Who is welcome at WITS?
Everyone. WITS is a technical conference whose focus is on women and underrepresented minorities who work in, or with, tech in technical and non-technical roles. We want anyone who finds our programming educational or inspirational or who is looking to make connections with women working in a diverse variety of fields in tech to feel welcome to attend WITS.
What types of talks can you expect at WITS?
Sessions in all tracks at WITS are skills-based talks grounded in three basic concepts:
- Positive, forward-looking viewpoints
- Actionable messages that help attendees grow skills, networks, and careers
- Demonstrating that working in tech is writing code and much more
All sessions at WITS allow attendees to leave the room with some new knowledge or a new skill that will assist them in continuing to grow their careers.
Programming is in three tracks:
- Innovate Yourself – provides audience members an opportunity to develop skills and learn from the experience and expertise of other women working in tech. Innovate Yourself sessions focus on topics useful for career growth on both the technical and business sides of technology.
- Trends in Technology – provides audience members an opportunity to learn more about a specific technology topic. These sessions focus on some of the new things happening in and with technology. Attendees will come away from these sessions with an understanding of these trends and their applicability, as well as a working knowledge of the terminology relative to the trend.
- Hands-on Workshops – The hands-on workshops provide audience members with practical experience in a given topic. Workshops are exercise and/or project based and provide either an elementary overview or a deep-dive into a particular technology topic.
Can I expect many diversity and inclusion sessions at WITS?
Sessions that include honest discussions about how we support other women and underrepresented minorities and provide actionable ideas on how to work towards positioning your company to be more diverse and inclusive are in line with the WITS mission.
However, many sessions about diversity and inclusion, though necessary, are “preaching to the choir”. Telling a room full of women why diversity is important is not going to move the needle, so you will not find a lot of them at WITS.
Do you have a Code of Conduct?
Yes we do. It can be viewed here.
Is there a dress code?
Please wear whatever makes you feel confident and comfortable. Temperatures can always be unpredictable, so layers are always a good idea. Also, don’t forget your business cards!
Do I need to register in advance for any sessions?
Your ticket to the summit allows you to attend any session. The only sessions that you may need to register for in advance are the workshops. There may also be pre-summit work, for example, downloading software, for the workshops. Please review the session descriptions or the reminder emails to determine if you need to register for a workshop in advance.
Are there any events that we can attend outside of the summit?
Our partners occasionally hosts networking events in coordination with each summit. In addition, there may be other summit related events throughout the year. The best way to be notified of any of these events is to be on the WITS email list – sign up here. Registered summit attendees will also receive additional communications about additional events related to the specific summit they are attending.
Do you offer childcare?
Our team considers the issue of childcare every year. We evaluate the issues of venue logistics – could we make room for childcare fit into the physical space of the venue and what other logistics considerations are there; cost – what would be the cost to the summit and/or our attendees, how much might we have to raise ticket prices if we offer this benefit, etc…; and liability – what additional insurance would be required if we add this component to the summits and what would be the cost of that additional insurance, in addition, what background clearances would be required from any or all attendees if we have minors present in the event venue. Since the Women in Tech Summit is not only a conference for women, but also a fundraiser for the non-profit, the Inspiring Tech Foundation, operating costs are a significant factor in all decision making. The more we spend to operate the summit, the less we are able to return to the Inspiring Tech Foundation to support keeping their mission to education, inspire, and connect underrepresented people in tech. To date, we have determined that between the costs of offering childcare and the additional insurance we would be required to obtain, as well as the probability of being required to conduct background checks, offering childcare is not currently a viable option for WITS. We will continue to evaluate this issue each year.