Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology Recognizes American Express With the 2012 Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Award

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - Feb 28, 2012) - The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology announced that American Express is the recipient of the 2012 Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Award. This annual award recognizes 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.

"American Express is the Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Award winner because of its strong representation of technical women at all levels. The company has demonstrated leadership in its ability to recruit, retain and advance technical women with representation over 30% of women at all levels of the technology pipeline, including at the technical executive level," said Telle Whitney, CEO and President of the Anita Borg Institute. "American Express will be recognized at our annual Women of Vision Awards in May, alongside leading technical women in the areas of social impact, leadership and innovation."

American Express exemplifies many of the acknowledged best practices in the creation of a diverse and vibrant technical workforce. Some of these best practices include having a highly flexible work schedule; the creation of a vibrant women's community; a strong sponsorship program and a focus on creating awareness of gender intelligence among the workforce overall.

"American Express is an excellent example of the benefits of a highly diverse corporate culture. Having strong representation of women at every level of the technical organization has contributed to American Express being able to continue to grow and thrive," said Telle Whitney.

"We are honored to be recognized as a top company for technical women," said Paul Dottle, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at American Express. "This award reflects our culture of inclusiveness and the programs we have in place to ensure that our people have the flexibility and support to balance their professional and personal lives, and build long and successful careers at American Express."

The Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Workshop will be held on Thursday afternoon, May 10, 2012, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California. Representatives from American Express and leading companies will participate in discussions with 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 2012 Anita Borg Top Company for Technical Women Award will be presented at the Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Awards Banquet on May 10, 2012 in Santa Clara, California. The award will be accepted by Yvonne Schneider, Senior Vice President, Global Commercial Services Technologies. Also recognized at that event will be the three winners of the Women of Vision Awards.

For more information:

Anita Borg Institute Announces 2012 Women of Vision Award Winners, press release
Top Ten Solutions to Recruit Technical Women Identified in New Research Report from Anita Borg Institute, press release
Anita Borg Institute Releases New Report on Hiring Practices to Help Companies Compete in the Global War for Technical Talent, press release
Solutions for Recruiting Technical Women, full report

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. Our programs serve high-tech women by creating a community and providing tools to help them develop their careers. Anita Borg Institute is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization. Partners include: Google, HP, Microsoft, CA Technologies, Cisco, Facebook, First Republic Bank, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Lockheed Martin, Marvell, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, NetApp, SAP, Symantec, Thomson Reuters, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Amazon, Broadcom, Motorola Foundation, Raytheon, Salesforce.com, and Yahoo! For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org.

About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, foursquare.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/companies/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress.