PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 18, 2014) - The Anita Borg Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting, inspiring and guiding women in computing and organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative, today announced that Bank of America is this year's winner of the Top Company for Women in Computing ABIE Award. The Anita Borg Institute will present Bank of America with the 2014 Top Company for Women in Computing ABIE Award at its 9th Annual Women of Vision Awards Banquet, on May 8th in Santa Clara, California.
Each year, the Anita Borg Institute recognizes a leading company for its measureable achievements in the recruitment, retention and advancement of women technologists at all levels within the organization. The winner is widely recognized as a pioneer in building a diverse team to achieve greater technology innovation. Previous Top Company winners include Intel, American Express, and IBM.
Bank of America was recognized for exceptional representation of women technologists in both its management and team of technical experts. The bank has the highest percentage of women among its technical experts of any company ever considered by The Anita Borg Institute for a Top Company Award. In addition, Bank of America successfully retains the vast majority of its female technologists, with only 3% voluntary turnover annually.
"We are doing a lot of work across Bank of America, and on our technology team in particular, to increase the representation of women in leadership roles," said Cathy Bessant, Bank of America's Global Technology & Operations executive. "This is a journey for us. While we have certainly made progress, we will continue to identify root causes that hold women back, and attack them with vigor. At Bank of America, we're developing women to be great technologists and great leaders."
Bank of America's accomplishments in recruiting, retaining and advancing women in computing are the outcome of an array of supportive programs including Women in Technology & Operations (WIT&O), an advocacy group within Global Technology & Operations with a mission to attract, develop and retain talented women in technology and operations at the bank, and the Employee Resource group LEAD (Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development) for Women, which is dedicated to promoting professional women's development at the company.
"We are delighted to honor Bank of America for setting a new bar and breaking previous records, and for working diligently to ensure greater diversity throughout their organization," said Telle Whitney, president and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute. "They have designed and executed successful programs and initiatives to support real diversity, and are a model organization that others can turn to for knowledge and inspiration."
This year's group of participants was the largest ever since the first Top Company for Women in Computing Award was given in 2011. Other participants included (in alphabetical order) American Express, BNY Mellon, CA Technologies, Dell, eBay Inc., EMC, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Google, HP, Intuit, Microsoft, NetApp, NeuStar, PARC: a Xerox Company, Rackspace, Salesforce.com, SAP, Teradata, Thomson Reuters, ThoughtWorks, VMware, and Yahoo!
"We were extremely impressed with the sheer number and quality of companies that participated this year. They, too, are all companies that understand that innovation drives success, and diversity drives innovation," added Whitney.
Last month, ABI announced the Women of Vision Individual Awards for three exceptional women technologists in the categories of Innovation, Leadership and Social Impact. Those honored were Dr. Tal Rabin, manager and research staff member of the Cryptography Research Group at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center, for Innovation; Dr. Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College, for Leadership; and Ms. Kathrin Winkler, chief sustainability officer and senior vice president of EMC Corporation, for Social Impact.
The Women of Vision Individual Award winners will receive their awards along with Bank of America at the May 8th Awards Banquet, which also will feature a keynote address from Hilary Mason, data scientist in residence at Accel Partners. Penny Herscher, president and CEO of FirstRain, will act as emcee for the Awards Banquet. Sponsors for the 2014 Women of Vision Awards Banquet include: Dinner Host - Lockheed Martin; Gold Sponsor - NetApp; Silver Sponsors - Cisco, HP, Symantec, and Thomson Reuters; and Bronze Sponsors - Bank of America and LinkedIn. For more information about the Women of Vision Awards Banquet, please visit www.women-of-vision.org.
About the Anita Borg Institute (ABI)
The Anita Borg Institute (ABI) connects, inspires, and guides women in computing and organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative. Founded in 1997 by computer scientist Anita Borg, our reach extends to more than 53 countries. We believe technology innovation powers the global economy, and that women are crucial to building technology the world needs. As a social enterprise, we recognize women making positive contributions, and advise organizations on how to improve performance by building more inclusive teams. ABI partners include: Cisco, Google, HP, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, Amazon, CA Technologies, Dell, eBay, Facebook, First Republic Bank, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Lockheed Martin, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, NetApp, SAP, Symantec, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Broadcom, EMC, Neustar, Raytheon, Salesforce.com, VentureLoop, Xerox and Yahoo! The Anita Borg Institute is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization. For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org
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