Systers, founded by

Anita Borg Anita Borg (January 17, 1949 – April 6, 2003) was an American computer scientist. She founded the Institute for Women and Technology and the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. Education and early life Borg was born Anita Borg Naf ...

, is an international

electronic mailing list A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is re ...

for technical women in computing. The Syster community strives to increase the number of women in computer science and improve work environments for women. The mailing list has operated since 1987, making it the oldest of its kind for women in computer science. It is likely the largest email community of women in computing. The name 'Systers' originated from the combination of the words ''systems'' and ''sisters''.

History

Systers was formed by

in 1987 after a discussion with women at the

Symposium on Operating Systems Principles In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...

(SOSP) in Austin. At the conference, Borg got the email addresses of 20 of the women attending and created Systers. The name came from combining systems with sisters. The administrator of Systers was Borg, who was called by users "her Systers' keeper". and It was the first worldwide community for women working in the field of computer science. The group spread by word of mouth, growing to around 2,000 members in the mid 1990s. The group was accused of practicing "reverse discrimination" by others in 1993. Borg defended the group as a way for women who were often cut off from one another in the field to connect with one another. Many women did not have any other women in their own workplaces. It was refreshing to find a space where women were not "drowned out by the voices of men." The size of the group led Borg to create a system, called MECCA, which would allow members to opt in and out of various discussion topics. Later, the list would move to web-based technology. By 2004, women from 53 different countries were participating. Systers also influenced other similar mailing lists. As of 2012, more than 3000 members were subscribing to the Systers' mailing list. Previously, the mailing list was maintained by ''Her Systers' Keeper'', Robin Jeffries, from 2000 to 2012. The next Systers' Keeper was Rosario Robinson. During the

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) is a series of conferences designed to bring the research and career interests of women in computing to the forefront. It is the world's largest gathering of women in computing. The celebra ...

(GHC) at Houston Texas in 2018, it was announced that Zaza Soriano will be the new Systers' Keeper.

Systers 25th Anniversary

In 2012, Systers celebrated its 25th anniversary with Global Meet Ups and a celebration at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

About

Systers was developed as an electronic mailing list for women working in computer science. It is one of the oldest communities for women in computer science. Women using the list must stay on topic (discussion women and computer science) and they are expected to treat each other with respect. Members are expected to be supportive of other members and topics discussed generally relate to women in computing. A notable exception was a 1992 discussion of a

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doll, whose recorded phrases included "Math class is tough!" Systers was credited as influential in persuading

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

to remove the phrase. Other topics which have been covered included strategies for

childcare Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

on the job or at conferences, dealing with harassment both online and at work and technical questions. Women were able to ask questions about various topics and receive timely answers from their peers. Women also shared jokes about working in the computing or engineering fields. Other lists which have "spun off" from Systers are researcHers, system-entrepreneurs and a list for recent doctoral graduates. The Systers list runs on

GNU Mailman GNU () is an extensive collection of free software (383 packages as of January 2022), which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operat ...

. Systers members and

Google Summer of Code The Google Summer of Code, often abbreviated to GSoC, is an international annual program in which Google awards stipends to contributors who successfully complete a free and open-source software coding project during the summer. , the program is ...

participants customized the code to meet Systers' needs.

Anita Borg Systers Pass-It-On Awards Program

The Pass-It-On Awards program provides monetary support for women entering fields in technology through donations by women established in technological fields. The award honor's Anita Borg's vision of a network of women who support each other. Awards from $500.00 to $1000.00 USD are funded by online donations from the Systers community.

Founding members

Systers was founded in 1987 by

and several other women who attended a

(SOSP) conference. *

* Stella Atkins * Miche Baker-Harvey *

Carla Ellis Carla Schlatter Ellis is an American computer scientist and Emeritus Professor of Computer Science at Duke University. She is known for her work in energy management on mobile devices as well as for her dedication to increasing the number of wome ...

* Joan Francioni * Susan Gerhart *

Anita K. Jones Anita Katherine Jones (born March 10, 1942) is an American computer scientist and former U.S. government official. She was Director, Defense Research and Engineering from 1993 to 1997. Jones was elected a member of the National Academy of Engin ...

Rivka Ladin Rivka Ladin is an American computer scientist. Education Ladin obtained a Ph.D. in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1989. The title of her thesis was "''A Method for Constructing Highly Available Services and ...

Barbara Liskov Barbara Liskov (born November 7, 1939 as Barbara Jane Huberman) is an American computer scientist who has made pioneering contributions to programming languages and distributed computing. Her notable work includes the development of the Liskov ...

Sherri Menees Nichols Sherri may refer to: *Sherri (name) * ''Sherri'' (2009 TV series), an American sitcom starring Sherri Shepherd * ''Sherri'' (talk show), a syndicated daytime show hosted by Sherri Shepherd that premiered in 2022 See also * Shari (disambiguation) * ...

Susan Owicki Susan Owicki is a computer scientist, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Fellow, and one of the founding members of the Systers mailing list for women in computing. She changed careers in the early 2000s and became a licensed marriage ...

Liuba Shrira Liuba Shrira is a professor of computer science at Brandeis University, whose research interests primarily involve distributed systems. Liuba Shrira received her PhD from Technion. She is affiliated with the MIT Computer Science and Artificial ...

* Karen Sollins

References

CitationsSources * {{Cite book, url=https://archive.org/details/wiredwomengender00cher, title=Wired Women: Gender and New Realities in Cyberspace, last=Camp, first=L. Jean, publisher=Seal Press, year=1996, isbn=1878067737, editor-last=Cherny, editor-first=Lynn, location=Seattle, Washington, chapter=We Are Geeks, and We Are Not Guys: The Systers Mailing List, url-access=registration , editor-last2=Weise, editor-first2=Elizabeth Reba, via=Internet Archive

External links

Systers list homepage

Systers, an Anita Borg Institute Community
Electronic mailing lists Organizations for women in science and technology