How did you first become interested in technology?

I grew up not even considering technology as a career. In fact, I went to the University of Utah for my undergraduate degree. I started in theater and almost dropped out. Then, because I was desperate, I took what they call an “Interest Inventory Test,” which matched my interests with interests of people in various fields. Computer programming came up above everything else.

You started your career as a researcher at the Schlumberger Palo Alto Research Center working on semiconductors and building chips before moving on to technology start-ups. What was it like to be a woman working in Silicon Valley in the ’80s?

There weren’t a lot of women around in the ’80s when I began my career, but like many women, I wanted to be recognized for my work. I did not want to be viewed as “a woman in technology”—I was just a technologist. But I did develop a network of women technologists who were very supportive in those early days. In fact, when I first moved here in 1986, I met Anita Borg. Anita was a very close friend of mine. Although we worked at very different places with very different interests, we were supportive of each other in the nearly all-male world in which we were working.

When it comes to women in technology, what are the differences you’re seeing in the field today?

I work with literally hundreds of companies that work to bring more women into technology, so there’s a lot more interest than there was before. Even though the percentage of women in technology hasn’t necessarily gone up dramatically, the sheer volume of women—the numbers—have gone up significantly in the industry. There are a lot more women in the field today and much more interest—especially in the larger companies—to recruit, retain, and advance women technologists. It’s a much more common conversation today than it was when I was young in my field.

Having said that, the startup culture can be very challenging, and sometimes, inappropriate, for women. There are some bad behaviors that we have seen in the media and that have been shared by brave and courageous women that really have been rather horrifying. These are the things that have been going on for years, that have been under the radar that people have not been talking about. Looking at the future, we’ve got to be able to surface these conversations and support those who speak out, or we’re never going to create change.

The Anita Borg Institute was founded on the belief that women are vital to building technology that the world needs. They work with companies to recruit, retain, and advance women in technology. Can you cite any specific examples of programs that you think are particularly successful and innovative? There’s a couple of companies that do this well. One is Intel [cofounded by Gordon Moore PhD ’54]. Intel has really embraced this issue deeply. It’s not so much the individual program, it’s the collection of the approach that really matters. One of the important aspects is support from the top.

The other aspect is how these companies measure change. Intel really looks at the numbers and where they’re losing people. Then they deploy programs that are targeted to look at those particular areas. From our Top Company program, we see that there are three programs included in companies that have more women. The first is flexible work schedules. The second is leadership training, which is really important in order to understand your population and have targeted training for both women and minorities to help them move up. The third is diversity training. Intel has all three of those, and they track them regularly, and release their findings twice a year, measuring progress at every step.