We ve had some success with placing our graduate student members in venture capital firms and banks for both internships and jobs, and we look forward to being able to do more of this in the future, she said. Though some like to draw distinctions between opportunities for women in the new and old economies, Marcus sees this as a false line. Instead, her view is that there are more opportunities for women in what s been termed the new economy simply because more women are involved in these kinds of businesses now. As the lines become blurred between what is referred to as the new economy and the old economy, and the older more traditional firms begin to incorporate and partner with some of the new firms, I think we ll see a faster pace of change in the advancement of women in the traditional sectors. Since most new ventures getting funding these days have some technology bent, it is to women s disadvantage that they are not graduating higher numbers in math and computer science.
Women do, however, graduate high numbers in medicine and law.
But Marcus believes that women must find ways in which they can help in the high-tech world. Women are director level and above. She said most of the plans are for B2B or B2C companies, because women know these areas. Now we need more diversity and more women in fields like engineering. Although women are making progress in business, there s still a long way to go.