Contacts:
Virginia Gold
ACM
212-626-0505
vgold@acm.org
Jerri Barrett
ABI
650-857-6095
jerrib@anitaborg.org
Jenny Slade
NCWIT
303-735-6671
jslade@ncwit.org
GRACE HOPPER REGIONAL CONSORTIUM LAUNCHES CONFERENCES TO RECRUIT
AND RETAIN MORE WOMEN IN COMPUTING
NSF Funds Partnership of ACM-W, ABI, and NCWIT to Improve Gender Balance in Computing
New York, January 28, 2010 – A partnership of respected technology organizations has received a grant
from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to broaden women’s participation in computing by sponsoring
regional conferences across the country. The ACM Women’s Council (ACM-W), the Anita Borg Institute for
Women and Technology (ABI), and the National Center for Women & IT (NCWIT) have formed the Grace
Hopper Regional Consortium to bring the growing career and leadership opportunities in computing to more
women, whose representation in computing continues to decline. The three-year project adds twelve regional
conferences to build communities that extend the web of support for women in computing.
“By reaching out to diversity-rich local populations for these computing conferences, we are effectively
tripling the number of currently established regional conferences,” said Gloria Townsend of the ACM Women’s
Council (ACM-W) http://women.acm.org and a professor of computer science at DePauw University. “We
are creating a regional-level transformation that brings students, faculty and industry representatives together to
experience the role modeling, networking, group and individual mentoring, and career information that make
national events so powerful.” Dr. Townsend, a Principle Investigator for this NSF grant with Joanne Cohoon of
the University of Virginia, developed the regional conferences concept in 2004, as an ACM-W project.
Each partner brings to the alliance unique expertise in increasing women’s participation in computing.
Telle Whitney, president and CEO of ABI http://anitaborg.org, says the Grace Hopper Regional
Consortium provides opportunities for women to present research at regional events, which prepares them for
presentations at international conferences like the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC)
http://gracehopper.org. GHC, inaugurated in 1994, is now an annual event that brings the research and career
interests of women in computing to the forefront. “This kind of participation increases women’s confidence and
extends the reach of conferences for women in computing into underserved communities. This increased reach
and participation end the isolation of women in schools with few role models,” Whitney adds.
NCWIT http://www.ncwit.org CEO and Cofounder Lucy Sanders agrees that these regional events will
reach a larger, more diverse audience than is possible by existing events for women in computing. “We can
develop exciting programs and partnerships that are possible only at the regional level. These opportunities will
further attract the numbers of women that are necessary to build a critical mass of leadership,” she notes. “We
intend to change the stereotype about gender and computing, and spark collaborations between budding students
and professionals in this vital field.”
Links to the regional conferences and schedule information are available from the Grace Hopper
Regional Consortium website http://www.ghregionalconsortium.org. ABI will host two workshops each year
at GHC to promote best practices, and assess their results in attracting women to computing. In addition, two
conference organizers, two poster winners, and student coordinators from each regional conference will receive
scholarships to attend GHC. NCWIT will extend its impact through the Regional Consortium with resources for
faculty members to increase girls’ and women’s participation in their programs and undertake institutional
change within their organizations. NCWIT has also invited Regional Consortium organizers to its annual
Practices Summit to learn about leading-edge research on curriculum, creativity, and advocacy efforts. ACM-W
will help regional area schools charter an ACM-W chapter to sustain momentum, and provide “student
scholarship” funds to attend research conferences.
The Grace Hopper Regional Consortium includes biennial conferences in each region as well as poster
sessions that provide first-time speaking experiences for young students; keynote speakers provided through
conference organizers to serve as role models; program tracks that appeal to undergraduate and graduate women
students; and a career fair to network with industry representatives and share resumes. Attendees are
encouraged to continue their interactions through ACM-W student chapters, to host multi-institutional events,
and to connect year-round through a wiki.
About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery www.acm.org, is the world’s largest educational and scientific society,
uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s
challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the
highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by
providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.
About the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
The Anita Borg Institute (ABI) http://anitaborg.org 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. ABI programs serve high-tech women by creating a community and providing tools to help them develop
careers. ABI is a not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 charitable organization. ABI partners include: Google, Microsoft, HP, Cisco,
First Republic Bank, Intel, National Science Foundation, NetApp, SAP, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, IBM, Lockheed
Martin, Thomson Reuters, CA, Intuit, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Amazon, Facebook, and Raytheon.
About NCWIT
NCWIT is the National Center for Women and Information Technology, a non-profit coalition of over 200 prominent
corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and no-profits working to improve U.S. innovation,
competitiveness, and workforce sustainability by increasing women’s participation in IT. NCWIT’s work spans K-12 and
higher education through industry, academic and entrepreneurial careers. NCWIT partners include the National Science
Foundation, Microsoft, Avaya, Bank of America, Pfizer, EMC, Intel, HP, Google, Qualcomm, Motorola, Boehringer
Ingelheim, Apple, Zynga, AT&T, Walmart, Medco, Credit Suisse, GalexE.Solutions, Cisco, State Street, and ITA
Software. Find out more at www.ncwit.org.
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