by asli
29. August 2009 22:04
Once Upon a Time.
| Like many good stories, this one begins in a hidden password protected room in the back alleys of San Francisco. And, as true of many techie ideas, this concept was born within the manicured campuses of Silicon Valley.
It starts as an off the cuff comment during an interview on the Microsoft campus “LEGO if you are watching…Send me LEGO”. My west coast counterpart, Lynn Langit and I are giving an interview on what it means to be a female evangelist within Microsoft.
[The Interview that sparks the idea for WomenBuild] We draw an analogy between building with LEGO and software architecture and development. (More on that later). Our stance? If you like to build with LEGO, you will enjoy writing code. We hope to encourage more young girls to consider a profession in the software industry, as we had both noted that the ratio of female to male technologies was dropping alarmingly in the last 10 years.
| What Has Driven Women Out of Computer Science? --> #1 most emailed business article of that week in NY Times “When one looks at computer science in particular, however, the proportion of women has been falling. In 2001-2, only 28 percent of all undergraduate degrees in computer science went to women. By 2004-5, the number had declined to only 22 percent. Data collected by the Computing Research Association showed even fewer women at research universities like M.I.T.: women accounted for only 12 percent of undergraduate degrees in computer science and engineering in the United States and Canada granted in 2006-7 by Ph.D.-granting institutions, down from 19 percent in 2001-2. Many computer science departments report that women now make up less than 10 percent of the newest undergraduates.” | |
formula 1: Before any outlandish business plan or idea, comes an idea sketched on a single malt scotch scented cocktail napkin
A few hours later, we find ourselves in San Francisco feverishly brainstorming behind a nondescript facade at the password protected Bourbon and Branch (House Rule: Don’t even think about asking for a Cosmo). To login you speak-the-secret-word-through-the-small-slat-in-the-door-and-no-it’s-not-FIDELIO. Lynn and I sit entry sipping speakeasy single malt scotch, scribbling on cocktail napkins.”How on earth can we incorporate LEGO into our day job and somehow attract more female technologist?” Clearly a problem many have agonized over.
This is the beginning of WomenBuild - an entrepreneurial concept for a partnership between Microsoft and LEGO to (1) draw awareness to, (2) build a community around, and (3) create solutions to address the decline in female technologists.
Once the broad brush strokes of a plan were drawn, the idea speeds off to its respective bicoastal incubation centers: the Hollywood sparkle of Los Angeles and the pre-crash steeliness of Wall Street.
formula 2: blueprint for innovation = entrepreneurial ideas + passionate people
This is the story of WomenBuild. As the story unfolds, hopefully you will learn formulae for how you can leverage the resources of a large enterprise to incubate, grow and launch an entrepreneurial endeavor, as well as be part of the movement to grow female talent in Science Technology Engineering & Math (STEM) industries and disciplines.
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