Giving Power

Women in Technology has been giving back to the Atlanta technology community since the early 90s.  Philanthropy is not new to the WIT organization.  Over the course of WIT's history we have provided over $100,000 in scholarships to the College Bound program at the Metro Atlanta Boys & Girls Clubs, sent 2 executive women to the prestigious Women Leading Business program at the Harvard Business School, and provided workshops to help young women in non-technology careers transition into the field.

As WIT has expanded our presence in the community and the team of volunteers has expanded, it became apparent that we needed another outlet for our philanthropic energy.

Founded in 2004, the WIT Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports the philanthropic aims of WIT, Inc.  The Foundation was created to deliver programs for women and girls that build awareness of technology related careers and enhance skill development.  Our purpose is to ensure that women and girls understand the opportunities technology offers and that we help to accelerate their career success.

Women have made gains in the technology industry, but are still under represented.  While women make up half the US workforce, they account for an estimated 20% of the IT workforce. The WIT Foundation is out to change this by promoting the wide array of professional opportunities available in the technology arena.  Our purpose is to enrich the technology industry by ensuring that women, with their creative ability and inventive genius are well represented, in the server room and the board room.

The WIT Foundation's main initiatives today are Girls Get IT and WIT on Track.  Each seeks to empower young women by demonstrating the variety of careers available to females in the IT industry.  As support for and resources available to the WIT Foundation grow, programs will be added that further the success of both current and future generations of women in technology.  The WIT Foundation will also fund focused educational opportunities for girls and women towards their pursuit of a career in technology.

The Girls Get IT initiative collaborates with the Georgia business community to host events which impart the knowledge and confidence for girls from elementary to high school to make informed decisions about education, extra curricula activities, and organized club activities that will enhance their ability to pursue a career in technology.  Girls Get IT accomplishes this by showing how much fun a career in technology can be, through real life experiences described in person by women in those roles.

The WIT On Track initiative mission is to provide job experience, employment, mentoring and on-going support for young women coming from an at-risk background who are interested in pursuing a career in the technology industry.  The program benefits include paid job experience, hands-on work and personal skills development through mentoring, real life experience with various types of corporate cultures and increased confidence.  This program provides an amazing opportunity to young women in desperate need of direction and assistance.

We all have a need to give back to our community.  The WIT Foundation provides an important avenue for successful women to satisfy that need, and to have a critical impact on advancing opportunities for girls and women in the technology industry.  The WIT Foundation allows those who have succeeded to use their power to give, and through that we give the power to others to succeed.

Giving power!

Sue Miller
2006 President, WIT Foundation
Consultant
Sue Miller & Associates