A nonprofit trade association has launched a new initiative in hopes of expanding IT career opportunities for women and igniting their interest for jobs in the industry.
The Advancing Women in IT Community aims to empower women with knowledge and skills to help them pursue successful IT careers and inspire them to choose IT as their profession, CompTIA said in a release Feb. 29.
The group will serve as information resource and provide mentorship and networking opportunities. It will also develop member-driven initiatives and programs, and actively work with issues related to legislation involving women and careers.
Although women have seen many breakthroughs in the workplace, “the truth is our progress has stalled in IT," said Nancy Hammervik, CompTIA’s senior vice president of industry relations.
Research by the National Center for Women & Information Technology shows that women composed 36 percent of IT professionals in 1991, but the number of technology jobs held by women has declined since, Hammervik said, citing unconscious bias, gender pay gaps and lack of role models as contributing factors.
The community, which launches with members in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and South Africa, is led by chair Sandy Ashworth, global director of channel relations and warranty for Unisys Corporation, and vice chair Jean Mork Bredenson, president of SERVICE 800, Inc.
The CompTIA Advancing Women in IT Community is hosting a webinar titled "Insights from a Leader and Her Path to Success," featuring Marci Meaux, vice president if sales enablement project and ACT at Cisco Systems, Inc. The free webinar is slated for 1 p.m., March 14.
Posted by Camille Tuutti on Feb 29, 2012 at 10:51 AM1 comments
Former New York Republican Rep. Susan Molinari has been named Google’s top lobbyist in its Washington office, the company has confirmed.
Molinari will be vice president of public policy and government relations for North America and South America, effective in mid-March, according to the Politico newspaper, which first reported the appointment in an article on Feb. 23.
Molinari, who is from Staten Island, first won election to the House of Representatives in a special election in 1990, replacing her father, former Rep. Guy Molinari, who resigned from Congress to become the Staten Island Borough President.
During her tenure from 1990 to 1997, Molinari was elected to the House GOP majority leadership and became the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House.
After leaving Congress, Molinari became co-anchor of CBS News and since has served at several lobbying firms, most recently in her own firm in Washington. She is married to former GOP Rep. William Paxon, who is senior adviser at the Akin Gump law firm.
Posted by Alice Lipowicz on Feb 24, 2012 at 8:22 AM1 comments
Former Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra is returning to the Advisory Board Co., a health care research and consulting firm where he worked before his government service, the company announced.
Chopra left the White House on Feb. 8. His new title is senior adviser for health care technology strategy for the Advisory Board. He will be consulting with hospitals on technology and data issues, and contribute to the Advisory Board’s business development and strategic planning.
Chopra previously was a managing director for the Advisory Board, prior to became Secretary of Technology for Virginia. He was appointed as the first Federal CTO by President Barack Obama in 2009.
"I am excited to return to The Advisory Board Company, where I spent close to a decade of my career," Chopra said in a statement released by the company. "The firm has always been dedicated to identifying and disseminating best practice research, and I am thrilled about how the Advisory Board has grown to offer best-in-class technology products. This combination of research-driven insights and innovative software is creating groundbreaking change in the health care industry by equipping members to capitalize on the power of technology to improve health outcomes while reducing costs."
Posted on Feb 22, 2012 at 8:22 AM0 comments
Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) received the Common Sense in Government Procurement Award for their efforts to improve acquisition sensibly, the Coalition for Government Procurement announced today.
The award is given to leaders in the procurement community who have made outstanding “common sense” contributions to improving the federal acquisition system.
Lieberman and Collins are the chairman and ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
“We honor their dedication to improving the operation and management of the federal acquisition process to ensure that it delivers best value for the American people,” said Roger Waldron, president of the Coalition.
He described the two senators as “thoughtful, no nonsense leaders who focus on efficient and effective solutions.”
Bill Gormley, chairman of the Coalition, said Lieberman and Collins understand the importance of integrity, efficiency and trust in the management of the federal acquisition.
The Common Sense award is a part of the Coalition's Excellence in Partnership Awards. They were developed 12 years ago to promote industry and government partnership and to honor the individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the success of the procurement program system.
Posted by Matthew Weigelt on Feb 16, 2012 at 11:15 AM0 comments
President Barack Obama plans to nominate Katrina McFarland to be assistant secretary of Defense for acquisition, according to a White House press release.
McFarland has been performing the assistant secretary’s duties since October 2011 while serving as president of Defense Acquisition University. She has also held procurement and acquisition positions at the Missile Defense Agency and Marine Corps Systems Command, among others.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition provides oversight and policy direction for major defense acquisition programs and for space and intelligence acquisitions. The office also oversees Defense Acquisition University and the Defense Contract Management Agency.
Posted by FCW Staff on Feb 13, 2012 at 1:16 PM0 comments
The Office of Personnel Management sent approximately 300 semifinalists in the Presidential Management Fellows program two contradictory e-mail messages — one saying they were not finalists and one saying they were, Federal Times reports.
An administrative error caused the automated notification system to send incorrect responses to about a quarter of the semifinalists, according to a statement by Angela Bailey, OPM's associate director of employee services. The program office caught the error the next day and sent a new message to the 300 applicants who had incorrectly been told they were finalists, according to Federal Times.
The program awards two-year paid fellowships at federal agencies to students with advanced degrees. At the end of two years, fellows can become full-time employees.
Posted by FCW Staff on Feb 13, 2012 at 6:53 PM0 comments