Women in Comms Adds 7 Members, Heads to Austin

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Apr 25, 2016) - Women in Comms (WiC), the not-for-profit, independent initiative providing information, networking, mentorship, access to jobs and support for women in the next-gen communications industry, is proud to announce the addition of eight new members and an incredible lineup of speakers and activities coming up at its one-day conference in Austin, Texas.

The new members include Silver Partners Cisco, Hitachi Consulting, Infinera, Netcracker, NetNumber, Redknee and Industry Association Partner Open Networking Foundation, bringing its total members to 35.

All of these companies will be joining WiC in Austin, Texas, on Monday, May 23, for a first-of-its-kind conference investigating the challenges and opportunities for women in the next-gen comms industry and providing direct access to jobs and new skills via a job fair that is just for women.

The one-day conference is open to all, and men are encouraged to attend and lend their voices to this important conversation. The day will feature a luncheon with a keynote address from Intel and a fellow WiC member and two powerhouse panels tackling the realities of being a woman in the comms industry today and how to improve gender diversity, as well as how men can get involved with the cause.

WiC's impressive speaker line-up includes:

• Kaitki Agarwal, Co-Founder & VP, Development, Parallel Wireless
• Maggie Belville, Vice President, Hitachi Consulting
• Margaret Chiosi, Distinguished Network Architect, AT&T
• Lynn Comp, Director, Market Development Organization, Network Platforms Group, Intel
• Caroline Dowling, President, Communications Infrastructure & Enterprise Computing, Flex
• James Feger, Vice President, Infrastructure Support, CenturyLink
• Monique Hayward, Director, Outbound Marketing, Network Platforms Group, Intel
• Sandy Motley, Market Solutions, NAM, Nokia
• Joyce Mullen, VP/General Manager, Global OEM & IoT Solutions, Dell
• Derek Peterson, CTO, Boingo
• And more!

The luncheon will be followed by a job fair, just for women, to make good on WiC's commitment to increase opportunities for women by providing direct access to jobs at leading comms companies. Students, recent graduates and women already established in their careers with an interest in STEM, telecom, computer science and next-gen communications are encouraged to attend.

"The caliber of speakers and companies we have joining us in Austin is simply incredible. Women in Comms' networking luncheon and job fair will be an unprecedented opportunity to network, have rewarding discussions and advance your careers," said WiC Director Sarah Thomas. "You won't want to miss this first-of-its-kind event!"

At present, WiC's 35 members include: founding partner Intel Corporation; presenting partners Dell, Flex, Nokia and Sprint; silver partners Ciena, Cisco, CommScope, Fujitsu Network Communications, Hitachi Consulting, Infinera, Netcracker, NetNumber, Parallel Wireless, Redknee and SAP; service provider partners AT&T, Boingo Wireless, CenturyLink, Charter Communications, Hyperoptic Ltd., Level 3 Communications, Rogers Communications, TalkTalk PLC, Vodafone Americas and XO Communications; and partner organizations Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), DFW -- Alliance of Technology & Women, IEEE Women in Engineering, Open Networking Lab, Open Networking Foundation, OPNFV, NTCA -- The Rural Broadband Association, Small Cell Forum and TM Forum.

For more information on the one-day conference and job fair, please visit www.lightreading.com/WICatBCE.

About Women in Comms

Women in Comms is an independent, 501(c) not-for-profit organization with support from the largest comms companies across the globe. The organization focuses on providing information, networking, mentorship, access to jobs and support for women in the next-gen communications industry with the ultimate goals of empowering women, championing change and redressing the industry's gender imbalance.