Women in Technology International (WITI) was founded by Carolyn Leighton in 1989. Forbes magazine said “We might not be talking about women in technology if not for the stupendous advocacy of Carolyn Leighton.” This Sunday June 11, the West Coast’s most influential tech conference for women kicks off with WITI’s 23rd Women in Technology Annual Summit. Over the course of three days, this summit brings together women from around the world, from all areas of STEM and leadership levels to collaborate, network, educate and connect.
Carolyn Leighton formed WITI in 1989. She had already founded two successful companies and was developing her third, Criterion Research. While waiting at a coffee shop she read an article that was featured on the cover of a business magazine:
“I started reading the cover story of a business magazine I brought with me. The story was about why women were not making it to the top, reporting that there was a mere 2% increase of women into middle management positions during the previous 10 year period. It was a statistic I found startling, even though it supported the stream of incredible stories I was hearing from women in technology at my client companies.”
Leighton founded WITI as an organization where women could have strategic conversations about moving their careers forward, while helping other women move forward. WITI was established to offer more than just an opportunity to network. The full story behind Leighton’s efforts and journey with WITI is here.
The Women in Technology Annual Summit hosts a series of speakers across the three days, coaching work shops, an Art Cafe, a hugely popular Career Fair and is honoring the following women in the Hall of Fame Ceremony on Monday:
- Beena Ammanath, Vice President, Innovation, GE Digital
- Laura Niklason, M.D., Ph.D., Founder, Humacyte
- Krunali Patel, Vice President and General Manager of Analog Design Services, Texas Instruments
- Lisa Seacat DeLuca, Technology Strategist, Cognitive Incubation Lab, IBM Watson Customer Engagement
- Selma Svendsen, Senior Director of Program Management, iRobot
- Elizabeth Xu, Ph.D., CTO & SVP of Technology, BMC Software
“The Women in Technology Hall of Fame Award, considered one of the most prestigious honors for women in technology, was established in 1996 to recognize, honor, and promote the outstanding contributions women make to the technological communities that improve society and business. Winners are also acknowledged for demonstrating a commitment to supporting and mentoring women and girls in STEM worldwide.”
We are looking forward to this event and will be reporting back to summarize highlights from the 2017 Summit. Maybe we’ll see you in San Jose! The 23rd Annual Women in Technology Summit will be hosted this weekend at the Doubletree Hilton in San Jose from June 11 – June 13.