There is no need to invite Maxine Fassberg to a conference for women. She just won't show up. Fassberg, Intel Israel's general manager and vice-president of technology and manufacturing for Intel Corp., employs over 8,000 workers. She's virtually the lone woman on the list of CEOs of major high-tech companies in Israel. But although she works to promote women in high-tech, she has a clear agenda: women's conferences, as well as magazines and websites specifically targeting women, are out of bounds. “In my experience, differentiated groups are not doing a good job,” she says. “We [women] can go on talking without end with each other; however, we must get them [the men], too, into the picture.”

All the same, Fassberg does take part in one important group of women. Recently, 24 women holding senior positions in Intel Europe gathered to take proactive action to build a strong pipeline of talented women and to groom them for managerial posts in the company. “If we ourselves do not take action to assure the nomination of women as the next vice presidents for Intel Corporation, who will?” says Fassberg. “However, I joined the group on condition that at least one man is appointed to the board and that we attain our goals and wrap up our activity within two years.”

So, can we look forward to the appointment of the first woman as president of Intel Corp. in the near future? “If a woman can be elected as the United States president, there is certainly a fair chance of a woman being appointed as president of Intel Corporation," she says.

Maxine Fassberg began her career as a teacher — an occupation that is typically regarded, at least in Israel, as a female line of work. In the late 1970s, she started teaching chemistry and physics in some of the more prestigious high schools in Jerusalem. Within two years, she was assigned the role of a grade coordinator.