The Rebel
By Jessica Davis

Dr. Anita Borg -- President, founding director of Institute for Women and Technology; technical staff member at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), in Calif.

r. Anita Borg credits her rebellious nature with her success in the world of computer science. But her choice to pursue technology as a career stems from two motivations: A desire to be financially independent and a talent for math.

Borg's mother taught her that math was fun, and her father showed her that happiness comes from leading with your heart and passions and following your own path. Borg did follow her own path, even though "the technology industry has a miserable track record for diversity."

After receiving her Ph.D., Borg worked for a start-up company building a fault-tolerant operating system, which she completed later at another company, Nixdorf Computer, in Germany. Borg later spent several years at Digital Equipment, working on projects from developing tools that predict the performance of microprocessor memory systems to creating a new system for interorganizational communication called Mecca.

While moving up the ladder, Borg also worked to encourage other women to pursue careers in computing. She founded an electronic community for women in computing in 1987, called Systers. In 1994, Borg and Telle Whitney of Actel founded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, a technical conference featuring speeches by women in leadership roles.

Borg believes there still are strong stereotypes of what a technology leader looks like: and they are not female.

"Women and people of color have to fight those stereotypes at every turn, whether it involves convincing a manager to give you a plumb technical assign-ment or [convincing] an executive to give you a line management position," Borg says. "It's easier for [managers] to pick people who fit the norm."

In 1997, Borg made what she calls her most challenging career decision yet by leaving a straight-ahead research career to start the Institute for Women and Technology as a not-for-profit aimed at transforming the way we innovate.

"The challenge is to break the assumption that if you do something with or for women that you are doing HR rather than doing technology," Borg says. Borg is supported in her nonprofit endeavors by Xerox's PARC.

Borg's advice for women seeking careers in technology reflects her own respect for her rebel nature and the success it has brought her.

"Don't slavishly accept existing dictatorial models of leadership," Borg says. "The successful organization of the future cannot afford strict hierarchies and top-down models. Seek out new models and respect the genius of other people at all levels."

The Explorer
By Jessica Davis

Dr. Claudine Simson -- Vice president of global technology research and intellectual property at Nortel Networks, in Ottawa

fter reaching the highest echelons of academia in France, her home country, Dr. Claudine Simson had personal reasons for leaving her home and moving to Canada. She wanted to get married and her husband-to-be -- whom she met during her academic career -- was from Canada. Her love for science, fostered by her father, was matched only by her love for her fiance.

So in September 1978, Simson joined Bell-Northern Research, in Ottawa, as a device physicist. She worked on the mathematical modeling of semiconductor transistors. In this role, Simson created a mathematical model of how devices and circuits work. The model -- the first of its kind developed for describing that process -- is still in use today and is Simson's proudest accomplishment.

Simson was promoted to her first management position just two years into her tenure at Nortel. She continued to earn more responsibility and eventually moved into senior management in 1986, where she was responsible for all aspects of research, development, and implementation of the company's silicon process technologies.

Simson says her family is her No. 1 priority. In addition to her husband, she has two daughters, ages 10 and 14, both of whom have been "brainwashed" to love technology. Her second priority is professional and personal ethics; the third is to always strive for excellence.

Simson credits her home country and her father with her love of science and technology. In France, she says, engineering is the most highly regarded profession. That's not true in North America, she says, and she believes that contributes to the lower number of women pursuing engineering careers here.

For women looking to enter the sciences today, Simson offers this advice: "Continue to upgrade your skills. Always try for excellence. And always be yourself. Don't emulate males. Retain your femininity."

The Pacesetter
By Stannie Holt

Julie Spicer England -- Vice president and business manager at Texas Instruments, in Dallas

ulie Spicer England, a vice president at Texas Instruments (TI) in Dallas and manager of its $300 million semiconductor business, does not want you to think there's anything special about her resume. Although in her 19 years at TI, England has worked on a wide range of technical projects (including infrared "eyes" for missiles), has earned several patents in infrared process technology (not to mention involvements with everything from IEEE to the Federal Reserve Bank), and has become one of the highest-ranking women at the company, her message is simple: "What I did doesn't have to be unique -- a lot more people can do it."

England, 41, credits her success both to planning ahead and being willing to change direction when new opportunities came along. She is also grateful for support from family, co-workers, and managers.

Although she had been interested in science since childhood, it was not until her senior year of college that she decided to get into semiconductors, after majoring in chemical engineering and working summers in the oil industry. She sensed this relatively new field would reward merit more than old-school industries would.

The turning point came about six years ago. England faced a difficult decision between running a fabrication plant -- an attractive opportunity except it duplicated some positions she had earlier -- or moving up into management, the choice that led to her current post.

"I don't change roles for the sake of change; I change to grow my abilities and tap my potential," England says.

You have to be responsible for your own career progress, something many women don't realize, England adds. It is not enough to quietly do your current job well and assume your manager will draft you for a promotion. England is also strongly committed to bringing more women and minorities into high-tech.

"Although we have `role model' women in [positions] we didn't have 10 years ago, we still have a glass ceiling that needs to be raised or at least have more holes punched through it," England says.

England spends a lot of time with students, trying to overcome the "nerd" stereotypes that scare many away from a personally and financially rewarding field.

"You see so many shows on TV about lawyers and doctors -- why not an `L.A. Engineers'?" England says.