Girls in Tech aims for a cutting-edge approach to supporting women in IT

by Sonja Thompson | Jun 02, 2007 3:22:00 PM

Tags: Gender and diversity, Sonja Thompson, information technology, Girls in Tech, women

Takeaway: TechRepublic's Sonja Thompson caught up with Girls in Tech co-founder Adriana Gascoigne. Learn what Adriana has to say about Girls in Tech and how the new organization caters to the Web 2.0 audience.

Quite a few start ups are riding the Web 2.0 wave, and Girls in Tech (GIT) is no exception. This organization was started by three female consultants -- Adriana Gascoigne, LaurieAnne Lassek, and Julia French -- in order to help females who work with or are interested in working with technology.

TechRepublic's Sonja Thompson caught up with Adriana Gascoigne and asked her some questions about Girls in Tech. To hear the entire interview, listen to the podcast.

Q: As a news editor, I did my research before contacting you, Adriana, but I wasn't able to find a lot of information on the Web about Girls in Tech. So, what exactly is "Girls in Tech," and how and when was it originally formed?
A: Let me just start by saying that we created this organization in February of 2007. It was something that was cultivating for about a year... it was my brainchild, because I worked at a company called GUBA, and I was literally working with 30 men and felt that I needed a soundboard to ask questions, to get information, to build more of a community around getting to know more about the tech world, and I found that to be a little bit challenging when trying to communicate with just a group of male engineers.

So, I thought of this idea because I really think that women have different issues to deal with within the tech world because it is so male dominated, and I thought we could use this organization for women to communicate, have networking events, create a blog that we can bring up different issues and get different answers based on their background...I brought on two other people in the industry -- LaurieAnne Lassek and Julia French, who are both great PR gurus -- and like I said, it was born out of a need to support girls/women in an industry that traditionally has been male dominated. Girls in Tech, or as we call it GIT, believe that women would be better off if we develop certain resources and were able to cultivate stronger relationships and celebrate our achievements within the tech world.

So, can any woman be a part of the Girls in Tech? Are there any requirements -- at the very least from a technology standpoint?
Well, there is a nomination process. ... Each woman has to be nominated by three women, and that is basically how we work the process. We need to know a little bit of background, a little detail of their work experience, and why they want to be a part of the organization. We want people who are really serious about helping this organization grow and bringing something to the table.

There are so many organizations, groups, and Web sites for women... what makes Girls in Tech different from any and all of these?
I think that we're spinning Girls in Tech to cater more to the Web 2.0 audience, which is a totally different dynamic, Sonja, in itself. I think that there are a lot of organizations out there that do a lot of the same things that we will do, but we will put a very cutting-edge spin to it -- like I said, just cater to the issues that are happening right now in the second wave of startups. One of our main goals is supporting women founders and girls that really want to start their own companies because there�s a lack of resources out there for women who want to start their own business within the tech world.

Want to learn more about GIT? Here�s a snip from the GIT Mission Statement:

Girls in Tech is an organization which caters to intelligent, professional, and influential women working in technology and seeks to partner with our male counterparts. The organization is a membership driven group, which serves as a tool to empower and encourage innovation, inspiration, and involvement among its members.

Girls in Tech offers a variety of resources to women to supplement and further enhance their professional careers in technology. Some of these resources include networking functions, round table discussions, conferences, dinner engagements, and recruitment events.

For additional information, go to: http://www.girlsintech.org/.

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