[comp.society.women] Admiral Grace

eugene@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Eugene Miya) (07/10/88)

I should say a word about Adm. Grace.  I've not had the pleasure of meeting her
and I was hoping to in Atlanta last Feb., but they sent a tape of the
interview with her nano-seconds and pico-seconds.

Some number of months ago, a couple of old timers (Univac I people)
and a couple of younger types got together and discussed some ideas
about a meeting on the future of computing: where are we going in hardware
and software.

This is partially how "old-boy" networks are formed.  Chewing the "fat"
after skiing, or evenings after a conference.  The get-together in this case
was to bemoan where one set of meetings had headed.  This first set of meetings
in the eyes of some had turned into dog and pony shows with some chest
beating.

So we were thinking of new conferences, especially important for the young.
One conference, whose name won't be mentioned is in fact approaching
(I'm on the program committee).  So we were sitting in this room planning
ideas for meetings: who to get, what topics. When I noticed, we had
not placed the name of one "good" woman on the board (one of those windowless
meeting rooms).  Anyway, I started suggesting, the obvious one, Adm. Grace
was first.  Her ideas were said to be too mainframe, older thinking.
The key was innovative thinking.

Anyway, some may recall I sent a note to the women's newsgroup asking for
a few names.  Before I got the first response, I thought of Adele Goldberg
(who just spoke at Usenix, I wasn't there, I don't know if she was good
on this occasion).  The network of "old-boys" accepted her name: the first.
She was ACM President when I was helping with ACM'84 arrangements.
A few other names came in, and some of them now sit on this list.

In short, I think you will get names, they won't stand out in the way
some men will stand out (notorious is a word to describe these guys).
They will stand in their own ways.

On "old-boy" networks.  I don't condone them.  They tend to discriminate
against minorities, but they are also changing slowly.  You get into
them by attending conferences or meetings [one meeting in Jan. 1985 sitting
down to lunch: "Hi, I'm Burt Sutherland, what's your name?", I was in awe.]
You talk and suggest ideas (most fail, don't work, are dumb, but a few
get thru).  Those in the know introduce you around, sometimes you
share a ski lift with a stranger, or other friends ask you to meet some
one.  Then you get sucked in....

Another gross generalization from

--eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@aurora.arc.nasa.gov
  resident cynic at the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:
  "Mailers?! HA!", "If my mail does not reach you, please accept my apology."
  {uunet,hplabs,ncar,decwrl,allegra,tektronix}!ames!aurora!eugene