Being
Prepared Pays Off
Women of Color of Color in Government & Defense
by
Carole I. Smith
The 2002 Women of Color Government & Defense Technology
Awards Conference in Washington, D.C., July 18 and 19
was phenomenal. For the 2nd year in a row, Tyrone Tayborne,
Chairman/CEO/Publisher, Career Communications Group, Inc.
showcased the achievements of women in this male dominated
field. A forum which lauded the talent and expertise of
women of all colors, white included, the focus was on
women of color and their accomplishments in the Department
of Defense.
Most
people don't know that African American women play key
roles in the defense of our country outside of serving
in the military. But, I met some ladies who are doing
just that in ways you would never imagine.
Take
Brenda C. Taylor from Kansas for instance. As Acting Chief
Information Officer at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administration - National Weather Service, Brenda handles
major systems used to give warnings related to tornados,
hurricanes and severe storms as well as information on
global warming. She was recognized in an Awards Luncheon
as a Technology All-Star and is concerned that we don't
see many black meteorologists on television, or for that
matter, many of us in science and technology period.
Emphasizing
the need for African Americans to embrace math and science,
Brenda suggested that we approach IT training with youth
"backwards." That is, we take the X-Box and
other video games kids play, and show them how they were
designed. Break them down, just as you would a math problem.
Understand what makes those games work. How they function,
and then relate these functions to jobs.
Stating
that she became captivated by information technology in
the 6th grade reading about it in her Weekly Reader (remember
those?), and throughout college was the lone black woman
in her Computer Science Program, she bemoaned the low
numbers of us taking math and science courses. She emphasized
that knowledge in these areas open up a world of opportunities.
Brenda
pointed out that unexpected and exceptional career opportunities
have opened up to her as a result. One of the most unexpected,
and supports the proposition that "education pays,"
was when she interviewed for a job. She had applied for
a Systems Architect position. However, after review of
her resume, she was offered four different positions --
Strategic Planning, Security, Internet and Architect.
She selected Strategic Planning and was later selected
to develop the IT Strategic Plan for the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
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