I’ve seen the future of tech, and she’s female

A tech conference with no men in sight? Heaven for those of us who have seen the opposite too many times

LAUREN SCHILLER 11.16.2017•5:58 PM (This piece originally appeared in Salon)

Last fall, I was invited to moderate a panel for a conference put on by Women In Product, a non-profit formed to create a strong community of women builders and leaders in the tech industry.

My panel included four female founders of technology companies: Cheryl Contee of Fission Strategy, Heather Fernandez of Solv, Selina Tobaccowala of Gixo and Aarthi Ramamurthy of Lumoid.

When I walked into the main area of the San Jose Convention Center, the room had an energy you could practically taste.

Also, it was lunchtime.

It was surreal. A tech conference . . . with not a man in sight. The typical scenario, as you may have experienced yourself, is a large hall, with mostly white guys everywhere, giving you, the female attendee, the once-over — whether it’s “will she buy my product?” or “will she have a drink with me?” None of that here.

And, unlike most other conferences I’ve been to, in addition to an impressive lineup of speakers and panelists, there was also a makeup booth, a photographer offering headshots, and a lounge area with puffy white couches where women watched an entrepreneur demonstrating the power of a new product she had invented: a briefcase meets purse meets backpack. So, yeah, some girly stuff.

But there is something about bringing together a whole lot of powerful, ambitious women in one place where they can feel free from interruptions, mansplaining and awkward gender-based power dynamics.

And on the panel that I led, the speakers did not hold back. We talked about what surprised them about starting a company, the pros and cons of running a company while female, from leadership style to sexual harassment and gender bias — and ultimately as business-people what it takes to scale.

This panel took place on September 19th, 2017 and we had a full house. You can listen to our conversation here:

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