Women in Tech

"Any tech conference I go to, there’s never anyone in the women’s restrooms, or any lines in the women’s restrooms," says Nomi Bergman, executive vice president of strategy and development at Advance/Newhouse, and winner of the 2004 Women in Technology Award. "It’s the funniest thing, and the only time you ever see that." I had to chuckle when I heard Bergman’s observation because it is still something I tend to notice even though I’ve been covering the engineering side of cable for 15 years. Once, I even saw men waiting in line for the restroom at an engineering confab, which I must admit caused me to chortle with "the tables are turned" glee. The only other time I saw that was at an AC/DC concert. It’s not exactly a news flash that the preponderance of cable engineers are men. And that’s a major reason behind Communications Technology’s annual Women in Technology Award, which we sponsor with SCTE and Women in Cable & Telecommunications. There’s a scarcity of female engineers in our industry, and the ones who have won this award are trailblazers in an industry of trailblazers. They deserve recognition, and we hope the kudos encourage more women to enter the sector. There are some indications that women are making gains on the technical side of broadband. For example, three of SCTE’s 17 board members are women. And in the end, it’s about qualifications and technical ability. "Engineers recognize and respect credentials," SCTE President and CEO John Clark says. "Working with female engineers in mainstream positions doesn’t seem surprising or unusual at all." Laura Hamilton Editorial Director, Broadband [email protected]