Making the Tech World a Better Place

In September 2013 I tricked a perfectly reputable business association, the Vermont Tech Alliance, into allowing me to plan a panel discussion about how to make the local tech industry a more welcoming place for women. We called it, "Vermont Technology: A Women's World" and I invited a few powerhouse members of the VT tech community to join me on the panel: Rachel Reese, Julia Lerman, and Rebecca Grenier. We brought our own unique perspectives to the table on how to bring more women into the fold. We proposed how following the lead of companies like Etsy and Facebook would be good for business, and why Vermont in particular is the perfect testing ground for this theory. We discussed better ways to attract more women to apply for jobs and what we need to change to keep them there. There are those, like a team of researchers at Stanford that believe bringing more women into the industry is the answer to the growing deficit in domestic talent to fill the growing number of tech jobs. And the need for more training programs to help eliminate the barriers to entry. As for me, in early 2013 I founded the Vermont chapter of an international non-profit called Girl Develop It. In the time since, I have met many amazing women in my community, and found a wealth of knowledge, resources, and powerful female mentors. I have found that women in the tech community are keen to pass on their technical skills and help each other navigate the ropes. I am proud to be part of this community and honored to be given the opportunity to help it grow. The panel discussion was a success in that we were able to pack the room full of people who were passionate about the topic and had many different viewpoints to share. Now we just need to take it to the streets and find ways to help our companies do a better job at creating welcoming environments to foster diversity.