For years I've bemoaned the lack of women on stage at the scores of tech conferences and events I attend. Girls in Tech is out to change that.

I caught up with founder Adriana Gascoigne and executive managing director Robyn Cohen at Web 2.0 Expo earlier this month.

Adriana describes Girls in Tech as an organization geared toward the empowerment, education and engagement of women in technology. Here are some of their initiatives:

A few days ago they launched the Girls in Tech University, offering a curriculum to college students and others who want to ramp up their involvement in the tech sector.

They are also offering a mentoring program by partnering with GirlSource, an organization that helps low-income minority girls in high school learn about technology.

And they're expanding rapidly at the local level, with 22 chapters in places like New York, LA, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle as well as London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and Kuwait. They're also growing fast in the Midwest and are launching a San Diego chapter.