Lesbians Who Tech Conference Kicks Off Next Week in San Francisco
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In exactly one week, the 6th annual Lesbians Who Tech Conference will open its doors in San Francisco at the Castro Theatre.
What to Expect (Spoiler: A damn good time!)
The conference, entering its 6th year, boasts some impressive stats for the speakers: 80% queer women, 50% women of color, 25% black & latinx, and 15% transgender and gender non-conforming.
With topics including technical trends, the future of technology, career growth, and personal development, there’s so much to gain, even if you don’t work directly in “tech” or in a technical role.
You can check out a recap of the 2017 conference here to give you a feel for the experience.
Exponential Growth + Diversity
In tech, you want your company or organization to function like a hockey stick: up and to the right. Explosive, exponential growth as quickly as possible, and LWT has taken that idea to heart. The conference has grown significantly since its inception, spanning additional summits and events across the world, but the flagship conference, held in late-February/early-March each year, has taken on a life of its own.
Each year, the speaker list grows, the “big-name” companies there to attract talent grow, and the needs of the conference grow. I’ve been to four of the San Francisco conferences, and the changes since I went for the second conference in 2015 have been mind-blowing to see play out year after year.
Lesbians Take Over San Francisco
While San Francisco is heralded as a queer hotspot (and it totally is!), lesbians have historically been relegated to Tuesday night “lesbian nights” in the Castro district (San Francisco’s most prominent gayborhood) with few lesbian-centered bars in the area.
For one weekend a year, lesbians flock to the Castro, every bar teeming with queer women as far as the eye can see. Break-out sessions are also hosted at the bars during the day, which is an experience in itself to see the dark and cramped clubs typically writhing with gay men filled with lesbians seated patiently, listening to speakers talk about anything from artificial intelligence to freezing your eggs.
The Good Stuff
Beyond the conference itself, the Lesbians Who Tech organization offers scholarships to attendees, local chapter happy hours for members, coding scholarships for queer women in honor of the late Edie Windsor, and provides a sense of community for professional queer women that’s never existed before.
If you can’t attend in person, you can get a free ticket to watch the livestream here, and Lesbians Who Tech has a ton of local chapters across the country that you can join for in-person events. If you don’t see your city, you may be able to start a local chapter!
