Network of Women in Computer Technology hosts 31st annual conference

The following is a report done in partnership with Temple University’s Philadelphia Neighborhoods program, the capstone class for the Temple’s Department of Journalism.

With the number of women in America earning doctoral degrees in computer science and engineering steadily increasing during the first decade of the 21st century, according to the National Science Foundation, a natural question arises. Why aren’t more females making their mark in the world of technology?

One organization addressing this question by working to help women make their mark in technology is the Network of Women in Computer Technology.

This organization, which held its 31st annual conference this weekend, aims to enhance the workplace presence of females interested in technology.

Founded in 1980 by a group of women, the Network originated as a source of support for women whose goal was to make a name for themselves in the world of technology. The NWCT’s mission is to create a larger space for professional women in information technology through education and multiple networking opportunities.

Rosemary Fulton, NWCT president, said there is an immediate need and purpose for the organization especially in the male-dominated tech culture that exists today.

“Typically I think the technology field is primarily male, so [the Network] was organized originally by women to support women in technology,” Fulton said.

On Saturday, the Network kicked off its 2012 Annual Conference at the PECO Building in Center City. The conference was a prime example of the opportunities it provides to female professionals looking for success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

A group of approximately 50 female professionals gathered at the conference to listen to other females speak about their experiences in the growing world of technology and to learn from their peers’ mistakes. A large part of the way NWCT provides help to many women is by educating them on the do’s and don’ts of making their way to the top.

“It’s more to give everybody exposure to new technologies that are out there, to help with management skills as well as career development. Those are some of the reasons [NWCT was] started and it continues to be successful every year,” Fulton said.

One of the speakers at the conference was entrepreneur Anita Garimella Andrews, the founder and CEO of the online marketing firm Sepiida.

Andrews began her career in politics but later found herself immersed in technology. She created her own company after participating in a political campaign year that proved to be particularly disappointing. Andrews, with nearly 15 years of e-commerce experience under her belt, has deep insight into the female sector of the world of technology.

On the importance of an event like the NWCT annual conference Andrews said, “We all need safe places where we don’t necessarily need to be in competition. This allows women to learn and to be more comfortable in situations where they may be the only woman in the room.”

Andrews remembers the early 1990s and the ensuing dot-com boom where many women did find themselves to be the only female in the room. The lack of female presence in chief executive, information and technology officer positions became even more apparent once the internet boom came to life by the mid-1990s.

Since that time many changes were seen in office buildings across the U.S. with women entering the world of technical knowledge.

“I think that the role of women in technology has changed because so much more of it now is not just based on decisions made in a few conference rooms,” Andrews said.

Despite the large amount of change not much progress has been made. Only nine percent of United States chief information officers (CIOs) are women, this is down from 12 percent in 2010, according to the U.S. branch of the British tech outsourcing and recruitment company Harvey Nash Group.

From American tech executives polled on the issue, 30 percent said their information technology groups have a total of zero women in management positions. Only half of those survey respondents consider women to be well represented in their information technology department, stated a report by Reuters.

Andrews, when asked why she thinks more women don’t have jobs in technology departments, said, “I won’t say they don’t but not enough of them do. I think having more women in leadership roles [is] the key and I think that the big growth is really going to be in leadership roles.”