Women and technologies: a combination still marked by too many clichés. It has been difficult to overcome the stereotypical image of a woman scratching her head in front of a computer screen, or of her being intimidated by “high” technology. And it’s even more difficult to overcome the “ancillary” view of the technology reserved for women, limited to home automation or a strictly instrumental use of the same.

 

The Women & Technologies: research and innovation conference, the first in Europe focusing on the female facet of Research, Innovation and Business, offers an entirely new vision: it reveals a world of women who do not limit themselves to “using”, bur rather create, invent and mould technology according to their needs and interests, giving life to an unexpectedly large technological universe with undoubtedly innovative potential. Women & Technologies gives a voice to talented women and researchers who operate within Universities, Businesses and Public Administrations worldwide (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Greece, Lithuania, United Kingdom, United States and Tunisia, alongside Italy), that is, to “techno-visionaries” who are able to overcome limits and nurture extraordinary, genius intuitions.

Gianna Martinengo, creator and chairperson of the conference, suggests that:

“We need to design infrastructures that are able to include people, with all their social and collaborative dimensions, in the production cycle. This is why technological research requires integrating, as prescribed by what is termed a “holistic approach”, the contributions of diverse disciplines; not only logic and mathematics, but also psychology, the social sciences, cognitive science, education, anthropology and literature. This is where true innovation is born, in the ability to consider different points of view that create new questions and new solutions. Women, the bearers of a vision that always perceives the “humanistic” components of any given problem, can make an original contribution in this sense; the words of the speakers at Women&Technologies will show as much, giving life to an ample and articulate discussion on the relationship between technology and female creativity that will overcome the stereotypes and map out new opportunities for development.”

The conference is being organized by Didael and the European Parliament (Milan Office) under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic and the sponsorship of Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission for Information Society and Media, of the Higher Education and Research Ministry, of the Minister for Public Administration and Innovation, of the Equal Opportunities Minister and of the Economy and Finance Ministry – State General Accounting Department, Lombardy Region Accounting Department and Chamber of Commerce of Crotone.

Following an opening speech by Chairperson Gianna Martinengo, and welcome addresses by Carlo Sangalli, President of Milan’s Chamber of Commerce, and Judith Bishop, CoChair of the International Program Committee WCC and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Pretoria, the proceedings will be divided into three sections.

The first will be dedicated, in its entirety, to Women and ICT in Europe: a look at what’s happening on our continent in order to have a map of the current situation - the number, location, and behaviour of women innovators and researchers within the world of ICT and an outline of the European Commission's initiatives, frameworks and proposals in terms of favouring projects that deal with women and their relationship with technology.

 

Proceedings will continue with two parallel sessions: one will deal with Art and affective computing, that is how the art domain (defined broadly as a collection of every mode of creative expression a person may use) has developed thanks to digital technologies and how the recognition and generation of emotional properties in humans and in avatars (affective computing) has become the key element to success for many initiatives in various productive and social contexts (marketing, new business models, education, inclusion, healthcare). Women, who have always been closer to disciplines such as art and psychology, are becoming creative protagonists in the development of these new generation technologies. Alongside the above, the topic of Interaction and dialogue in the Web Communities of the future will be discussed: not only Web 2.0, which allows people to both consume and produce information on the Web, but the general transition to structures based on services, requires an ever greater ability to integrate people and technologies through dialogue. In this light, exquisitely feminine characteristics such as conversation, argumentation and team management are translated into an advantage that gives women a head start in the use and development of technologies.

 

The other parallel session will be dedicated to the role of digital technologies in Innovation in enterprises and institutions, which will aim to highlight how the latter could pave the road to a completely new way of producing and distributing services, or how they might promote the identification of new products and services, as in the case of digital signatures, certified electronic mail, electronic banking, e-procurement, and alternative document storage and management. Women are able to make a specific contribution to innovation in terms of both creativity and the ability to adapt to new productive and organizational models: Diversity policies within companies can help to capitalize on this contribution and to make it a success factor.

 

The end of the Women & Technologies: research and innovation proceedings will welcome the handing out of the “BlackBerry® Women&Tecnology Award”, Le Tecnovisionarie® 2008, introduced specifically for the conference: the prize, conferred by a panel of experts and opinion leaders in the fields of business and technology, will reward a woman that has in some particular way been able, through her work in the world of research, business or Public Administration, to marry creativity, innovation and quality of life.

The interest roused by the conference and its 41 speakers is evidenced by the high number of people that have accessed the www.womentech.info portal, created by Didael, to date: 25,597 visitors, 289,587 visits, 50 countries (reference period from 29^th April to 3^rd September). The portal will remain active after 8^th September in order to nurture its social networks (individuals sharing resources online) and create buzz (hype, dialogue) regarding the topics covered by the speakers.