SAN FRANCISCO, CA (September 9, 2014)—Innovating Women, a new book co-authored by Singularity University (SU) distinguished fellow Vivek Wadhwa and award-winning author, journalist and professor Farai Chideya, holds no punches in challenging the old-boy networks in science and tech around the world to foretell that women are prime to lead the new era of innovation.
Created with the support of Singularity University and Google for Entrepreneurs, Innovating Womencrowdsources the personal journeys of hundreds of women from Tehran to Mumbai to Silicon Valley and shares first-hand accounts of these pioneers’ challenges, barriers, discriminations and roads to success. Contributors to the book include Prodea CEO and the first female private space explorer Anousheh Ansari; Google(x) VP and recently announced United States CTO Megan Smith; physicist, physician, founder and CEO of Nanobiosym Dr. Anita Goel; and venture capitalist Heidi Roizen.
Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO, Xerox Corporation called Innovating Women “a must read for every woman looking to affect change and join today’s global innovation economy.”
“This powerful new book illustrates that there are women in tech doing amazing work, even though less than 15% of senior executives are women,” said Lajuanda Asemota, director, Strategic Relations for Diversity at SU. “I’m excited to help SU ensure the future is as inclusive and diverse as it should be.”
Ray Kurzweil, inventor, author, futurist, a director of engineering at Google and co-founder of SU remarked: “As someone whose family has been dedicated to advancing women’s careers for one and a half centuries, I am excited by Vivek and Farai’s compelling book which shines a light on the remarkable achievements of brilliant and pioneering women in technology.”
“We have the ability today to create the era of abundance, but not without the leadership of women.Innovating Women explains why and how women, at every level of business and research will transform society. Of particular note is contributor Megan Smith, appointed just last week by President Obama to serve as the US CTO. We applaud Megan and all the contributors of this inspiring book,” stated Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, executive chairman, SU; chairman, XPRIZE Foundation; author, Abundance: The Future is Better Than you Think.
Innovating Womenis available in print and eBook editions. A portion of the proceeds will be allocated to the Singularity University Fund at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to support women applicants to SU’s Global Solutions Program.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Vivek Wadhwa is a distinguished fellow at SU. He lectures at Stanford and Duke, is an advisor to several governments, and is a regular columnist for The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal Accelerators, LinkedIn Influencers blog and Forbes. He was named a Top 100 Global Thinker in 2012 by Foreign Policy Magazine and one of the 40 Most Influential Minds in Tech by TIME Magazine in 2013.
Farai Chideya has combined media, technology and socio-political analysis during her 20-year career as an award-winning author, journalist, professor and lecturer. She is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She was also a spring 2012 fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics. She frequently appears on public radio and cable television, speaking about race, politics and culture. She also hosts a series of town hall meetings in both New York and San Francisco, with New York Public Radio and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, respectively.
ABOUT SINGULARITY UNIVERSITY
Singularity University (SU) is a benefit corporation headquartered at NASA Research Park in Silicon Valley. SU provides educational programs, innovative partnerships and a business accelerator to help individuals, businesses, institutions, investors, NGOs and governments understand and use cutting-edge technologies to positively impact billions of people. From its inception in 2008, SU has empowered individuals from more than 85 countries to apply exponentially growing technologies—artificial intelligence & robotics, biotechnology, nanotechnology & digital fabrication, networks & computing systems and medicine & neuroscience—to address humanity’s grand challenges. SU’s Founding Corporate Partners include Genentech, Autodesk, Cisco, ePlanet Ventures, Google, Kauffman Foundation and Nokia.To learn more, visit singularityu.org.
Join the discussion on Twitter @InnovatingWomen; @SingularityU; #Innovwomen and on the Innovating Women website
Media is invited to attend the Press Launch for Innovating Women on September 9 in San Francisco.
Media Contact & RSVP: Diane Murphy (diane@singularityu.org); T. +1.202.361.9681.