Women in Early High Tech: 1970's CEO Robyn Travis
Robyn Travis was one of the first female software developers in the United States. Completed her undergrad in New York, and MBA California. She was CEO of her own company, Travis, Campbell & Fisher from 1976 - 1984, where she was writing custom code for international financial clients. Robyn was listed in "Who's Who in America"(when LinkedIn was a book...) from 1977-1989. She went on to work for Oracle for the following 20 years. She was a true leader for women in the technology space, and faced blatant adversity because of how mind blowing it was for her to be a brilliant pioneer in the earliest days of software development AND a woman. She was once denied entrance to a University auditorium where she was the invited, headlining speaker, because the security guard told her, "Lady, there is no way you're going to convince me the R. Travis speaking is you." A few minutes after, the two professors that had invited her ended up running through the parking lot in their suits to catch her before she made it back to her car.
She was also my Mom. Growing up alongside that role model was a gift. It was a gift of permission to be confident in my abilities, self assured, and wildly generous when it came to recognizing, praising, and supporting other women. She spent the years of her career that she was a seasoned expert, advocating for other brilliant female software engineers, project managers, and generally shared her power- aura to uplift others. Those were also the years, I knew her and it is my passion to keep the energy she put into the world, and the corporate world, flowing. I have been lucky enough to work for wonderful companies that have supported my putting on an International Women's Day each year. I've done custom corporate swag, supported small women owned businesses as vendors, invited speakers from inside and outside the organization, and spent a fair amount of corporate money doing it! The number of women who have come to me and expressed how much they took away from those events, and how they had never been to anything about IWD, or just women in tech focused, makes me feel absolutely positive I am in the right place in the universe. It isn't an impact I am making, it is the ripple of an impact started by Robyn Travis.
Robyn, my Mom, passed away from Covid in April of 2021, just about a month after IWD that year. While I think of her every day, I think of her with even more admiration during the presentations and events I am lucky enough to use as a way to carry on her legacy and keep women in technology, and women in the world, aware of their value and power. May we as a global community of women remember how strong and important the impact that we have on one another is. There is power in our unity, and we have already begun changing the world, one achievement at a time. When things get tough, remember the women who came before you, and move forward to the future you want to leave for the next generation of women in tech, and in the world.
"Strong women, may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them."
Happy International Women's Day!
#Cheers #IWD #WomenInTech #WhosWhoInAmerica #WomenAtWork #MomsAtWork