63 Leading High-Tech Women Nominated for Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Awards; High-Tech Companies Realize Global Competitive Challenge.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology today announced that 63 women leading women in technology have been nominated for the Inaugural Women of Vision Awards. The Women of Vision Awards recognize women making significant contributions to technology who embody the spirit of innovation that drives Silicon Valley and the world. The winners, one in each of three categories (Innovation, Leadership & Social Impact) will be honored at a Silicon Valley Gala Event October 18, 2005 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose.

"Companies such as HP, Intel, NASA, IBM, Agilent, Cisco and Sun Microsystems realize that the U.S. faces a critical global competitive challenge in technology leadership. They've nominated their top technical women to be considered for one these awards in Innovation, Leadership and Social Impact, to recognize the contribution technical women make to global competitiveness and technology advances said Dr. Telle Whitney, President of the Anita Borg Institute and part of the final selection committee. "The high tech industry needs a diverse workforce to compete, which includes, recognizing, recruiting, and retaining the best possible technical talent. And that means Women!"

Top women from non-profits and universities such as, Carnegie-Mellon, UC Berkeley, Santa Cruz and John Hopkins University, were also nominated.

The three awards to be presented on October 18th include:

--The Women of Vision Innovation award, which recognizes a woman who has contributed significantly to technology innovation.

--The Women of Vision Social Impact award, which recognizes a woman who has developed technology that has had a significant impact on society generally or a particular community.

--The Women of Vision Leadership award, recognizes a woman who has led an important technology development or innovation, made a significant contribution to the technology industry, and is someone who inspires others.

Joining Whitney on the awards committee are Penny Herscher -- President & CEO, firstRain, Jayshree Ullal, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Security Technology Group at Cisco Systems, Inc. and Bill Unger, Partner Emeritus, Mayfield. All serve as members of the Anita Borg Institute Board of Trustees.

To obtain a press pass to attend the Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision event in Silicon Valley, CA, on Tuesday, October 18, 2005, please call 650-236-4079.

Registration for the event can be found at: http://www.regdesk.com/AnitaBorg/Intro.htm

About the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology

In an increasingly competitive global marketplace the Anita Borg Institute provides resources and programs for industry, academia and government to help them recruit, retain and develop women leaders in high tech fields resulting in higher levels of technology innovation. The Anita Borg Institutes programs serve high-tech women creating a community and providing tool to develop their careers.

The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology is a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. Institute Partners: Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft Corporation and Sun Microsystems. Institute Sponsors: Google, IBM and Cisco -- www.anitaborg.org.