Update: The Women in Tech Initiative Athena Awards have been announced! Click here to meet the recipients
2017 nominations now open: The Women in Tech Initiative Athena Awards recognize those who embody, encourage, and promote the inclusion of women in technology. Awardees will be leaders who inspire others to pursue and persist in technical careers by way of their outstanding contributions, and their service and mentorship to foster inclusion in the field.
Awards are made in five categories, described below:
- Executive Leadership
- Academic Leadership
- Early Career
- Lifetime Achievement
- Next Generation Engagement
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP AWARD
The Executive Leadership Award recognizes individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership by supporting the professional development and promotion of women in technology within their companies, organizations or the field at large.
Selection Criteria:
Award winners may be recognized for a wide variety of accomplishments, including:
- Demonstrating leadership in promoting greater diversity and inclusion in the field or sector
- Expanding opportunities for engaging women in technology
- Demonstrating impact on advancing women’s professional achievements in technology
- Nominees typically have at least 10 years of experience in their executive leadership role(s)
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP AWARD
The Academic Leadership Award recognizes senior leaders in academia or national labs who have a demonstrated record of accomplishment and have encouraged or mentored young scholars or colleagues.
Selection Criteria:
Award winners may be recognized for a wide variety of accomplishments, including:
- Undertaking technically innovative work
- Demonstrating leadership in their field
- Expanding opportunities for engaging girls in technology and computer science
- Mentoring students, postdocs, junior faculty and/or young women professionals
EARLY CAREER AWARD
The Early Career Award recognizes promising young leaders in industry, academia, or the public sector.
Selection Criteria:
Award winners may be recognized for a wide variety of accomplishments, including:
- Undertaking technically innovative work
- Demonstrating potential for leadership in their field
- Expanding opportunities for engaging girls in technology and computer science
- Demonstrating impact on advancing women’s participation in technology and computer science
- Priority consideration will be given to those who have been active professionally for 5 years or less
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes women leaders in industry, academia, or the public sector who have undertaken technically innovative work and who have made significant contributions to promoting greater diversity and inclusion of women in the tech sector.
Selection Criteria:
Award winners may be recognized for a wide variety of accomplishments, including:
- Undertaking technically innovative work
- Demonstrating leadership in promoting greater diversity and inclusion in the field or sector
- Expanding opportunities for engaging women in technology and computer science
- Demonstrating impact on advancing women’s professional achievements in technology and computer science
- Nominees typically have at least 20 years of experience in this capacity
NEXT GENERATION ENGAGEMENT AWARD
The Next Generation Engagement Award recognizes organizations or programs that encourage girls or young women to pursue interests in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Selection Criteria:
Award winners may be recognized for a wide variety of accomplishments, including:
- Expanding extracurricular opportunities for girls and young women to explore technology and computer science
- Demonstrating support for young women undertaking college-level, graduate or postgraduate studies in technology and computer science
- Supporting and highlighting accomplishments of women and girls in tech
Awards will include travel support to attend the Women in Tech Symposium on November 30, 2017, at the UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Campus in Santa Clara, California, where awards and cash prizes will be presented.
Timeline
- Sept. 8: Nominations open
- Oct. 11, 5:00 p.m. PST: Deadline to submit nominations
- Early November: Women in Tech Initiative Athena Awards announced
- Nov. 30: Women in Tech Initiative Athena Awards presented at the Women in Tech Symposium
Registration for the Women in Tech Symposium on November 30, 2017, is available now at womenintech17.eventbrite.com. Register to Attend!
DESCRIPTION
Women in Tech: A Symposium on Innovation & Entrepreneurship
November 30, 2017
11:30am – 6:00pm
UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Campus, Santa Clara
Demonstrated benefits of a diverse leadership team and workforce include more robust market insights, improved strategic decisions, and increased financial success. Yet from tech accelerators and startup companies to venture capital firms and established industries, female technologists, founders, and investors often struggle to marshal support for their ideas. In 2016, companies led by men received 16 times the funding of those run by women, a statistic perhaps influenced by the fact that only 7% of partners at top VC firms are women. How can recent research and inspiring role models contribute to positive momentum for women in technical fields, startup companies, and venture firms
This public half-day symposium will highlight the experience of women in the tech industry–from established companies to startups and the venture capital firms that support them. The event will also recognize those who have championed the advancement of women in technology through the Women in Tech Initiative Athena Awards. Attendees will come away with actionable suggestions for overcoming gender-based challenges and improving the workplace climate for all. The agenda will offer time for presentations as well as informal discussions to build networks for mentoring and peer support.
Who should attend? Entrepreneurs, investors, students, and leaders from academia or the public and private sectors interested in supporting a more diverse ecosystem for innovation and creating a welcoming environment for new ideas across the spectrum. We welcome the participation of women and their allies.
Agenda
- 11:00 Registration and lunch
- 12:00 Welcome
- 12:15 Keynote: Poornima Vijayashanker, Founder, Femgineer; Founding engineer, Mint.com. Introduced by Betsy Cooper, Executive Director, Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity
- 12:45 Panel 1 – Highlights successes that have contributed to positive momentum for women in technology startup companies and venture firms
- 2:00 Break and facilitated conversation regarding workplace climate challenges
- 2:45 Panel 2 – Explores research and models for an inclusive environment for innovation and entrepreneurship, and actionable suggestions to counter workplace climate hazards
- 4:00 Keynote: Laura Kray, Professor, UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business
- 4:30 Women in Tech Initiative Athena Awards Presentations
- 5:15 Closing remarks
- 5:30 Networking reception
Presented by: The Women in Technology Initiative at the University of California, CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, UC Berkeley College of Engineering, and the Center for Long-term Cybersecurity.
Sponsored by: Facebook, CITRIS Foundry, The Coleman Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership, UC Berkeley School of Information, Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM), Haas Women in Leadership, Startup@BerkeleyLaw, SkyDeck, UC Berkeley Extension, The International Society of Service Innovation Professionals (ISSIP) and the UC Berkeley Bakar Fellows Program.