Business
& Technology| Section F | S U N D A Y · A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 0 0 | South Florida |
"It's a very dynamic and rapidly growing industry. There are tremendous opportunities for people who have those high-tech skills or want to acquire those skills."
MARGARET
GRISDELA
WEB ENTREPRENEUR
Staff photo/Anastasia Walsh
South Florida women buck all the trends to show the way as successful role models for girls seeking high-tech careers.
Margaret Grisdela, creator and president of Clientize.com, also is the founder of the South Florida Technology Forum.
By L.A. LOREK
Business Writer
Everyone knows Bill Gates, the world's richest man and founder of Microsoft Corp., but say the name Grace Murray Hopper and you'll probably get a blank stare.
Hopper was an early computer pioneer who invented the programming language COBOL. Her work changed the face of computing. Hopper, who had a Ph.D. in mathematics, also coined the term "computer bug" after she discovered a moth jammed into a computer processor had stopped its operation.
She died in 1992 at 85. Yet Hopper is still a legend among computer programmers. She serves as an ideal role model for today's young women who want to pursue a career in technology.
Unfortunately, few women are cashing in on today's booming high-tech industry.
For example, only 9 percent of engineers in the United States are female, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce report. And women make up only 11 percent of professionals with Microsoft-certified degrees, 27 percent of systems analysts and 27 percent of computer programmers.
And the startling fact is that the gender gap continues to widen despite the booming industry, where there's a severe shortage of information technology workers. For example, in 1984, 37 percent of computer science degrees were awarded to women. By 1999, that number had dropped to 15 percent.
Even on the Web, men still fill an overwhelming number of top slots at dot-com companies. Internet World magazine's annual report on the Top 50 Net companies and their chief executives, published last September, contained just two women: Ellen Hancock, who heads Exodus Communications, and eBay Inc. CEO Meg Whitman.
In South Florida, there are a few who have bucked the trend, building successful and fulfilling careers.
For the past 20 years, Margaret Grisdela has worked in electronic publishing and information management.
Last year, Grisdela, 45, launched her own Internet company: Clientize.com, a Web consulting business in Boca Raton.
The Internet has created tremendous opportunities for women in the high-tech field, especially as entrepreneurs, Grisdela said.
Today, women own 38 percent of all U.S. businesses, and that number is expected to rise to 50 percent in the coming years, according to the National Federation of Women Business Owners.
"There is such a demand for workers regardless of gender," Grisdela said.
Grisdela, who has a master's of business administration in finance, taught herself high-technology skills by taking computer classes and learning skills on the job. She worked in the early 1980s as executive vice president for a Bethesda, Md.-based company, managing software development. She also worked for Internet Financial Network as a vice president, creating an instant news product based on Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Since 1996, Grisdela has been working to establish South Florida as a premier technology region. She founded the South Florida Technology Forum and still serves as president.
Opportunities abound
"It's a very dynamic and rapidly growing industry," Grisdela said. "There are tremendous opportunities for people who have those high-tech skills or want to acquire those skills."