Women in Tech Speak Out at SXSW

I am in awe of the women who came to my conversation “Boardroom or Baby” at SXSW this past weekend. They were bright, energized, passionate and very engaged in the conversation.

I started the session by asking the women to team up and decide what they believe to be the single most important issue to help women succeed in tech.

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Judith Bitterli Boardroom or Baby Session Highlights from SXSW

As you are probably aware, currently women comprise about only 30% of the tech workforce and make roughly 77 cents on the dollar of what a man makes in tech.

We have a lot of work to do to close the gender gap, but based on the energy coming out of room # 407 at SXSW, I am very hopeful we can get there! I am committed to helping and one of the ways I will contribute is to take each of the items put forth by the group and write a blog offering up counsel on how to successfully navigate the issue. I will be bringing in subject matter experts and life experts to help. Below is the list. If you feel I missed anything please get in touch via Twitter @judyatAVG.

My question to the group was: What is the single most important thing we can do to help women succeed in tech?

Here are their answers in their own words below:

  • Make your career goals known.
  • Speak up and stand up for what you think is right.
  • Don’t let men talk for you; make sure your voice is heard.
  • Work hard.
  • Gain people’s respect.
  • Build and use your network
  • Find a strong female leader in the workplace as a mentor. Break the “Bro” club.
  • Fight against confidence loss when you’re in a room of male leaders.
  • Female diplomacy – speak up
  • Mentorship: Be a mentor to other women and girls. Find a female mentor higher up.
  • Find a sponsor.
  • Create formal sponsor programs, so that men can mentor women without social stigma.
  • Build resources for keeping and supporting a woman’s ability to stay working after she has a baby.
  • Stand up for what we need, realizing the value you bring.
  • Own your own career path to success.
  • Don’t operate from a place of fear.
  • Make people understand that flexibility does not equate to laziness, so don’t be afraid to ask for it.
  • Create awareness on the issue.
  • Make it an issue all care about, not just women.
  • Show the value to the bottom line or success to the business, so everyone is onboard with empowering women.
  • Strip names off of resumes.
  • Reach and speak out to younger girls in elementary school and middle school.
  • De-genderize toys.
  • Speak up in meetings and having a point of view.
  • Build more STEM work in elementary school for young girls.
  • Don’t be the first to tear another woman down.
  • Connect with other women below and beside you and find what you can do to help them achieve their goals.
  • Women should support women.
  • Have a support system in place for mothers.
  • Mentor other women.
  • Find male allies.
  • Get in the mix (female diplomacy).
  • Talk about issues.
  • Remove negative stigma on the term “emotional”.
  • Have more forward conviction in the forward progress we want to see.
  • Educate girls at a young age – letting them know the opportunities are there (Girls who Code).
  • Start off strong. Ask for what you deserve.
  • If you think you can do it go for it!
  • Inner belief: skills, ability, desire.
  • Attitude: stop apologizing, be assertive, and take charge.
  • Maternity leave.
  • Making a “girl playground”.
  • Start girls young in tech.
  • Encourage women not to be afraid to go into a male driven field. Make it welcoming in both culture and environment.
  • Create policies that give flexibility to maternity leave.

I was struck by how many individual issues were highlighted. If you would like to hear about any of these in particular on Twitter, please let me know and I will try to prioritize it.

I plan to address these issues on Twitter as well as a dedicated Facebook page as well as here on the blog.

Remember, change happens when like-minded people band together for a common cause. This is our cause:  removing gender bias from the workplace and not allowing women to be penalized for having a baby.

To all the women in tech attending my session at SXSW- and beyond, I thank you and encourage you to stay strong and continue to speak out!

Judith

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