March is Women's History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements of women in various fields, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers.
The National Women's History Month's theme for 2024 is "Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion."
This theme recognizes women throughout the country who understand that, in order to create a positive future, we need to eliminate bias and discrimination from our lives and institutions.
Women of Color Online is taking a closer look at Career Communications Group (CCG) magazine stories and articles featuring profiles of women in STEM fields.
In 1996, women of color in high-tech jobs, including Black, Hispanic, Asian American, and Native American women, often found themselves in lonely places, especially at the higher levels.
But more and more of these women, like those who won awards at the Women of Color STEM Conference, shared stories of how they found the right stuff to make it in the digital age.
These stories provide insights into the unique journeys, challenges, and successes of women of color in the tech industry. Additionally, they highlight the broader significance of diversity and inclusion in driving innovation and economic growth.
One of the panelists on the "Success and Career Forum" at the 2001 Women of Color STEM Conference was the 2000 Technologist of the Year Margarita "Maggie" N. Dominguez, seen on the cover of CCG's Hispanic Engineer magazine.
She was the vice president and chief information officer at Tampa Electric Company.
Maggie Dominguez immigrated from Havana, Cuba, in 1964 and began her career with Tampa Electric after earning a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of South Florida.
Speakers at the 2001 conference "Woman to Woman: Up Close and Personal" seminar included Bhavani Thuraisingham, a principal engineer at The MITRE Corporation.
She provided technical directions in data, information, and knowledge management for the information technology directorate at MITRE's Air Force Center.
In addition, she served as an adjunct professor of computer science at Boston University and taught courses in advanced data management and data mining.
Sara M. Guiterrez was part of the Joint Strike Fighter Team at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company when she won a Career Achievement Award at the 2001 Women of Color STEM Conference.
Sara exemplified grit and determination. She started her family at 17 but went on to earn bachelor's and master's degrees.
In 1994, she was elected as the Distinguished Hispanic Employee for Lockheed Martin.
She was a business manager for the Virtual Product Development initiative, responsible for the cost associated with developing, verifying, and deploying new tools, technology, and processes for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company.
She was selected to lead the support systems engineering team for the Joint Strike Fighter program in 1999.
Valeria da Silva was an internationally recognized scientist who won the Managerial Leadership Award at the 2001 Women of Color STEM conference.
She joined Corning to create the company's first optical fiber systems testing capability. She led a group of more than 30 scientists and technicians in creating state-of-the-art photonic devices for use in telecommunications systems.
Technical Innovation Award winner Josephine Cheung was a distinguished engineer and fellow at IBM Silicon Valley Laboratory in 2001.
By then, she had been at the forefront of relational database technology for 20 years. Her teams produced landmark database technologies and products. She was awarded more than 20 patents and six IBM Invention Achievement Awards.
While many struggle to balance their careers with service to their communities, Diane DeHoyos managed to blend the two while serving as purchasing manager at General Motors.
As the person responsible for developing GM's network of minority suppliers, she spearheaded the evaluation and selection process of minority businesses that demonstrated strong potential for growth and development.
DeHoyos was elected vice president of GM's Hispanic Initiative Team. She received the 1999 Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award for Community Service.
As staff physicist for LM Aero, 1996 Research Leadership Award winner Hsueh Mei Graham was honored for creating an infrared engineering research facility to develop and evaluate materials for stealth aircraft initiatives.
Her outstanding technical skills put LM Aero at the cutting edge of ongoing research and development of IR material characterization.
Businessperson of the Year Rose McElrath-Slade led Strategic Resources Inc. as president and CEO. But her success took work.
She faced "glass ceilings" in her rise to the top of Fortune 500 companies. She faced racism and sexism in the workplace while waging a battle with breast cancer before launching her own business.
