US Journey
In 1987, Anita Borg and 12 other women technologists cofounded the Systers community, an email list for women working in the “systems” field. Systers provided a new type of virtual community, one where tech women were free to discuss issues they experienced at work and share resources with one other. Decades later, Systers continues to offer a closed-network, safe community for women technologists.
In 1994, Anita and Dr. Telle Whitney cofounded the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC), which has grown to become the world’s largest annual gathering of women technologists. Inspired by the legacy of Navy Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper — and tired of attending conferences with almost no women — Anita and Telle created GHC to offer women the chance to improve their technical skills and connect with one other.
In 1997, Anita founded the nonprofit organization originally known as the Institute for Women and Technology (IWT), on the Xerox PARC campus. The aim of IWT was to increase the representation of women in technical fields, enable the creation of more technology by women, build the pipeline of technical women, and ensure that women’s voices played a role in shaping the future of technology.
“Around the world, women are not full partners in driving the creation of new technology that will define their lives. This is not good for women and not good for the world….Women need to assume their rightful place at the table creating the technology of the future.”
— Anita Borg
Anita believed what research has now proven to be true: Organizations that actively include women benefit from increased innovation and better bottom line results. She proposed that technology will solve more of the world’s problems when more women are involved in imagining and building it.