PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - March 7, 2011) - The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology announced that IBM is the recipient of the 2011 Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Award, a new annual award recognizing an organization that has demonstrated measurable results in the recruitment, retention and advancement of technical women at all levels. Grounded in organizational research and based on quantitative data, the award measures the current representation of technical women as well as improvement in women's representation over time.
"IBM is the Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Award winner because of its commitment to having a strong representation of technical women at all levels. The company has demonstrated leadership in its ability to recruit, retain and advance technical women," said Telle Whitney, CEO and President of the Anita Borg Institute. "The accomplishment of IBM will be recognized at our annual Women of Vision Awards in May, alongside some of the very top technical women in the world."
IBM exemplifies many of the acknowledged best practices in the creation of a diverse and vibrant technical workforce. These include having a strong pipeline of technical women from entry to executive level. Women have significant roles in the technical management, executive level and individual contributor career tracks, which lead to strong role models at the top and allows for the significant benefits of diversity in innovation at the highest level. IBM's mentoring culture is tightly integrated into its advancement requirements.
"IBM is an excellent example of the benefits of a corporate culture that embraces diversity. Executive commitment to diversity translates to commitment to diversity throughout the corporate culture," said Caroline Simard, Vice President Research and Executive programs, Anita Borg Institute.
According to Ron Glover, Vice President, Global Diversity and Workforce Programs, IBM, "Our company has a long history of developing women technology leaders as a cornerstone of our global talent and diversity strategy. This recognition is especially welcome during IBM's Centennial year -- it's a confirmation of our success in building a strong pipeline of incredibly talented technical leaders to create innovation that matters for our company and the world."
The Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Workshop will be held on Thursday afternoon, May 19, 2011, at the Santa Clara Convention Center Theater in Santa Clara, California. Representatives from IBM and leading companies will participate in discussions with leading experts to share their perspectives and insights on issues and proven solutions for the recruitment, retention, and advancement of technical women at all levels. The workshop will feature best practices tied to demonstrated outcomes in increasing the representation of technical women.
The 2011 Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Award will be presented at the Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Awards Banquet on May 19, 2011 in Santa Clara, California. Also recognized at that event will be the three winners of the Women of Vision Awards: Chieko Asakawa, IBM Fellow and Chief Technology Officer of Accessibility Research and Technology, IBM Research, for Leadership; Karen Panetta, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of the Simulation Research Laboratory, Tufts University for Social Impact; and Mary Lou Jepsen, CEO and Founder, Pixel Qi for Innovation.
For more information about ABI's Women of Vision Award winners, see http://anitaborg.org/news/archive/abi-announces-2011-women-of-vision-award-winners/.
About the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
The Anita Borg Institute 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 their careers. ABI is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization. ABI Partners include: Google, Microsoft, HP, CA, Cisco, First Republic Bank, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Lockheed Martin, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, NetApp, SAP, Symantec, Thomson Reuters, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Motorola Foundation, Yahoo!, Amazon, Facebook, and Raytheon. For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org.
About IBM
For more information about IBM, please visit www.IBM.com.
Contact Information:
Media Contact:
Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
Jerri Barrett
650-857-6095