Addressing the Needs of Women in Technology

By George Berkheimer



A special report entitled, “In the Center of the Storm: Addressing the Challenges of Maryland’s Tightening IT Labor Market,” was released in October as part of the first statewide Global Trends in Technology Forum, which was held in Columbia. The report is the product of a special task force established under the direction of the ­Governor’s Office and the Maryland Legislature to address the challenges of ensuring a diverse, highly skilled workforce in information technology (IT) and related areas.

In addition to the report, the taskforce created a comprehensive plan to address the IT workforce shortage in Maryland. It also announced key report findings, strategies and goals at the event.

“This report was made possible through the great collaboration efforts of public and private sectors,” said Beth Perlman, taskforce chairperson and CIO of Constellation Energy. “We are looking forward to the legislature endorsing and funding some of our initiatives.”

Other taskforce committee members come from a variety of other large employers such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems and Early Morning Software. They also include officials from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) and elected officials, as well as representatives from public schools, colleges and universities.

Taking the IT Lead

“I am confident this taskforce report will do what the Pappas Commission did for the biotechnology industry in helping to bring together the resources and industries to galvanize actions now rather than later,” said DBED Deputy Secretary Chris Foster. “Maryland has the tools to become a world technology leader, and we must take advantage of our vast resources in order to achieve technology dominance.”

Claudia Morrell, vice chair of the special taskforce and executive director of the Center for Women and Information Technology (CWIT) at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County (UMBC), hailed the forum as a collaborative brainchild.

“At CWIT we are honored to take the lead on any initiative that brings global attention to the importance of developing women who can fully participate in and provide leadership for the information age,” she said.

At the forum, participants ranging from CEOs of manufacturing, biotechnology, IT and engineering companies to young women from local community colleges took advantage of a unique opportunity for women in high tech fields to meet each other and learn about programs and resources to support their work and lives. The forum was also designed to “propel women into technology leadership,” Morrell said, by establishing a formalized network to provide mentoring and workshops to enhance women’s workforce skills.

The event provided breakout sessions customized to the interests of the diverse audience as well as individual meetings with key funding agencies aimed at allowing women high tech entrepreneurs to scale up existing businesses. Both President Linda Gooden of Lockheed Martin Information Technology and award-winning communications expert Heidi Berenson of Berenson Communications presented keynote addresses at the forum.



Avoiding Consequences

The decision to name the forum “Global Trends in Technology” was made specifically to highlight the fact that a shortage of women in technology fields isn’t solely a Maryland issue, but is shared throughout the United States and the world, Morrell acknowledged. “CWIT is working [toward a solution] at the regional, national and global levels with complementary programs,” she said.

Numerous experts in the areas of workforce development and education have cited under-representation of women in the IT workforce as one of the factors in the overall decline in the high tech workforce, she continued. “In order to be economically competitive globally, the United States, and Maryland in particular, must utilize [the] best and brightest minds. IT can provide solutions to much of the world’s great challenges, including global warming, national security, economic development and health care.”

Moreover, she added, the U.S. National Academies of Science and Engineering and the Institute of Medicine recently released a report entitled, “Rising above the Gathering Storm,” that contained a strong, clear message: “Take action now to address the challenges of a growing global competitiveness or be prepared for the consequences to which a shrinking science and technology talent pool will lead.”



Bring IT On

So far, Maryland is the only state with a plan to address the declining participation of women in IT. “Maryland currently faces unemployment rates at 4.5%, an aging technology workforce, and the relocation of 100,000 jobs to the region, most of which will be in engineering and IT,” Morrell noted. “The declining pool of graduates in IT and related technology fields are indicative of the false impression that there are no jobs in these fields.”

The forum provided a means to address this problem as well, offering breakout sessions specifically focused on three areas: women in entrepreneurship; women in the workforce; and women interested in entering the workforce.

“Panels were provided in each session with men and women leaders discussing both their experiences and the coming trends that will allow women to leapfrog any barriers and achieve their personal goals,” said Morrell.

Nicole Waddell, CEO of Baltimore-based Virtual Link LLC, said she found the premise of the forum timely, particularly from the perspective of a woman whose small business provides clients with project and program management expertise in IT areas.

“[Before CWIT] we really didn’t have a group in Maryland that targeted women in technology,” she said. “We need something like this … because of the concern that there are not a lot of young ladies coming into technology.”

The inclusion of a global perspective, she added, benefits local participants by familiarizing them with projected trends that may emerge. “You have to [prepare] your business to be ready,” Waddell added.

Morrell expressed optimism regarding the warm reception the forum enjoyed. “Attendance was standing room only, and that fact has really validated our commitment to addressing an obvious need and making this forum available on an annual basis,” she said. “The full involvement of state and business leaders is needed to achieve the goals set out for the meeting.”