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WITI
David Leighton
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Patricia Arquette Returns to the 22nd Annual WITI Summit

Multi-Award Winning Actor and Humanitarian to Share Her Thoughts and Accomplishments in the Past Year Around Gender Issues and Equal Rights for Women

San Jose, CA, May 18, 2016 - WITI (Women in Technology International), the leading global business organization for women in technology with more than 150,000 members worldwide, is pleased to announce today that Patricia Arquette will be participating as a speaker for the second year in a row at the WITI Summit, where she will join a roster of unparalleled speakers who will emphasize that women are essential to the viability and growth in the tech and business sectors. Ms. Arquette will have an introspective conversation on June 7 from 5:00pm - 5:45pm with Will Marré, Co-Founder of the Covey Leadership Center and author of his soon to be published book, �"Why We Need Women Leaders to Win”. A closing networking reception will immediately follow from 5:45pm - 7:00pm enabling attendees to mingle and meet Ms. Arquette and other participants of the conference. The Summit will be held June 5-7, 2016 at DoubleTree by Hilton San Jose.

The Summit is the annual gathering for women and men who work in the technology sector at all levels from around the world. Attendees will converge to collaborate on innovative solutions to common business challenges; explore new business opportunities that underscore how technology is powering change; and build and expand strong connections in a welcoming networking environment of women and men committed to helping each other succeed.

Since her inspirational and heartfelt speech at the 2015 Academy Awards, Ms. Arquette has played a galvanizing role to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and advocate for broad sweeping legal reform to close the pay gap. Over the past year she has worked with California and National lawmakers on pay inequality legislation. Most recently, Ms. Arquette traveled to Washington DC on April 12th for Equal Pay Day, where she spent three days on Capitol Hill meeting with members of congress and other key lawmakers. She joined Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), a ranking member of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, at the National Press Club, to discuss the findings of a new report, entitled, �"Gender Pay Inequality -- Consequences for Women, Families, and the Economy.” The study examines a state-by-state ranking of the gender pay gap along with a detailed analysis of the income inequality faced by women in their paychecks over a lifetime.

�"Summit attendees were overwhelmingly inspired by Patricia Arquette’s speech last year where she discussed how women need to be brave and believe that they can, and should, have equal rights and pay,” explains Carolyn Leighton, founder and chairwoman of WITI. �"It is so refreshing to work with a young, beautiful, and talented actor who continues to take action to influence and bring about positive change for women worldwide.”

New Summit Programs

The Summit will have new programs this year including more than a dozen coaching workshops, 100 Coaching Circles; a drone engineering workshop for middle school and high school girls; the first ever women in tech programs for men designed to share insights on how women leaders are, and continue to provide a proven competitive advantage; and WITI Industry-Based Networks/Panels (WINS) that spotlight and showcase the technology and business contributions women are making in industry sectors.

Registration and Sponsorships

To register for WITI's 2016 Annual Summit, please visit www.witi.com/summit. Registration is open through the entire event. Sponsorships and booths at the Women In Technology Business Expo are also still available. For more information on how to participate in these program elements please contact 800-334-WITI.

About WITI

WITI, founded in 1989 by Carolyn Leighton, is the world's leading trade association for professional, tech-savvy women committed to using technology, resources and connections to advance women worldwide. With a global network of exceptionally successful women leaders, WITI has established powerful strategic alliances and programs to provide resources, and opportunities within a supportive environment of women committed to helping each other succeed. WITI's mission is to empower women worldwide to achieve unimagined possibilities and transformations through technology, leadership and economic prosperity. For more information please visit: www.witi.com

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