Institute for Women and Technology Founded

PALO ALTO, California, March 17, 1998 - Companies that believe only men have a special affinity for high technology are missing a significant market opportunity. With the objective of empowering women and understanding their needs in terms of high technology, Xerox Corporation today announced the appointment of Anita Borg to the research staff at the company's internationally renowned Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). The company also announced that it will further its support for women in technology with financial assistance for the newly formed Institute for Women and Technology headed by Borg.

"How communities interact with technology drives much of the work we do at PARC," said John Seely Brown, Xerox chief scientist and director at PARC. "Anita Borg's years of advocacy for women's issues in the computer industry along with her expertise in computer science makes her a valuable addition to PARC's research staff."

At PARC, Borg will focus primarily on building the Institute for Woman and Technology. She will also be consulting on women's issues within Xerox research, and representing PARC externally.

The Institute for Women and Technology is an organization focused on increasing gender diversity in the technology industry and impacting women through the development of high-technology tools and products. Start-up funding will come from Xerox. The Institute for Research on Learning (IRL) in Menlo Park, California, will provide a non-profit home and operational support until the Institute for Women and Technology achieves financial independence. The IRL is a non-profit, tax-exempt national center on learning and innovation in schools and the workplace, and began operations in January 1987 with assistance from Xerox.

"We believe that the Institute for Women and Technology will not only increase the impact of women on all aspects of technology, but that it will result in an evolution of technology that addresses the needs of women and communities around the world," said Seely Brown.

Added Borg: "The time is right. The Institute will work with large women's constituencies including technical professionals, younger women, women in developing communities, and older women. We will offer user and community studies, workshops and meetings, information technology design and deployment projects, Internet-based information resources, and outreach programs."

Prior to joining Xerox, Borg worked at Digital Equipment Corp. She received the Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Augusta Lovelace Award from the Association of Women in Computing. She is a fellow of the Association of Computing Machinery and is a member of the CRA Board of Directors. Borg holds a Ph.D., and master's and bachelor's degrees in computer science from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.

About Xerox PARC