I was at their award reception last night...

Elisa Camahort — Fri, 04 May 2007 09:52:27 -0500

And heard each of these women speak. All pretty terrific.

Duy-Loan Le from Texas Instruments has the most dramatic story, having moved here, poverty-stricken, from Vietnam at the age of 12, knowing not a word of English. 4 years later she graduated as valedictorian of her high school at the age of 16, and had her BSEE 3 years later.

She told this story:

When she was named the first female TI Fellow there was a reception honoring the newly-appointed Fellows, which she attended with her husband. A member of the TI Board of Directors came up to the couple and promptly congratulated Duy-Loan's husband on his accomplishments! [The audience groaned at this point in the story, as you can imagine.]Â

Duy-Loan's husband said, "I think you've got the wrong person", pointing to his wife. A moment of abject embarrassment followed, of course.Â Â

Duy-Loan said to the red-faced board member, "Don't worry about it, but now I have something you can do for me to make up for this mistake...I need you to lobby to change the name of this position for me from "TI Fellow" to "TI Babe."

Duy-Loan said after years and years of only ever seeing men receive this honor, it was no surprise the board member made this mistake (well, particularly given her first name doesn't give away gender to those of us unfamiliar with Vietnamese names...or maybe not at all, I don't know.)

She learned three lessons from that evening:

1. Don't take everything personally.
2. Give people a graceful way to exit when they make a mistake, and they will remember you kindly for life!
3. Keep your sense of humor, about yourself and everything else.

And her single-most important word of advice: No matter the challenges or obstacles never stop dreaming. "Dreams are the beginning of everything."

Elisa Camahort
BlogHer and Worker Bees
elisa@blogher.org/elisa@workerbees.biz

Women of Vision Awards

Virginia DeBolt — Fri, 04 May 2007 08:45:01 -0500

It's awards season for women involved in technology. A few days ago I recognized the women named by Women in Technology. Now the Anita Borg Institute has named the 2007 Women of Vision award winners.

Three prominent individuals - Deborah Estrin, University of California Los Angeles; Leah H. Jamieson, Purdue University; and Duy-Loan Le, Texas Instruments - will be honored for their accomplishments and contributions as women in technology in the categories of Innovation, Social Impact and Leadership, respectively.

â€œThis yearâ€™s winners embody what is best in our community, our nation and our world,â€ said ABI President Dr. Telle Whitney. â€œWomen, individually and collectively, have the power to improve our world and change the face of technology. These women are using that power in ways that have earned them a rightful place as role models for the next generation. They are truly â€œWomen of Vision,â€ and we are proud to honor them.â€

The Anita Borg Insitute for Women and Technology uses its awards program to bring attention to women in technology and to futher its aims to increase the impact of women on all aspects of technology, and increase the positive impact of technology on the worldâ€™s women.

Congratulations to this years winners!

BlogHer - Women of Vision Awards - Comments

I was at their award reception last night...

Women of Vision Awards