Newhouse Diaper Drive - Final Week!

This is the final week of the Newhouse Diaper Drive!

Although we are over half-way towards our $5,000 goal, we are running out of time.

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the Newhouse Diaper Drive to help keep the infants and toddlers at Newhouse in diapers.

If you can help, please follow the link below:


https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/newhouse-diaper-drive

In Google’s Inner Circle, a Falling Number of Women

The following is an excerpt from an article in 

The New York Times
Thursday, August 23, 2012

In Google’s Inner Circle, a Falling Number of Women

By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — At Google, data is king. Now the company is using data to figure out if it can anoint a few queens.

The company hopes its famous algorithms can solve one of the most vexing problems facing Silicon Valley: how to recruit and retain more women. Google has generally been considered a place where women have thrived, but it wants to figure out how to compete even more vigorously for the relatively few women working in technology.

Executives had been concerned that too many women dropped out in the interviewing process or were not promoted at the same rate as men, so they created algorithms to pinpoint exactly when the company lost women and to figure out how to keep them. Simple steps like making sure prospective hires meet other women during their interviews and extending maternity leaves seem to be producing results — at least among the rank and file.

Still, senior women at the company are losing ground. Since Larry Page became chief executive and reorganized Google last year, women have been pushed out of his inner circle and passed over for promotions. They include Marissa Mayer, who left last month to run Yahoo after being sidelined at Google.

“There was a point at Google when the cadre of women leadership was pretty strong,” said a former Google executive who would speak only anonymously to preserve business relationships. “That has changed.”

The valley’s longtime image as unwelcoming to women became a topic of conversation recently when Ellen Pao, a junior partner in the venture capital firm of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, filed a sexual discrimination suit against her employer. And it persists even though more women than ever are leading or in top positions at technology companies — including Yahoo, I.B.M., Hewlett-Packard, Xerox and Facebook.

Ms. Mayer, 37, was the first woman to be an engineer at Google and ran its most profitable business, search, for years. But in 2010, she was given a new assignment that many at Google considered a demotion, and then Mr. Page removed her from his committee of close advisers.

That committee shrank from about 15 people, four of whom were women, under Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s previous chief executive, to 11 with just one woman, under Mr. Page.

Also removed from the L Team, for Larry Page, were Rachel Whetstone, who oversees communications, and Shona Brown, who oversaw business operations and now leads Google.org, the company’s philanthropic arm, a lower-profile job. Only one woman remains — Susan Wojcicki, who oversees advertising. Several men were also removed in the shuffle.

Of the seven people Mr. Page appointed to lead product areas when he reorganized the company last year, just one, Ms. Wojcicki, was a woman.

People familiar with Mr. Page’s management style and the company’s reorganization said gender played no role in his decisions.

“Larry focused on certain products, and the people who happened to lead those products and became his direct reports were men,” said Laszlo Bock, who oversees people operations at Google.

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.

News Release from Avnet

March 14, 2012 - Avnet Express' Drive for Innovation Rolls into Phoenix in Support of "Girls Have IT Day"

Collaborate with Xavier College Preparatory at the Fourth Annual Event on Friday, March 16, 2012

Phoenix and San Francisco -- The National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) estimates there will be 1.4 million computer specialist jobs in the U.S. by 2018 -- however, less than 20 percent of women today have the education necessary to fill these positions. To help spread the word about the importance of women in science, technology, electronics and math (STEM), the Avnet Express Drive for Innovation will be making a pit-stop in Phoenix to support Xavier College Prepratory's fourth annual "Girls Have IT Day." This event was developed in partnership with the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University and encourages young women to get involved in STEM.

Taking place on Friday, March 16, 2012 at 1 p.m. (MDT), Brian Fuller, editorial director of EE Times and driver of the Drive for Innovation Chevrolet Volt, will join 400 middle and high school girls from the Phoenix metropolitan area to discuss innovation and the critical role that women play in the future of technology. Sponsored by UBM Electronics, the daily source of essential business and technical information for the electronics industry's decision makers, and Avnet Express, the e-Commerce engine of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), the Drive for Innovation has been traveling the country to shine a light on American innovation. Since July 2011, Fuller has been interviewing engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators, teachers and students, and blogging and posting video updates about his experiences.

"Inspiring our youth to pursue careers in science and technology takes on increasing priority for us all as the U.S. fights to retain its position as the world's primary engine of technology innovation," said Fuller. "The quality of our math and science education lags behind other nations. Among 30 developed countries, the United States ranks 25th in math and 21st in science. It's critical to help young technologists and innovators connect with the world of technology and inspire them to pursue careers in science and technology."

