Bringing in some awesome speakers into CMU...
I'm excited to note that we have Jennifer Chayes, manager of the Theory group at Microsoft Research, coming to speak this Thursday, and from what I hear, she's a really dynamic person!
As for future speakers (someone else arranged for Jennifer to come in), it looks like our wonderfully famous dotnetblog member, Julia Lerman has agreed to give a talk to our Women@SCS group here, and along with Julia, Lili Cheng may also be coming with her.
I'm hoping that along with these two wonderful gals and our group here at CMU, that we can have a wonderful discussion, learn about one another's initiatives into encouraging more women into the technical fields, and perhaps get some initiatives we all can work together on. From my own personal experiences, mentoring is critical at all stages of life, for both men and women alike, and everyone needs not only an internal drive, but external support to acheive their dreams. One of my most favorite people in the world, Elizabeth Smith, a general manager at IBM, introduced me to the world of mentoring, when we had her come in for one of our SWE conferences, "Coloring outside the lines" in February of 2000, and ever since then I've personally realized how a strong community for oneself helps one realize his or her dreams. Thank you Liz, and may we all pass on the wonderful gifts of our own experiences and knowledge to help others reach for the stars!
And for you men out there wondering why the heck a guy like me is so supportive and involved in these women in technology initiatives, here's my top three reasons why you should get involved and help with them too:
1. By understanding women's needs' in the workplace, you'll be a better and more understanding manager later on.
2. You'll make better products that are less gender-biased.
3. You'll have diversity in the workplace. This means having lunch with girls and not talking about only geeky things! Could also mean more potential dates for you, but I *am not* going to advocate dating in the workplace, as that can become a sticky situation.