Let the bidding begin. . .
Originally uploaded by MarSea
According to the Department of Labor, women represent 46% of the labor force. Forty percent of women work in management, and interestingly, women accounted for 51% of all workers in the high-paying management, professional, and related occupations. However, at senior and executive levels the situation does not hold true. The 2007 Catalyst Census of Women Corporate Officers and Top Earners of the Fortune 500 shows that only 15.4%of corporate officer roles are held by women (down from 15.6% a year earlier).
In the technology industry, Anita Borg, a renowned computer scientist, was responsible for “including women in the technological revolution – not as bystanders, but as active participants and leaders.” The institute that she established, the Anita Borg Institute (ABI) has a mission to increase the impact of women on all aspects of technology, and increase the positive impact of technology on the world’s women.
Recently, the ABI has announced that its first Women of Vision Auction Fundraiser has gone live on eBay. This innovative approach to networking let’s you bid for meetings with members of the Institute’s Board of Trustees, sponsors and key advisers from a range of leading companies. The opportunity is clearly a win-win outcome. Not only will you be able to spend quality time with a business leader, you will also be supporting the ABI.
You can bid on the auctions right through until the ABI’s Women of Vision Awards Banquet on May 8. Computers will even be available at the banquet so that attendees can make last minute bids. But it doesn’t matter where in the world you are, you can still bid and win some time with some great people, including:
- Fran Berman, Ph.D., Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California San Diego
- Kathy Hill, Senior Vice President Access Networking and Services Group, Cisco Systems
- Penny Herscher, President and CEO, firstRain
- Telle Whitney, President and CEO, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
See the full auction listing at eBay. Don’t forget to bid.
Nina nets it out: As Tom Magness reminded me the other day, “people do business with those they know. It’s all about relationships”. Organizations such as ABI and events such as Women of Vision are an important way to build your network and develop relationships.