20 Years of Empowering Women in Computing: Systers Past, Present, and Future

1. 20 Years of Empowering Women in Computing:Systers Past, Present, and Future Carla Ellis, Duke University Robin Jeffries, Google Laurian Vega, Virginia Tech Dale Wolff, Emerging Health Information Technology Mary Shaw, Carnegie-Mellon University (moderator)

2. The Systers Online Community • Systers is the world’s largest email community of technical women in computing. • Founded by Anita Borg in 1987 • Originally, small email list for women in “systems” research • Now broadly promotes the interests of women in computing and technology • Anita created Systers to “increase the number of women in computer science and make the environments in which women work more conducive to their continued participation in the field.” -- http://anitaborg.org/initiatives/systers

3. Today’s panel Today we will examine • Past: the reasons for creating the systers community • Present: the impacts systers has had to date • Future: ways for systers to exploit current technologies to address current problems of women in technology. Organization • Context • Statements from panelists • Questions for panel • Questions from audience

4. 1987 cultural context -- mindset In 1987, when systers was created, • “Cut and paste" involved scissors. • International ivory trade was legal. • “Avatar” was a Hindu deity, not your online persona. • The Berlin wall had not yet fallen. • Cellular telephones were very expensive and too big to carry • Nutrition labels were not required on US prepackaged food. • Dilbert wasn’t even a gleam in Scott Adam’s eye • The FCC repealed the "fairness doctrine". • The first heart-lung transplant took place. • Digital cameras were not yet available. • Nelson Mandela was still in prison. • FCC prohibited telephone carriers from offering voicemail. -- Based on the Beloit College Mindset list, http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/

5. 1987 context – status of women We did not yet have • Title IX requirement for equity in college athletics (1997) • Violence Against Women Act (1994) • Gender Equity in Education act (1994) • Family and Medical Leave Act (1993) We did have some rulings • Supreme court ruled sexual harassment to be illegal job discrimination (1986) • First woman won a civil suit as a battered wife (1985) • Supreme Court banned sex discrimination in membership of organizations like Jaycees, Kiwanis (1984)

6. 1987 context – women in technology • Women felt isolated in their jobs • Numbers of women entering the field were dropping

7. started 2004, 2003 started 1991 started 1991 started 1989 IRC defined in 1988 1987 context – technical Why not use … • Facebook or Second Life • LambdaMOO • The Web • AOL • Chat 1987 technology for virtual communities • Network news protocol for dialup usenet/uunet news groups • NSFNet, 56Kbs backbone, only for researchers, 10K hosts • Listserv for BITNET (another research network, but dialup ) • The WELL (2000 members)

8. 1987 context – technical 1987 technology for virtual communities • Network news protocol for dialup usenet/uunet news groups • NSFNet, 56Kbs backbone, only for researchers, 10K hosts • Listserv for BITNET (another research network, but dialup ) • The WELL (2000 members) • monochrome screens, 2400baud dialup lines

9. Evolution of systers • Growth of numbers • 1987: 12 women in systems • Now: 2800 women, 54 countries, 1500 messages/yr • Shift of professional profile • 1987: systems researchers • Now: all women involved in computing • Early topics • What to wear to interview; dealing with menopause on job • Recent topics • How to have social network of women when job is all men • Nerds auction themselves off to attract women to CS

10. Operation of systers • Ground rules • Stay on topic: women and technology • Treat each other with respect (no flames) • What you read on systers, stays on systers • No commercial messages • Changes in underlying technology • Initially: simple mailing list, manually administered • 1994: Mecca (written by Anita): • database system; everyone has a profile, can target subsets of systers • missing standard functionality (e.g., digests) • people didn't use profiles, had to write SQL to target messages • 2003: special version of mailman; allows systers to opt in or out of particular conversations

11. Impact of systers • A virtual community at a time when other virtual communities were not available • isolation of technical women in the workplace • importance of being a woman-only forum • started just as women were leaving the field • Spinoff lists researcHers entrepreneurs latinas LGBT JrProfessHers ProfessHers PhdJobhunters • Research papers drawing on systers cohort

12. Pressure on anti-women advertising/products • Examples • woman with electronics product in waistband of bikini (crotch shot) • “rent it (hooker), lease it (woman with tennis racket), own it (woman in wedding dress)” -- in ad for CAD software • pole dancing desk toy in Frys • Barbie that says “math is soooo hard” • Strategy • One syster finds contact information • Others bombard company with complaints • Usually we get at least an apology

15. Pass-it-on grants • Program honors Anita Borg • Small grants awarded from funds raised by systers and GHC attendees • Grants carry obligation to pass on the perceived value received to another woman in computing • First 6 grants recently awarded (world wide) • Plan to award them several times a year going forward

16. Carla Ellis Duke University An original Syster

17. Doug Clark, PC Chair Anant Agarwal, MIT Brian Bershad, U Washington David Culler,  UC Berkeley Josh Fisher,  HP Labs Mark Hill, U Wisconsin Wen-mei Hwu, U Illinois Michael Powell, Sun Labs Jim Smith, Cray Research Anita Borg, DEC Susan Eggers, U Washington Carla Ellis, Duke Monica Lam, Stanford Susan Owicki, Consultant Anne Rogers, Princeton Margo Seltzer, Harvard Mary Lou Soffa, U Pittsburgh Early activism of systers Anita: “Why aren’t there any women on your program committee?”Typical PC Chairman: “We can’t think of any.” So systers compiled & distributed a list of qualified women.One outcome - ASPLOS 1994:

18. Carla Ellis Duke University An original Syster

19. Robin Jeffries Google Her Systers' Keeper, the cat herder for the Systers electronic community

20. Dale Wolff Emerging Health Information Technology A long-time Syster

21. Laurian Vega Virginia Tech A relatively new Syster

22. Please join our community: http://www.systers.org