"America is at a crossroads when it comes to innovation. It is important that our youth, especially young women, are aware of the significant impact they can have on the future of technology, science, mathematics and electronics," said Beth Ely, senior vice president, Avnet Express. "Avnet is given the incredible opportunity to see all sides of the technology value-chain and we support initiatives, such as these, that help future generations gain a better understanding of the opportunities presented in technology."

Xavier College Preparatory, a Roman Catholic, all-girls high school located at 4710 North Fifth Street in north central Phoenix, has built an outstanding record of academic excellence, innovation, leadership development, athletics and community service. Xavier is twice recognized as a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, and recognized nationally for academic excellence by the Catholic High School Honor Roll in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Xavier was awarded the 2007-08 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement, honoring high schools with high student success rates in AP math, science and technology courses. The Arizona Interscholastic Association awarded Xavier its prestigious H.A. Hendrickson Award (2009) for overall excellence in interscholastic competition and it's Blue Cup Award (2006) for excellence in scholastics, athletics and activities.

Xavier College Preparatory joins University of Pennsylvania and University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as Thomas Jefferson High School, Girls Leadership Academy of Arizona and Brooks County High School as educational stops on the Drive for Innovation, where Fuller discussed innovations in the electronics industry with students.  During a stop at Brooks County High School in Quitman, GA, Fuller was able to witness high school students creating bio-diesel using leftover fast food oil. 

Avnet Express gives design engineers and purchasing professionals online access to the world's largest catalog of electronic component products, which tops five million parts. Avnet Express offers parametric searching capabilities and the ability to upload a bill of materials (BOM) for easier sourcing of products and a consistent global platform of localized content. The site can be accessed in nine languages and 13 currencies.

Check www.driveforinnovation.com for upcoming locations and to sign up to follow the stories and request that the Volt pull into your town or city for a visit.  Upcoming stops on the "Drive for Innovation" road trip include:

• San Jose, CA
• Los Angeles, CA
• San Diego, CA

To learn more about Avnet Express, visit avnetexpress.com.  To follow the "Drive for Innovation" and the Chevrolet Volt as it travels across the United States, visit www.driveforinnovation.com.  Follow the "Drive for Innovation" on Facebook and Twitter.

Ford Earns Top Honors for Supporting WBEs

News release from Ford Motor Co.:

Ford Becomes First Automaker to Earn Top Honors for Supporting Women-Owned Businesses

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 16, 2012 – Ford Motor Company was named as one of America’s top corporations for its support of women-owned suppliers, the first time an automaker has earned the award.

 

The Women’s Business Enterprise Council (WBENC) selected Ford for its 13th annual listing of America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises. It is the only national award honoring corporations for world-class programs that level the playing field for women’s business enterprises (WBEs) to compete for corporate business.

 

Ford earned the award for developing and driving innovative best practices across its organization that result in productive business partnerships with women entrepreneurs and valuable products and services for their customers.

 

In 2011, Ford spent $1.06 billion with women-owned suppliers in the U.S., a 22 percent increase from $866 million in 2010. Since 2009, Ford has more than doubled its sourcing with women-owned businesses.

 

The increase in 2011 includes higher spending with suppliers that are playing a key role in Ford’s expanding portfolio of high-quality, safe, fuel-efficient products equipped with smart technologies. Examples include:

 

• Dura Automotive Systems, an Auburn Hills, Mich.-based company that is owned by Lynn Tilton’s Patriarch Partners investment company. Dura, which makes a variety of control systems, engineered assemblies and other products, supplies the award-winning heated power rear sliding window for the F-150 pickup
• Systrand Manufacturing, a Brownstown, Mich.- based company owned by Sharon Cannarsa. Systrand is producing machined parts for the next generation of Ford’s hybrid transmission that will be used in the new Ford Fusion Hybrid and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid
• Dakkota Integrated Systems, owned by Andra Rush and based in Holt, Mich. Dakkota won a contract to produce fascias and headliners for the redesigned Ford Explorer, which more than doubled sales in 2011 from 2010, finishing the year with 135,704 units sold in the U.S.

“Building a financially healthy, diverse supply base is a central part of the Ford purchasing strategy,” said Tony Brown, group vice president, Ford Global Purchasing. “We are proud to receive this recognition, and we hope it brings renewed attention to this important segment of our supply base.”

 

# # #