A project of the Office of Science and Technology in the United Kingdom. "The unit was set up to tackle women's under-representation in the science, engineering and technology (SET) community. Our aim is to improve the recruitment, retention and progression of women throughout SET education and employment and to increase their involvement in shaping SET policy."
"A world for women in technology and business. A resource for professional women to share ideas, network, mentor, and learn on a local and global level." Offers moderated email discussion groups and face-to-face networking opportunities. (Time Magazine covered them recently.)
--> www.worldwit.org
"Our volunteers work with people currently experiencing online harassment, and help others to learn how to avoid such harassment or minimize its impact if it does occur." The founder, Jayne Hitchcock, became interested in this topic when she became the target of an angry spammer (quite a story in and of itself.) She's now a security consultant and author of several related books.
The website of a committee of women at Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science. "Women@SCS aspires to revolutionize the way women are viewed in technological fields. We work to enhance the lives of those in computer science everywhere. Our website exists to provide a useful resource for all interested people, both on campus and worldwide. The committee appreciates the hard work being done by its members on our behalf and hopes to lead the way to a bright future." Although mainly aimed at Carnegie Mellon folks, there's information of interest to people elsewhere too.
"Wise-Women is an international community and network dedicated to supporting women who work as, or aspire to becoming, Web designers, developers, and programmers. Our members are talented, dedicated people from all parts of the world, who come together and share information, tips, and concerns about developing the World Wide Web, in an environment designed to encourage women in this field." This site is new to me. When I visited today, there was a great summary of a discussion about XML from their mailing list, and there also seems to be lots of tutorials and articles. Worth checking out.
A subgroup of the International Statistics Institute, this group attempts to both bolster the number of women statisticians and "to support the compilation of statistics on women, with a view to generating relevant studies concerning women's roles in the various activities in their countries."
From the United Kingdom, "Women Connect is a community development initiative working to get women online. Our aim is to support and encourage the use of the internet in ways that are needed and wanted: to learn; to share ideas with other women's groups; to make voices heard in communities." It's a little unclear to me how they do this, but it looks like they partner with a number of local organizations, including one fascinatingly titled "Boscombe Bums and Tums".
"A forum for discussing professional issues of interest to lesbian and bisexual women library workers. While the main focus of discussion is on librarianship and library issues as they concern lesbians and bisexual women, the discussion on LEZBRIAN may also touch upon the broader and/or related fields of queer, gay, bisexual, and/or transgendered/ transsexual librarianship." The home page hasn't been updated in a couple of years, but I am presuming that the list is still going.
"Dedicated to achieving equity and full participation for women in science, mathematics, engineering and technology." Offers the usual association benefits, including extensive job listings. Also has a website called www.chillyclimate.org focused on the problems for women trying to make headway in the scientific research community, which doesn't seem to have been updated much recently.
--> www.awis.org
"We provide and support a collaborative community in which independent consultants can discuss their business needs, network, share information and learn about starting, running, and promoting an independent consulting practice." Not limited to techies, but does focus on Silicon Valley and San Francisco.
Part of the Computing Research Association, CRA-W is "dedicated to increasing the number of women participating in Computer Science and Engineering(CSE) research and education at all levels." Has various programs, committees, awards, and, for potential students, this guide to picking a graduate student program.
"LinuxChix is a community for women who like Linux, and for supporting women in computing." It offers mailing lists, articles, and online-based courses.
Founded in 1990 and supported by Purdue University, the University of Michigan, and Stevens Institute of Technology, this organization aims to increase the number of women working in the engineering profession. The website offers information on grants, scholarships, and fellowships available, engineering departments at universities around the country, and an extensive bibliography. A members-only section also offers an extensive set of education and salary statistics. Keep digging around — there's a lot here and if they keep adding to it, it's worth frequently revisits.
--> www.wepan.org
Founded in 1950, this organization encourages women to become engineers. It offers various conferences, awards, job listings, and a bimonthly journal.
With the economy in free-fall, the government is looking like a more stable place of employment. With that in mind, I present this website. An employee association within the Federation Aviation Administration, TWO is "a community of government employees motivated to advance the number and opportunities of women in technical fields supporting the aviation industry."
