From: dgerke@IMD.Sterling.COM (Deb Gerke)
Subject: Film about women in computers and science.
Organization: Sterling Software, IMD
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 15:56:43 GMT
X-Md4-Signature: 70a826bf2b77bcf5f620f27091b0bd45


To All:


	Thought this would be a good place to put this article.



From:	EAGLE::"borg@pa.dec.com" 17-JUL-1992 21:41:44.64
To:	systers@Pa.dec.com
CC:	
Subj:	TV Program on Women in CS suported by ACM is in the works

Dear Systers,

At the most recent ACM Council meeting, Karen Frenkel, author of the
November 1990 CACM article on women in computing showed a pilot for
a documentary on women in computing.  Since there was a great deal of
interest among systers in such a project earlier in the year, I asked
Karen to write something up to be sent out to the list.  What follows is a
letter from Karen and a description of the project.  It is well worth your
time to read.

I found the pilot very interesting and believe that the project will be
well done if sufficiently funded.  Note that she is asking for funding
contacts as well as individual contributions.  The entire ACM Council,
men and women, was very supportive of the project.  In fact, the
pilot generated a couple of great discussions.  If the final film is as
good at generating discussion as was the pilot, it will be a success!

I hope you are all having a great summer!
Anita Borg
------------

Dear Systers, 

My purpose in sending you this description of the forthcoming feature 
documentary on women in computing is to ask for contributions and leads 
to potential funders.  About a year and a half ago, ACM's SIG
Disctretionary Fund gave me a matching grant of $50,000 toward a total 
budget of $330,000.  I have since approached family and corporate
foundations but found that some needed to see a pilot of the film in order 
to understand how the film would look and feel.  I have made a pilot, 
"Minerva's Machine: Women in Computing" with a portion of the SIG money, 
and am using it as a fundraising tool.  I continue to approach family and 
corporate foundations and expect the bulk of the money to come from them.  
But contributions from individuals are most welcome.  A synopsis of the 
pilot is available, and you can call me to discuss the film at (212)
626-0672. Should you decide to make a contribution towards the film, 
please write a check to the ACM, indicate in the memo space that it is for 
the women and computing film, and SEND IT TO ME so that I can keep a list 
of contributors and can hand deliver the checks to the Accounting Dept.  
My address is:

Karen A. Frenkel, 
ACM, 1515 Broadway, 17th floor, 
New York, NY 10036.  

Please note, however, that if you make a donation, you cannot appear in the
film, because sources and donors must be kept separate for journalistic 
reasons.  If you would like to make an anonymous donation, please send it 
to Howard Glassman, in ACM's Office of Financial Services.  To ensure that 
the money goes towards the film, please send a letter indicating that it is
for the film on women and computing.

----------
		Minerva's Machine:  Women in Computing
		 A Proposed Documentary Feature Film

Background:

For almost a decade, researchers and practitioners have identified a growing
trend: women and girls are not participating in computing in the same
numbers as men and boys.  In fact, during the mid- and late 1980s few women
and girls did enter the field of computing.  they either dropped out of
academic computer science or left for jobs in the computer industry.  The
opportunities in industry were better, but women still found that they bumped
up against glass ceilings when they tried to attain top jobs at software and
hardware companies.

"Women in Computing," an article by Karen A. Frenkel that appeared in
Communications of the ACM (November, 1990), documented the state of women in
both academia and industry.  Women in science--highlighted by recent major
stories in The New York and elsewhere--are second class citizens.  Within the
sciences, computer science is one of the worst environments for women.
Clearly, there is a need to study sexism in the computer field in depth, and
try to encourage solutions.

Content:

The film will examine the changing role of women in computing from the time
of the early pioneers to the present.  Starting with educational software in
the schools, which is often biased against girls, through the corridors of
academia, women are often discouraged from entering the field.

"Minerva's Machine" will provide an in-depth look at the attitudes and
conditions that women face today at corporations and universities.  Through
historic footage and film clips and nationwide interviews with women who have
dropped out, women who have stayed in computing and succeeded, teenagers,
teachers, social scientists, psychologists, software and hardware executives,
women's rights activists, and politicians, the film will present a
comprehensive overview of the situation.

The themes and arguments of the film will be presented against the broad
backdrop of women and science and the changing role of women in society.

It is essential for the computing industry, which will need to hire qualified
women in the years ahead, not to be seen by the public as a field that does
not accept women.  And it is essential for women not to be excluded from
positions of power in the information industry, which, in many ways, will
determine the nature of society in the twenty first century.

Format:

The film will be approximately one hour long.  It will be in color and will
be shot in beta cam video.  The technical quality will be of the highest--for
national broadcast

Audience:

The audience for "Minerva's Machine" will be the general public.  The film
will be made for airing nationwide on Public Television (PBS) and cable
channels.  Thereafter it will be available in video cassette and will be
distributed throughout the industry as well as to high schools and colleges.

Distribution:

After airing on PBS, the film will be made available through an educational
distributor.  It will also have worldwide distribution to local chapters of
the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), whose 80,000 members are
computer scientists.  The film will also reach college campuses worldwide
through ACM's student chapters.

Funding:

The ACM, recognizing the importance of this project, has made a matching grant 
of $50,000 to produce the film.  A portion of this money has already been used 
to produce a 15-minute pilot, which is available for viewing.

The total budget of the final documentary is estimated at $330,000.  the 
producers expect to raise this amount from industry sources, corporations,
concerned individuals, and foundations.

Filmmakers:

"Minerva's Machine" will be made by an experienced group of professionals.
The Executive Producer is Karen A. Frenkel, an author and science writer who
has written over 20 articles on computer science, including "Women and 
Computing," which appeared in November, 1990, for for Communications of the 
ACM.  She is Senior Editor, Publications and Special Projects at the ACM.  The 
director is John S. Friedman, whose most recent film, Hotel Terminus: The Life 
and Times of Klaus Barbie, which he produced and assistant directed with Marcel
Ophuls, won the 1989 Academy Award for best documentary feature.  The producer 
is Stephen Schmidt, who most recently produced Sex in the '90s, and The Test of
Time: From HIV to AIDs, which won the 1990m American Cable Excellence Award.  
Director of Photography Ellen Kuras recently received the award for best 
cinematography on a feature film at the Sundance Film Festival.

For further information, please contact Karen A. Frenkel at (212)626-0672. 

-- 
Deborah Gerke 			UUCP: uunet!ssbell!dgerke
Sterling Software		INternet: dgerke@ssbell.IMD.Sterling.COM
1404 Fort Crook Road South	Phone: 	(402) 291-8300
Bellevue, Nebraska 68005	Fax:	(402) 291-4362