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A New Wave of Women in High Tech
Women are moving up in high tech. Ginni Rometty's appointment as the next CEO of IBM is the latest example of this. She joins women like Meg Whitman at Hewlett Packard, Ursula Burns at Xerox since 2009, and Indra Nooyi who has led Pepsico since 2006. These aren't just women leading companies. These executives are leading some of the biggest brands in the world.
We've come a long way. Soon, we may hope, gender will simply not be part of the conversation and it will bear no consequence on leadership selection. These female leaders were selected on merit. They were chosen for these top positions because search committees and boards of directors concluded that they were the best individuals for the job.
On October 17th, FORTUNE published its list of “The Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Business” with Ginni at #7 in her current role. While female leadership has come a long way, the number of women CEO's of Fortune 500 companies is up to 15, a small increase of only 2 from the list’s debut in 1998. With Ginni bringing the number to 16, one must wonder, will progress continue to be so slow?... or What will it take to see substantial change?
IBM demonstrates a commitment to building leaders and a focus on providing opportunities to both men and women. I've been impressed by the number of women leaders with whom I've had the pleasure of meeting and working at IBM. Ginni has a track record of success at the company, helping IBM not only survive what has been described as a “near-death experience” in the 1990's, but also to grow and thrive as a software and services global powerhouse. Last week at Executive Insights, a training offered to new and acquired executives, it was affirming to see leaders at IBM like Nancy DeViney, Diane Gherson, and Deborah Butters along with other senior executives, step up to make time to share with us their experiences. It was also great to see female executives from around the world: Elaine Fletcher from the UK, Brigitta Oltersdorf from United Arab Emirates, and our fellow US executives: Chiny Driscoll, Elana Anderson and Giovanna Patterson participating in the training.
This was not a unique experience. IBM’s Debbie Landers has deftly managed the huge responsibility of Netezza's integration with IBM. Janine Grasso (Finance) along with Susan Spector (Solutions Business Line), Wendy Wheeler (Corporate Marketing for Netezza), Rosanne DeVries (Worldwide Client Support, Information Management), Alyse Passarelli(WW Information Management Sales), Sue Myers (SW Appliance Support & Maintenance), Ellen Matsell (Sales Operations Netezza) Sandy Carter (IBM Social Business Evangelism and Sales), Colleen Arnold (Application Management Services), Deb Murphy (Finance), Kelli-ann McCabe and Diane Adams (HR) are just a sampling of the leaders that represent the talent and depth of the IBM and Netezza pool.
Last week at IBM’s IOD (Information on Demand Conference) a “Women in Technology” session was hosted by Debbie Landers and Alyse Passarelli. There were 341 attendees (including 2 or 3 men) who listened to speakers on leadership and the role women play. During the session, it was announced that Ginni would be the next CEO. To recognize this achievement, three hundred women posed and sent a picture to Ginni, all giving a “thumbs-up” of support. Ginni responded, saying she felt humbled. How wonderful is that?
(picture is a bit grainy as it was on a cell phone)
I celebrate the growing role of women in high technology, but in the end, great leadership is gender neutral. Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, it means having vision, embracing innovation, bringing talented people together and working hard to make the future happen according to plan. Easier said than done, but when it's done well, nothing in the business world is sweeter.
