Thoughts & Tips on #GHC16 Eve

Today, for the first time in a year, the tech industry’s attention will turn away from the Bay Area in favor of Houston, Texas. Thousands of women — from college-aged computer science newcomers to industry veterans and professors — will flock to the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC), the world’s largest gathering of women in technology fields. As I see it, the intent of GHC is to inspire women to reach greater heights in technology and related disciplines.

But after attending my first-ever GHC in October 2015, I returned to Chicago feeling like I had experienced both the best and worst of women in technology. Let me explain.

Conferences that encourage women to kick ass in their day-to-day and professional lives undoubtedly have a wonderful impact on attendees. Take me, for example. Attending GHC 2015 made authentic my freshly declared computer science major. For the first time, I had older women surrounding me who believed that I could succeed in my university’s CS curriculum and in industry as a software engineer. Their confidence motivated me to enact some truly great changes in Northwestern University’s Women in Computing organization; in 2016, I started a women’s mentorship program and founded Chicago’s first student-run all-female hackathon. I also became acquainted with some of the wonderful members of Ladies Storm Hackathons via GHC.

Though my experience at GHC 2015 was overwhelmingly positive, there is one negative undercurrent that I’d like to address: competitiveness. This is true especially at the career expo: each company has a limited number of interview slots, and naturally, if seeking internships or full-time positions, one must do one’s best to get those interviews and to build connections.

But there is a difference between being a competitive candidate and being competitive. I remember how uncomfortable I felt when another woman stepped in front of me while I was conversing with a recruiter just to get some face time faster. I remember how awful I felt when acquaintances that I had met at GHC 2015 discussed the offers that they had received at the conference, or the number of corporate interviews they had gotten that day, while some of those same companies never got back to me. Perhaps this competitive air is only rampant in the career expo and not present in the academic- and research-oriented components of GHC, but even so, that means it still afflicts a significant portion of GHC attendees.

Conferences like GHC are all about building women up. Yes, you can get a job in Houston this week, but hopefully not at the expense of another woman’s confidence, success, and wellness. I’d like to believe that these overtly competitive incidences are few and far between, but regardless, the responsibility to build a collaborative, supportive, and friendly community of women technologists rests on everyone at GHC.

To help all of us make GHC’s ideals a reality, I have four simple suggestions:

1. Introduce yourself to a new woman technologist. Too many times women enter GHC myopically — only thinking about finding a job, presenting a talk, et cetera — and speaking with another woman about her passions and dreams can help get your mind churning about what you want to take away from the conference.
2. Attend a talk or event simply to learn. There’s a lot of comfort in being an expert in (or at least familiar with) a topic, but being pushed outside of your comfort zone is where you learn most. Perhaps you’ll discover a new area of technology that really interests you! Either way, you’ll be supporting a fellow woman technologist just by showing up.
3. Share a meal with an affinity group. Women in technology itself is a huge community, so why not narrow it down? Smaller groups are generally less intimidating, so attending one or more of these lunches might be an easier place for you to form meaningful connections.
4. Check in with a friend, fellow scholarship recipient, classmate, or stranger. If you know someone else attending GHC, shoot them a text to ask them how they’re doing. If you see someone shedding a few tears or looking stressed, feel free to approach them to see if they would like someone there. If you meet someone who knows no one else at GHC, invite them to join you over lunch or at a talk. Mental wellness matters, and a little support can go a long way.

Let’s work together to foster an even more welcoming and encouraging environment for women technologists at #GHC16. After all, a stronger women in technology community is always something worth celebrating.