IT girls still FITT after 20 years: A history in pictures By Darren Pauli

Females in Information Technology and Telecommunications (FITT) has turned 20, and to help celebrate, Computerworld revisits some of its highlights through the eyes of Maggie Alexander, steering committee coordinator and founding member.

The association has encourage hundreds of young women to join the IT industry since its formation in 1989, by providing career information, contacts with the most prominent female CEOs and CIOs, and work experience and mentoring opportunity.

Alexander and her colleagues have fought tooth and nail against overt prejudice and sexism, and are helping to smash the proverbial glass ceiling that bars women from executive roles.

As FITT membership swelled from just a few to more than 1650, the organisation commanded the attention in press and politics, continually pushed for equal opportunity in the workplace, and paved the way for women to enter the industry.