Making headway for women: WITI shows women that IT isn't just a man's world.(Women in Technology International Founding Executive Director Carolyn Leighton-Tal )(Industry Trend or Event)(Interview)(Abstract)

This WITI FastTrack supplement was created by InfoWorld and Women in Technology International (WITI), an organization whose members are professional women working in all technology sectors worldwide. InfoWorld Editor in Chief Sandy Reed talked with WITI Founding Executive Director Carolyn Leighton-Tal about the organization, its history, and its future.

Reed: WITI is 10 years old in 1999. How did it come into existence?

Leighton-Tal: Several factors were converging that moved me to start WITI. The use of e-mail was exploding, making it possible to reach more people easily and inexpensively. At the same time, the women's movement was creating a wider chasm, seen as adversarial and confrontational, and women were making very …