Microsoft Grant Funds National Center for Women & Information Technology.

Company Has Provided Two Million Dollars to Support Women in Technology

REDMOND, Wash. -- The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) today announced that it has been awarded a Microsoft Corp. grant to continue its work in recruiting, retaining, and advancing women in information technology.

NCWIT announced the grant today to coincide with its participation at the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit 2009. The grant brings Microsoft's investment in NCWIT to two million dollars since 2005, and highlights the company's commitment to strengthening the U.S. IT workforce with an expanded pool of talent.

"As a worldwide leader in research, Microsoft's involvement with NCWIT sends a powerful message that diversity of thought is essential to innovation," said Lucy Sanders, NCWIT's CEO. "Women make up half the world's population, they use technology as much as men, and they are innovative technical thinkers. If we want the best technology we can get, then we need women at the design table."

Microsoft's initial funding for NCWIT provided support for several programs, including the NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund, which grants start-up funds to university initiatives that attract and retain women in computing education; the Scorecard, a report on the status of women in IT; the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing, which recognizes high-school women for their computing aspirations and achievements; and NCWIT's annual meetings, which bring together more than 170 corporations, non-profits, and academic institutions from across the country. The continued funding also will support a range of initiatives, including NCWIT Pacesetters, an aggressive campaign in which members will grow their IT workforce through the accelerated recruitment and retention of women.

About NCWIT

NCWIT is the National Center for Women & Information Technology, a non-profit coalition working to improve U.S. innovation, competitiveness, and workforce sustainability by increasing women's participation in IT. NCWIT's work spans K-12 and higher education through industry and academic careers. NCWIT members include ACM, Anita Borg Institute, Apple, AT&T, Avaya, Bank of America, Boehringer Ingelheim, Catalyst, Carnegie Mellon, CRA, Dillard University, Girl Scouts of the USA, Georgia Tech, Girls Inc., Google, Harvey Mudd, HP, Indiana University, Intel, ISTE, Kauffman Foundation, Medco, MIT, Microsoft, Motorola, University of Texas at El Paso, Pfizer, Princeton, Qualcomm, Society of Women Engineers, Spelman College, Stanford University, University of Colorado, University of California at Berkeley, University of California at Irvine, University of Virginia, University of Washington, Wal-Mart, Zynga, and many more. Find out more at www.ncwit.org.