The Spiral
Institute for Women and Technology

Envisioning IWT's Future

Nancy Ramsey consults with the Global Business Network as a futurist and co-authored, with Pamela McCorduck, The Futures of Women: Scenarios for the 21st Century. She if former legislative director to Sen. John Kerry and was president of Ramsey Associates, a Washington-based consulting firm. Ramsey is a member of IWT's advisory bard, and here shares her concerns about the technology revolution and her hopes for IWT.

Q. How did you become involved with IWT?
A. As she tells it, when Anita Borg read The Futures of Women, she began to imagine a future that didn't include women in technology. She called me and said, "I've read your book and I'm inspired to start an organization to make sure that scenario doesn't come to pass." Anita gathered a group to talk about what women needed to do to increase the numbers of women in technology, and she decided that IWT was what she wanted to do.

Q. How do you see your role as an IWT advisor?
A. My contribution is to push IWT's thinking into the future: What do we know now? What can we anticipate and prepare for? I urge IWT to see the bigger construct, which includes institutionalizing a presence for women in technology. We're accomplishing this in part through established online communities such as systers, through conferences and awards ceremonies such as the Grace Hopper event. Those things say we're here perpetually, not a flash in the pan.

I also encourage IWT to focus on policy issues. In the 1960's when we said, "Technology will change everything we do," we had no idea how enormous the changes would be. Women's concerns need to be part not only of the software and hardware but of the new policies. Are women and girls going to be included in the public-private technology partnerships? In the funding of programs? Are there women at the top of the major companies dominating the field? How will new administrations consider women in technology? Are we going to follow up on recommendations of federal commissions regarding the participation of women and minorities? If so, how?

Q. What do you consider IWT's Biggest Challenges?
A. A big challenge is to recruit and keep women in technology. There's a felt need for IWT's work, and people with their finger on the pulse of this revolution see that. IWT follows on the work of the last century in which suffragettes gained the vote, feminists raised consciousness, and progress was institutionalized by law. Moving women the next block will happen in a different way because this is a time of technology.

IWT has the vision and the capacity to deliver on its mission, but financial resources to mobilize the people are not quite there. What's needed is the ongoing support of companies and institutions that believe in IWT's work, that regard diversity as a strength.

Q. How do you imagine IWT 20 years from now?
A. When people have questions such as, "Who should be appointed to this government positions?" or "What is the cutting-edge thinking about women in technology?" they will turn to IWT and its network of women throughout the country for answers. In discussions regarding technology for the future, and IWT representative will be there. I see IWT as a connector of people seeking information to women who have it, also as an "excitement initiator" among girls, young women, and women in career transition for participating in this technology revolution.



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