Women have been involved with technology and the Web 2.0 movement for as long as these industries have existed. It's only in the past 5 years when the world is starting to take notice.
Now, there is an active presence of women in the technology industry and the contributions they have made has created a positive impact. There are just a few of them.
Sarah Blow, Software Engineer at Cardinal Health founded Girl Geek Dinners out of a need to connect with other women in the technology field. After having attended numerous conferences and seminars, Sarah had noticed that the turnout of women compared to men was relatively low. She knew that there were many women in the industry but where to find them was the question. Creating the first Girl Geek Dinner in London was a success. Women and men can now get together under a common and passionate interest to share ideas, thoughts and work ethics. Sarah's vision of gathering women in the technology sector for networking and connecting has been a positive influence. The Girl Geek Dinners are now international with a presence in 9 countries, 55 cities and growing.
Picking up Sarah's torch and carrying on the vision is another female pioneer, Nicole Simon. Nicole has an incredible story. A native of Germany, Nicole quickly realized after a few years in the tech industry that exclusion from the English Speaking world not only disadvantaged her consulting business but it kept her from a valuable network of people. Nicole was determined to become fluent in the English language so that she would be able to engage in conversation with the very large English technology community. Nicole's efforts in becoming a part of the international technology and Web 2.0 phenomenon proved to be the right choice. Nicole now travels worldwide giving presentations at some of the most famous tech conferences, in English. Nicole is also the founder of Girl Geek Dinner Deutschland. Her primary goal is to encourage the use of the English language amongst the German people believing that, "If you are involved in the Technology business then you must be able to communicate in English."
Helping to expand the Girl Geek Dinner Deutschland is Carmen Villadar. Carmen is a Canadian who worked in the American Healthcare Industry for 11 years. She recently moved to Frankfurt in May of 2007. It was through her offwork projects in the 3D virtual world of Second Life that Carmen found the courage to leave the nursing profession in pursuit of a Web 2.0 career. Prior to nursing, Carmen was involved in New Media in 1994 - the start of the internet boom. During her healthcare career, Carmen maintained her interest in New Media and hoped to someday return. Currently, Carmen freelances as a Business English language trainer and is also the founder and organizer of the Frankfurt Girl Geek Dinners. Empowering people has always been the foundation of Carmen's activities and being able to contribute to Frankfurt's workforce through empowerment with the English language keeps Carmen motivated in becoming involved with the Frankfurt community, regardless of the language barrier.
Technology drives the future. Societies are learning to adapt and to use the emerging new technologies as a way to learn, connect and develop. It is more important now, than ever for men and women to work together to create a positive future.
The Frankfurt Girl Geek Dinners are happy to be partnered with the AUGE network.