Women debate high-tech ways to shatter glass ceiling

Thousands of businesswomen across the world will link up today to debate the changing role of women in the workplace, and to discuss whether technology is helping them play a more active role in the global economy.

Speakers at the 'future.women' conference include US First Lady Hilary Clinton, Lastminute.com founder Martha Lane Fox and eBay president Meg Whitman.

The main conference centre is in New York, but hundreds of smaller groups across the US, Europe and Asia will interact with speakers and panelists via a live satellite link-up.

One of the key topics for debate is how ecommerce and new technologies are changing the role woman play in global business. At the London meeting, taking place at Canary Wharf, panelists will question how teleworking and the Internet are helping more women than ever work from home and network worldwide.

The panel, which includes Lane Fox, BT's managing director of customer service Patricia Vaz and Aine Hurley, headhunter at recruitment firm Odgers International, will also debate how changes in working culture and the entrepreneurial climate are affecting women.

BBC Scotland presenter, Lesley Riddoch, who will chair the event, said the Internet could either be a help or a hindrance. She said: "Everyone is being confronted with this now. This is not just the usual level of learning - it's an industrial revolution. It's important to find out what it is about the Internet that is frightening women away."

Riddoch added that if women can accept new technology, the opportunities are huge: "The Internet is standing the traditional, boring status rules on its head. It's dusting down the institutions that were getting really stale off-line."

Panelist Aine Hurley agreed that some women find technology frightening. She claimed: "There are a lot of companies out there who would love to recruit women, but unless they founded the company like Martha Lane-Fox, they're very hard to find.

"The VC companies that back dot-coms are often looking for a track record and proven credibility. But ecommerce is changing that role model and creating an alternative. It's about knocking down barriers."