The technology world has a well documented problem of having very few (if any) women leading the industry although women are solidly the majority of consumers in the tech world. Women comprise the majority of bloggers and blog readers and at least 55% of women make up the total users on sites like Facebook and Twitter, to say nothing of the much-hyped Pinterest. Despite that commanding majority, though, all tiers of company leaders in the tech world, from start-ups to the corporate level, are wholly devoid of women.
Looking to combat that deficiency, Women Who Tech, a nonprofit organization directed at propelling women into the leadership levels of the tech world, is hosting the 4th Annual Women Who Tech TeleSummit on May 23, 2012, and will feature over two dozen high-profile tech experts (both men and women) speaking on a variety of topics related to succeeding in the tech industry. The focus, however, is to enable and encourage women to emerge from being mere consumers into positions of power within the industry.
Allyson Kapin, the founder of Women Who Tech, hopes that the conference can help change the landscape of leadership in the tech industry so that it more accurately reflects the consumer base that it serves. “The tech sector no longer belongs to pocket-protector toting guys hooked on sci-fi and video games,” she said. “The companies that recognize that will be the ones that succeed.”
Countless high-profile corporate boards have zero or, at the most, one female member, which is another issue that the conference will address. “Diverse tech and start-up teams are critical for innovation,” Kapin said. “We need gender-balanced perspectives in order to create technology and products that are innovative, useful, and meaningful to everyone.”
The Women Who Tech TeleSummit will be held Wednesday, May 23, 2012, from 11AM to 6PM EDT. The cost to attend the TeleSummit is $20 although sponsorships are also available via WomenWhoTech’s website.
In the meantime, Women Who Tech compiled an infographic detailing the persistent lack of women involved in the tech industry’s leadership and how, with its current makeup, it’s really not representative of the at-large tech community.
