“Through technology, women can gain independence. But we need a better network,” says Nada Marie Anid of New York Institute of Technology and co-editor of The Internet of Women: Accelerating Culture Change (River Publishers, 2016). “By being an engineer or a coder or an IT person, women can form their own bonds through what we imagine will become the ‘internet of women.’”
The book tells the stories of successful female scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians from more than 30 countries. “The common thread is not to be afraid to take risks, and to be an entrepreneur in whatever setting,” says Anid, who was the first female dean of the NYIT School of Engineering and Computing Sciences. “And you don’t need to have your own company to be an entrepreneur.”
Her chapter of the book examines the climate of tech and gender in the academic world and how little progress has been made in terms of the representation of women in faculty and student populations.
“But we didn’t want to project this image of being a victim or of being helpless. On the contrary, it’s more a message of optimism,” says Anid, who is now vice president for strategic communications and external affairs at NYIT.
In fact, the idea of hope will underlie her keynote address at the Women in Technology pre-conference on June 10 at UB Tech® 2019 in Orlando. “It’s going to be a long road, but we’re going to do it together, and step by step, we’ll get there,” she adds.
She plans to poll and then ask individual attendees about how they have handled barriers to advancement in the workplace, including burnout. In addition, the group will have the opportunity to share whether they’ve asked for a promotion and how they went about it.
“It’s all about working hard and doing your best. Women work twice as hard as men even to be considered credible and respected,” says Anid. “But I don’t let that bring me down. It makes me stronger.”
Register for UB Tech® 2019 to attend the Women in Technology pre-conference and more.
