendees learned that many who experience the Imposter Syndrome typically have difficulties believing in and internalizing their own accomplishments despite clear evidence of success.
K-12 Computing Teachers Workshop Town Hall Meeting and Workshop
The Anita Borg Institute and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) hosted its second annual K-12 Computing Teachers Workshop and Town Hall Meeting on Friday. The town hall meeting was focused on bringing the broader community together to address the critical equity issues in computer science education. The Saturday K-12 Computing Teachers Workshop entitled: Overcoming Barriers, Boundaries, and Bad News built upon the equity issues discussed at the inaugural workshop and concentrated on identifying how each participant has the potential for transformative action. The workshop was sponsored by IBM and the Motorola Foundation. Last year’s K-12 Computing Teachers Workshop resulted in the white paper: Addressing Core Equity Issues in K-12 Computer Science Education: Identifying Barriers and Sharing Strategies.
“We’re extremely pleased about the tremendous growth and impact of this year’s Grace Hopper Celebration,” said Deanna Kosaraju, vice president of programs, Anita Borg Institute. “As we explored our theme, Collaborating Across Boundaries, attendees from around the globe shared their passion for technology. Through these conversations we expect to see further collaboration and innovation as a result. These women are changing the world.”
Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing 2011
ABI announced that next year’s Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing will be held at the Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon, November 8-12, 2011.
About the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
The Anita Borg Institute provides resources and programs to help industry, academia, and government recruit, retain, and develop women leaders in high-tech fields, resulting in higher levels of technological innovation. The Anita Borg Institute’s programs serve high-tech women around the world by creating a community and providing tools to help them develop their careers. The Anita Borg Institute is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization. The Institute’s partners include: Google, Microsoft, HP, CA Technologies, Cisco, First Republic Bank, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Lockheed Martin, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, NetApp, SAP, Oracle, Symantec, Thomson Reuters, Wilson Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, Motorola Foundation, Yahoo, Amazon, Facebook, and Raytheon. For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org.
###
Media Contact
Anita Borg Institute
Jerri Barrett
650-857-6095
jerrib@anitaborg.org