I wanted to share a new book I read called The Wall, Falls, A Women Rises, a Memoir: How a U.S. Tech Entrepreneur Broke the Glass Ceiling and Helped Modernize Latvia by Dagnija Lacis. I received a copy of in exchange for this review. Inside this post is my affiliate links. If you click on the links and make a purchase I will make a small percentage from the products you purchase.
March is Women’s History Month, if your #Homeschooling your children then you will want to check out this book for your #History Class. Even though Charlie has graduated we should still learn something new ever day and that is what this book will do.
Dagnija Lacis helped pave the way for future generations of women in technology when she became one of the nation’s first female programmers in 1964. In the book Dagnija Lacis traces her career milestones and remarkable contributions in her new memoir, The Wall Falls, A Woman Rises.
I hate to admit I had never heard of Dagnija Lacis until I received a copy of the book. Which not only allowed Charlie to learn something new but David and I as well. David also hadn’t heard of Dagnija Lacis but couldn’t wait to find out what she had done in technology.
About the book:
As Dagnija Lacis was introducing the latest Western technology to Latvians, I often collaborated with Andris and Dagnija in Riga during the early 1990s. I was proud of our efforts, which resulted in the Latvian military meeting NATO standards and Latvia becoming a NATO member.” MAJOR GENERAL E. GORDON STUMP, RET. ADJUTANT GENERAL OF THE MICHIGAN NATIONAL GUARD
The story of this trailblazing entrepreneur opens when, as an infant, Dagnija Lacis fled the Communist takeover of Latvia with her family. They immigrated to Indianapolis in 1950 after spending five years in a displaced persons camp in Germany.
After graduating from Butler University in 1964, at a time when math and chemistry were not considered subjects for girls (yes, girls), Dagnija broke her first glass ceiling: WOMEN IN IT. Dagnija was the first woman programmer at Burroughs Corporation, then the second-largest computer company in the world.
In this compelling memoir, Dagnija shares stories and strategies as she built her successful career in IT, a man’s world, and became the first woman line VP for Unisys. Crash went glass ceiling #2: WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT.
Dagnija visited her homeland with her husband and his father in 1978, to find Latvia with systems frozen in time after decades under Communism. When the Berlin Wall fell, the newly elected Latvian prime Minister and foreign Minister asked Dagnija to install modern technology in the foreign Ministry. That began her work to modernize Latvia and connect it to the West.
Dagnija describes how she and the team she assembled applied strategy, smarts, energy, expertise, and passion to help modernize Latvia. In the process, she launched her own technology company, Baltic Technology Group (BTG), and became an international IT entrepreneur.
Dagnija’s message was and is: “Stick to your goals. When confronted with obstacles, don’t give up, find another path forward.”
The stories and strategies Dagnija reveals in The Wall Falls, A Woman Rises, a Memoir are for readers of Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg and anyone interested in trailblazing women in business, women in international business, women in IT, women in STEM, and those interested in Latvia and the modernization of Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Honoring Trailblazers in Tech for Women’s History Month: One of the First Female Programmers Shares Her Story
DETROIT, March 3, 2025 — The Wall Falls, A Woman Rises, A Memoir: How a U.S. Tech Entrepreneur Broke the Glass Ceiling and Helped Modernize Latvia (OakTreeBear Publishing, March 18, 2025; Hardcover; ISBN: 979-8-9904890-0-4) is the story of Dagnija “Daggie” Lacis, who shares her insights and strategic thinking as she recounts her journey of breaking through the glass ceiling in the male-dominated IT industry. She tells how she introduced the most advanced IT systems to her newly liberated homeland, Latvia, enabling the Country to engage in business with the West.
Lacis’ unwavering ambition and contributions to women in technology reflect the spirit of Women’s History Month. In an interview, she will discuss:
· Her career as the first female programmer at Burroughs Corporation, the second-largest IT company in the world during that time, where in 1984, she became the first female line vice president at Unisys.
· How she shattered the glass ceiling by challenging the stereotypes many people held about homemakers in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s. Defying convention, she continued to work during both pregnancies despite the absence of paid maternity leave or paid time off.
· How, for 20 years, she held her own with the “boys” as one of the only females at the company before becoming VP.
· Her poignant story of leaving Latvia as a young child after World War II.
· In 1990, during a luncheon in Washington, D.C., Lacis was introduced to the prime minister and foreign minister of newly independent Latvia. This introduction led to Lacis modernizing Latvia’s IT systems and business practices to facilitate trade with Western countries. She achieved this by:
o Introducing SWIFT enabled Western companies to conduct business with Latvian firms.
o Implementing the Global Transport and Trade System (GTTS).
o Modernizing Latvian shipping.
· The introduction in D.C. also led to Lacis launching her own IT Company, the Baltic Technology Group (BTG). BTG was the first woman-owned company in Europe to develop a Western retail banking system
About the Author: Dagnija Lacis
Born in Latvia in 1943 and forced to flee in 1944. After five years in a displaced persons camp in Germany, she immigrated with her family to Indianapolis. Lacis graduated cum laude from Butler University with a B.S. in Chemistry and Mathematics. Her career includes being the first woman programmer at Burroughs Corporation, then the second-largest worldwide IT company, and later becoming its first female line VP.
When the Berlin Wall fell, the newly elected Latvian prime minister and foreign minister asked Lacis to install modern technology in the foreign ministry. That began her work to modernize Latvia and connect it to the West. In 1991, Lacis founded and continues to participate in running the Baltic Technology Group with locations in the U.S. and Latvia.
She and her husband, Andris, have two children. Andris serves as the Honorary Consul for Latvia for the State of Michigan. The couple lives in West Bloomfield, a suburb of Detroit.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
