Vivid Seats at Chicago Women in Technology Conference 2019
“Do one thing to keep the conversation going about what you learned here today.”
This was the challenge presented to the nearly 300 attendees of the fourth-annual Chicago Women in Technology Conference (CHIWITCON™), Chicago’s largest conference for women in tech.
On September 26th, 2019, fifteen Vivid Seats employees, across several departments, attended the CHIWITCON™ at The Congress Plaza Hotel in downtown Chicago. CHIWITCON™ is a one-day conference, open to all genders across all platforms and technologies, which brings the achievements, aspirations, and career interests of inspiring individuals in technology to the forefront. This year, Vivid Seats was one of the corporate sponsors of the event.
The Presentations
The conference had two keynote speakers, three track talks, a panel discussion hosted by the ARA (Attract Retain Advance), and a career fair. The speakers were from all genders and ranged from executives to engineers who started their career in tech 18 months ago. A diverse range of topics were covered in the presentations and were grouped into three tracks: Navigating your Career, Cross-functional Collaboration, and Showcasing your Tech. Some of the track talks included: “Leadership and the Imposter Syndrome : Am I successful or am I really a fraud?”, “Your Marketing & Tech Teams Need to Communicate Better: Here’s How”, and “Golang for Beginners”.
Personally, my favorite presentation was given by the morning keynote speaker, Alida Miranda-Wolff (CEO and founder of the diversity and inclusion firm Ethos). Her talk was titled, “Achieving Equity and Inclusion Through Self Advocacy and Sponsorship.” The first half of her talk was devoted to understanding the problems that women in tech face, and she backed up these anecdotes with data from several academic studies. One of the most memorable parts of the talk was when she asked the conference attendees to stand up if the statement applies to them. Around 50% of the people stood up when asked if they:
- Felt they needed to provide more evidence to prove competence in their work
- Had their judgment questioned based on their expertise
- Had been mistaken for someone at a much lower level than they were
- Heard demeaning remarks about people like them
It was a very powerful moment to see all of the people share with the room the struggles that they face in the workplace, and the comfort in realizing that they are not alone.
Alida’s presentation ended up with her sharing the Six Principles of Persuasion (reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, and social proof) and how to incorporate these techniques to tell great stories as a part of self-advocacy.
You can read more about Alida Miranda-Wolff’s presentation in her own words here:
Let’s hear from some Vivid Seats employees about their experience at the conference
“Firstly, I really enjoyed hanging out with a group of Vivid Seats ladies. An out of office setting provided a nice opportunity to get to know each other better. I think it might have been the first time I had a real conversation with some of them.
A talk I attended and enjoyed was Cross-functional Collaboration: Joanna Burgraf + Donna Claire Opposites Attract: A Three Act Play in Creative Collaboration. It was a great showcase of a successful complementary partnership — something I will make an effort to have in my career.”
— Maryia, Data Scientist
“I really liked that they brought in male speakers for the ARA panel. It was nice to hear their perspective and showed that there are men in our industry that are fighting for us as well.”
— Sarah, Senior Product Analyst
“I enjoyed getting to know women from different departments across Vivid Seats that I don’t normally interact with on a day-to-day basis.”
— Kaylee, Business Analyst
“The morning keynote brought awareness to why women miss opportunities in career advancements and just knowing those data points empowers me to more effectively advocate for my own promotions and future.”
— Karissa, Senior UX Designer
Vivid Women in Tech
At Vivid Seats, we keep the conversation going. This year, a group of employees formed the Vivid Women in Tech group to ultimately support diversity and inclusivity in the company. The mission of Vivid Women in Tech is to provide leadership opportunities, professional development, community, and external outreach for women in the tech organization. CHIWITCON™ was the perfect opportunity to bring the group together to learn and to help build a community of other women and allies.
Vivid Seats is actively hiring for several roles across the company. If you’re interested in learning more about our open positions, check out our careers page at vividseats.com/careers for more information.
Like the opening speaker, I now challenge you to keep the conversation going.
