How to retain talent (and innovation)

Connie Smallwood — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:31:00 GMT

I recently participated on a panel at the Anita Borg Institute Top Company for Technical Women Workshop: “Best Practices in Retaining Women – the mid level.” My fellow panelists were from Microsoft Research, Google and SAP Labs.

CA Technologies has an environment conducive to women, as demonstrated by our recent award from Working Mother magazine. Still, the industry as a whole can do more.

I wanted to share what I learned from my fellow panelists on some specific programs that help with retention:

Microsoft has a bi-annual – and very popular – Women’s Leadership and Development conference.
SAP Labs leverages employee network groups and surveys to bring diversity issues to the forefront.
Google has a Women Engineers Network, Mommy Mentor Program, and “At Home” roundtable series with female executives.

In addition to these programs, I heard this advice from other companies during the workshop:

Before embarking on a diversity initiative, be sure to ask about the business value for your organization.
Engage the different constituency groups to help shape your diversity program. Not only is it eye-opening and respectful, but it ensures their buy-in and support throughout the process.
Mentoring was mentioned a number of times, as was sponsorship. Note that these are similar but different roles.
Executive support at the highest level is critical for success.

These best practices and programs – along with leadership development, flexible workplace and similar programs – support women throughout their career. Men take advantage of many of these programs as well. After all, this is just good business sense. Retaining our best and brightest talent enables CA Technologies and our industry to grow and innovate like never before.

Recognizing women of vision

Connie Smallwood — Tue, 31 May 2011 15:03:00 GMT

I recently attended the Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Awards, which honors women making significant contributions to technology. As I sat in the audience with other CA Technologies colleagues, I was not only impressed by these women’s technical achievements and innovation, but more importantly, by their impact on society. I was – all at once – proud, amazed, humbled and inspired.

Take Chieko Asakawa from IBM Research. Becoming blind as a teen did not deter her from pursuing her passion in technology. Her research in accessibility has paved the way for those who are visually impaired and others with disabilities, allowing them to take advantage of all that the Internet has to offer.

Then, there is Karen Panetta from Tufts University. She has dedicated her life and much of her career to ensuring that there is a solid pipeline of women pursuing degrees in engineering. Nerd Girls not only makes it cool to study computer science, but also builds confidence, empathy and collaboration.

The third winner, Mary Lou Jepsen, is probably best known for her leadership of the One Laptop Per Child project. Who would have thought that we could build a laptop to endure even the harshest of conditions, for less than $200?

These women’s accomplishments really demonstrate that through adversity comes strength, compassion and innovation.

Innovation Today : career, gender

How to retain talent (and innovation)

Recognizing women of vision