Anita Borg
A fierce and visionary computer scientist who dedicated her life to shattering the silicon ceiling for women in tech.
1949–2003 (age 54)·American computer scientist·Birthday: January 17·Baby Boomers
Biography
Anita Borg possessed a rare combination of technical brilliance and transformative activism. Working as a computer scientist in the 1980s, she was acutely aware of the isolating experience of being one of the few women in the room. Instead of simply navigating the system, she set out to change it. She founded Systers, the first large-scale email network for women in computing, creating a vital private space for support and discussion. Her vision grew into the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, which became the world's largest gathering of women technologists. Borg's final and most ambitious project was the Institute for Women and Technology, aimed at fundamentally redesigning the process of innovation to include women's perspectives. Her work was driven by a concrete goal: to see 50% representation for women in technical fields by 2020, a rallying cry that continues to inspire.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Anita was born in 1949, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Anita Was Born
The biggest hits of 1949
#1 Movie
Samson and Delilah
Best Picture
All the King's Men
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Anita's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1949Born
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1954Started school
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1962Became a teenager
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1965Could drive
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1967Could vote
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Turned 21
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1979Turned 30
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 40
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 50
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2003Died at 54
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Key Achievements
- Founded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, the premier conference for women in technology.
- Created Systers, the pioneering electronic community for women in computing.
- Established the Institute for Women and Technology (later renamed Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology).
- Awarded the Augusta Ada Lovelace Award by the Association for Women in Computing for her significant contributions.
Did You Know?
She worked on developing a fault-tolerant Unix-based operating system for a high-performance transaction processing system.
She earned her PhD in computer science from New York University in 1981, at a time when very few women did.
The Anita Borg Social Impact Award is given annually by the organization she founded to recognize technology that benefits society.
“We need to get to the point where women are not the exception in technology, but are completely unremarkable.”
