FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Women in Tech Summit Midwest Comes to Chicago on May 19
Microsoft’s Rokeya Jones headlines conference for women in the business of technology
April 27, 2018 (CHICAGO) – The Women in Tech Summit (WITS), an annual conference series that inspires, educates and connects women in technology, will host its Midwest summit on May 19 at 1871, Chicago’s Technology & Entrepreneurship Center.
Rokeya Jones, Director, WW CSE, Academic Evangelism at Microsoft, will serve as keynote speaker for The Midwest summit. Her talk, “Bias in New Innovations,” will explore what attendees can do to help ensure their innovations are “created equally” and welcomed in marketplaces around the world.
WITS provides opportunities for women of all ages on both the business and technical side of the technology industry. Each summit includes interactive workshops, career planning information, and networking opportunities to educate and unify women in diverse technology careers.
Additionally, Midwest attendees can expect diverse programming with sessions such as:
- “Become a NegotiatHer: Learn Secrets to Make More $ in Your Tech Career”
- “IoT – Present, Predictions and Pitfalls”
- “Offices are Over: How (and Why) to Lead a Remote Workforce in the Digital Age”
- “Building while Flying: Bringing products to market while you’re still figuring out what to build”
- and “Tackling Technology’s Gender Problem Through Education and Empowerment.”
WITS was first held in Philadelphia in 2012 and attracted more than 150 local technology leaders. In 2018, the series expects 500 attendees in Philadelphia alone.
“The Women in Tech Summit will serve six regions in 2018, making it our largest series ever,” said WITS co-founder Gloria Bell. “We believe that this speaks to the unique challenges still faced by women in technology, even as our numbers are growing. Through WITS, we aim to help women overcome these roadblocks while showing them that they are not facing them alone.”
“WITS is as much about connection as it is education,” added WITS Co-founder, TechGirlz founder, and Chariot Solutions CMO Tracey Welson-Rossman. “The washout rate in technology is considerably higher for women than men, but with a stronger network and arsenal of tools we can go farther, earn higher, and achieve more.”
With Chariot Solutions serving as WITS’ national series sponsor, additional support will be provided by 2018 regional sponsors including BP and the Message Agency.
All profits from each summit support TechGirlz, a nonprofit organization empowering middle school girls with the tools to pursue diverse careers in technology. TechGirlz accomplishes its mission through the creation of free, fun, and interactive “TechShopz.” Their open-source curriculum allows schools, companies, and community groups across the world to bring free STEM education to young women.
“Chariot Solutions is excited to once again offer our support to the Women in Tech Summit,” said Mike Rappaport, CEO of Chariot Solutions. “If tech companies want to benefit from a more diverse workforce and equal representation in our industry, we must take an active role in making that happen.”
For tickets or more information on the Women in Tech Summit, visit http://womenintechsummit.net/.
About the Women in Tech Summit
A series of annual, multi-location events, the Women in Tech Summit works to inspire, educate and connect women in the technology industry. Each event is chartered with the goal to support the community of women currently working in technology and to help pave the way for women and young women who want to enter the industry. By providing attendees with a unique combination of deep-dive, hands-on tech workshops; discussions about careers in tech and how to pursue them; and connection to networking opportunities with other women in technology, The Women in Tech Summit provides a venue to bring together and empower women across the technology industry. For more information about the summit or to register for a summit, visit their website at www.womenintechsummit.net.