-->two.faa.gov
Formerly GirlGeeks.com, reborn as a dot-org thanks to the Bay Area Video Coalition, this organization aims to connect women with computer training classes, jobs, and community. "Even 'after the bubble', the world is a new place, and technology for communication and community-building are more important than ever. We want to ensure that women and other often-overlooked groups have the freedom, motivation and resources to participate in this new world."
I've mentioned this site before for its news coverage, but it is important in its own right. For one thing, the webmaster updated it today — a Sunday! That's dedication. Seriously, this is the most comprehensive resource of its type that I've found so far. "The Center has a four-fold mission: to encourage more women and girls to study computer science and/or information systems and to pursue careers in IT; to enable all women and girls to use IT comfortably and knowledgeably; to assure that the richness and breadth of women's lives and concerns are fully represented and readily available on the Internet; to foster research concerning the relationship between gender and IT."
A four-week summer residence program at MIT to introduce women high school students to the fields of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
--> wtp.mit.edu/
A business incubator with a twist: this one focuses on women in tech fields. "The WTC is a project of the Three Guineas Fund, a social justice organization whose mission is to create economic opportunities for women and girls. The WTC is an expression of the economic side of that mission ... The long-term goal is to use this platform to create an entrepreneurial imagination that is educated for and focused on social change philanthropy benefiting the community as much as it is focused on business success. The WTC provides a rare space where women’s business ideas are given top priority and serves as an international model for breaking down structural and cultural barriers to sustainable power for women."
One of the women on SFWOW helps run this organization which, true to its name, encourages the mentoring of girls and young women to encourage them in their education and future careers. "Maximizing the benefits of our local and global community network, our intentions at www.mentorgirls.org include nurturing a web-based resource destination where prospective and seasoned mentors, role models, and volunteers can evaluate and strengthen their contributions to local and online communities. By providing relevant resources to women who seek to make impact by helping bridge digital opportunities and helping empower communities, we are supporting every effort to get involved and make a difference in a girl's world."
From the United Kingdom, this pink-and-blue site aims to lure teenage girls into the IT arena via a competition to design a cool website for a pop star. Behind ITBeat is a variety of organizations, including IBM, the British Department of Trade and Industry, and various music industry figures. More details are available from ZDNet.co.uk.
--> www.itbeat.com
"The APC WNSP supports women networking for social change. Our programme work areas include training, participatory research, policy and advocacy in gender and information technology, information facilitation, and regional programme support. We strive to challenge the inequities faced by women, especially in the south. "
--> www.apcwomen.org
Not strictly for information technologists, or, for that matter, women, this site is noteworthy in part because it was created and is run by a librarian who goes by the nom de plume of "Electra". As one might expect, this is a great reference site, with tons of information for the jobhunter.
"The on-line home for women technicians to connect with each other." Part of the WomenTech Project funded by the National Science Foundation. The WomenTech Project is run by the Institute for Women in Trades, Technology & Science (IWITTS).
Canadian-based organization "dedicated to the growth and development of women in IT."
--> a href="http://www.wiredwoman.com">www.wiredwoman.com
SCWST's three-part mission is to promote equal opportunities for women in scientific, technological andengineering careers; improve social attitudes on the stereotyping of careers in science and educate the public about careers in science and technology; and assist educators by providing current information on careers and career training, science and scientific policies.
--> a href="http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/scwist/">www.harbour.sfu.ca/scwist/
"WiM is a non-profit organization working towards providing support, education, and resources to women involved in new media/internet careers. WiM examines the social implications of emerging technologies, in addition to supporting individuals in their professional and artistic development. As a representative voice of women in new media, WiM offers diverse perspectives, critical commentary, and constructive strategies to influence the future of new media."
--> www.wim.org
The SFWoW mission is to serve, educate, and empower members of the organization and other women on the Internet and in new media industries through professional development and support, expansive and diverse networking opportunities, and intensive community involvement. Members meet both online via their very active listserve (of which I am a member) and offline at coffee klatches, workshops, and other events.
--> www.sfwow.org
Networking group in Silicon Valley, meeting the third Tuesday of every month. http://www.gracenet.net/