diversity Archives

Last month, I hopped on a plane to Houston ready to celebrate and network with thousands of other women in tech and computing at the annual Grace Hopper Celebration. The Grace Hopper Celebration is the self-described “world’s largest gathering of women technologists.”

Thank God I prepared! For the next three days, I had the honor to meet with some of technology’s best and brightest women leaders in the industry. Women, corporations, and universities from around the world were a part of this dynamic experience. The crowd was undoubtedly diverse, including students, new graduates, and women like me who have transitioned into a computing or technical role, mid-career. It was amazing!

Power in Unity

Our keynote speaker was a phenomenal woman by the name of Jessica Matthews, a Nigerian-American CEO and founder of Uncharted Power which produces Soccket, a soccer ball that can be used as a power generator. She delivered a powerful message regarding women and the available roles in the tech space, in addition to demonstrating a new power-generating jump rope. All while wearing heels!

Another phenomenal woman that I met while at the conference was Jovita Jenkins. While Jessica Matthews can be considered a millennial and a new female thought leader in the tech space, Mrs. Jenkins is regarded as a pioneer. In a time where educational opportunities were a rejected notion altogether, Mrs. Jenkins overcame those odds and entered the tech space by receiving a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics. Her academic success qualified her to work in a technology lab, working on fascinating projects like the first B150 bomber, as well as spending much time working for NASA. Her arguably most notable accomplishment is that she retired as a lead engineer for TRW, Inc., where she led a team of men.

This expansive, impactful experience concluded with a strong message from professor Anita Hill in the wake of the #MeToo movement. She encouraged women to show up and be present. She invited us to speak up for ourselves and our fellow sisters when it comes to dismantling systems meant to oppress or silence women.

A Sense Of Belonging

I left that conference with not only a sense of relief, but I also left feeling like I could finally shed the dreaded “imposter syndrome” which was keeping me from exploring a technology-related career. And it was the messages from the likes of Jessica Matthews, Jovita Jenkins, and Anita Hill, all screaming loud and clear:

“You belong here…in tech!”

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One of the things I noticed when I started at Angie’s list was the number of people who wore Angie’s list t-shirts. It was typically the most engaged employees to boot. In fact, employees could buy a t-shirt for $5. I realized that, if I ever got a chance to run my own company, I wanted to replicate what I learned at Angie’s list.

When Tana and I originally formed beLithe, we were primarily partnering with great organizations like CEWit, Eleven Fifty, and TechPoint to work with college students . One of the things we started giving away to our students was T-shirts. Our original T-shirt from 2016 had a quote on the back was a Winston Churchill quote “To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often.”

I thought it was time to change the quote, so I found a new one (check it out here). I couldn’t write one. As I searched for ideas, I stumbled across Apple’s diversity statement off there website. I couldn’t resist. It reflects the approach that I have always felt was right for am company, but never heard anyone at my past employers be so direct. With all due respect to Apple, I used this one on our shirt.

In my Scrum training, we discuss one of the values of Scrum, openness, as one of the things that makes Scrum work. We talk about openness in terms of one’s day to day status, opinions on how work is done, and what can be improved. Diversity is generally accepted as a requirement for high performing teams. Including other points of view provides better decision making across the board. After conducting Scrum training for a number of years, I have had a revelation. In Scrum, we should be open not just in what we share, but in what we take in. We should be open to other’s ideas as well, whether we agree with them or not. We shouldn’t let all the crap that doesn’t really matter cloud our opinions about teammates.

My goal for beLithe is that we are a high performing team, and this is one small way of embracing our future. We are just starting the journey, and I hope it will be a fun ride.

Thanks for coming in today.

Chris

We Belong Here In Tech

Power in Unity

A Sense Of Belonging

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UPCOMING EVENTS

#SLINKYTHINK:
DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX

Power in Unity

A Sense Of Belonging

UPCOMING EVENTS

#SLINKYTHINK:DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX

#SLINKYTHINK:
DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX