Karen Peterson and Caroline Scarborough, Pacific Coast Women in Wireless

Pacific Coast Women in Wireless is not the first wireless organization geared toward women. What makes it unique is that about a third of its members are male. And its founders wouldn't want it any other way.

“It would seem funny to be exclusive,” said PC-WIW co-founder Karen Peterson. “Our goal is to open things up, promote knowledge and improve the wireless industry overall.”

Peterson and co-founder Caroline Scarborough, both former San Francisco Chronicle journalists, established the group in the fall of 2000. “We were interested in wireless because the playing field is level,” Scarborough said. “There are so many facets. No one can be an expert in all areas, which creates a lot of opportunities for everyone, including women.”

PC-WIW now has 87 members, requires no membership fee and meets quarterly in the Bay Area. The meetings already have attracted a large contingency of recruiters, and the organization plans to start an online job resource board in the near future.

Peterson and Scarborough's mutual interest in wireless did not start with PC-WIW. Following their careers in newspaper journalism, they established high-tech consulting firm Editrope in 1997; its BlueStreak Communications division offers marketing and Web management services to wireless companies. In April 2000, they launched wireless newsletter 10Meters.com, which sponsors PC-WIW.

“Our mission is not to spend a lot of time saying there are not enough women in management — this is something that is understood,” Peterson said. “Our goal is to be a strong, nationally-recognized organization for the promotion of women in the field of wireless technology.”