Disrupt with Grace
“They didn’t really belong there, but there they were.” — Adam, the movie ;)
When I walked into the convention center to pick up my badge for the conference, “We are here” was written on one of the walls and illuminated such that it looked glorious. It took me back to the quote from Adam and made me reminisce on the different strides women in technology have taken in the previous decade. Every little step they took lead us to this very day.
“We envision a future where the people who imagine and build technology mirror the people and societies for which they build it.”
This is the mission for AnitaB.org. One of the keynote speakers, Jessica. O. Mathews, the co-founder of Uncharted Power, was definitely in on this. Uncharted power built Soccket, a soccer ball that can be used as a power generator. This was due to a need for light in places where electricity was not accessible. This idea was fuelled by her trips to her home country, Nigeria, and wondering how she could provide cheap and easily accessible light. When Soccket was first adopted, only boys would play with the ball and girls, after a certain age were encouraged to stay inside the house. Unchartered Power hence built skipping ropes that would also power these light bulbs and the girls were also able to contribute in this way. As she stood on that stage and skipped that rope in heels, I couldn’t help but smile at this wonderful innovation and the woman in front of all of it.
My Top Three Sessions at Grace Hopper
There were so many amazing sessions to choose from at Grace Hopper but I will Narrow down to the ones that were my biggest highlights.
“Authentic” Selves, Who Are You in Your 9–5?
This session was about authenticity and being our selves. I got to hear from some amazing women, Dr. Mirkeya Capellan, Katie Sullivan and, Luza Jaramillo. They each spoke of the different challenges they had faced such as moving to a new country and not being able to speak the language to being deaf and a kickass programmer. They all had one thing in common, they didn’t use anything that had happened to them as a handicap but instead turned it to a strength and rose above it all to become the badass women that they are.
How to Become a 10x Developer Through Teamwork.
The advice on becoming a better developer by Kate Heddleston was rooted in teamwork. To become better as an individual, you have to ensure everyone in your team is also better as a direct side effect. A couple of the points she raised stood out for me. One of them being to amplify unheard voices in meetings instead of dominating conversations. Another was to give constructive, actionable feedback and avoid personal criticism. The feedback should be focused on what could be done better and what wasn’t done accurately instead of who they are as a person. “I believe that I am much more aware now of how I should be a team player.”
Closing KeyNote
The closing keynote at GHC featured Justine Cassell, PitcHER competition winners, and other leading women in tech. I got to see female founders and the products they were building. The products and the founders were amazing. Luckily, it is up on Youtube and all of you get to enjoy this as well here. The Keynote concluded with the song I rise up by Andra day performed by the westside technology integrated high school.
The Lessons I learned…
During this years’ GHC, I found out that you could be at your lowest and still rise up. I learned that women are kickass developers, I found out that adversity will only kick you down if you let it. I learned of the many women who had conquered much to be where they were. I met people from all over the world who had different experiences from mine and who had so many similar experiences.
We are here!!!
I knew that these words meant so much more because each of us had a different story to tell. Each of us had to raise our voice, to be firm, to make allies, to work harder and to overcome challenges. These words mattered and still matter because maybe we didn’t belong, maybe we’d had to force our way to break the ceiling, but we were here and that much, mattered.
I left GHC18, a better person, developer and community leader.
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