A Message from the Managing Directors of Girls in Tech Vancouver
Dear friends of Girls in Tech,
It has almost been a year since the launch of the Vancouver Girls in Tech chapter. During this week of celebrations and reflections with International Women’s Day we are grateful for each and every one of you that support Girls in Tech.
We thank you for your patience as we organize everything (isn’t it typical of us to try to be perfect?). As women, we are often our worst critics. This lack of confidence can prevent us from trying, and can cause us to prematurely give up — thinking we aren’t as capable as the other men and women around us. That’s why our local mission at Girls in Tech Vancouver is to focus on the retention of young student and professional women in technology by fostering a supportive and encouraging culture. We leverage our global Girls in Tech counterpart, which has a global mission to engage, educate, and empower women who are passionate about technology.
As we review our first year with Girls in Tech Vancouver, we are grateful and proud of the accomplishments we have achieved this last year. Some highlights of our year in recap:
- We held our first (sold out!) Launch Party with keynote speaker Larysa Slobodian
- We held a Speed Networking event with great feedback from attendees (we really focused on creating a welcoming environment for all participants as that aligns tightly with our core values of inclusion)
- We officially became a registered not-for-profit society in British Columbia!
- We attended the Women in Tech Regatta opening kick-off and met a lot of wonderful women and men advocates (thank you WiT Regatta for inviting and including us!)
- We organized, in partnership with UBC and Red Academy, our first female-focused Hack for Humanity hackathon. The hackathon had a 78% female participation rate. For 70% of the female hackers, this was their first hackathon. Many said they would participate in another hackathon after the welcoming and encouraging environment they experienced at the Girls in Tech hackathon. (You can also read the article from one of our sponsors Right Mesh over here on their recap about the hackathon).
Looking back we have already learned a lot individually and as an organization — we’ve also had a lot of fun! We can’t wait to add to this list with your help and your feedback.
None of this would have been possible without the support and commitment from our Girls in Tech executive team, our volunteers, our partners, and most importantly the financial and in-kind support of our sponsors. We are most thankful for all of you that believe that diversity and inclusion in technology is important!
We look forward to the upcoming year and hope that you will continue this journey with us at Girls in Tech Vancouver.
Happy International Women’s Day!
Your Managing Directors,
Ghislaine Chan & Jennifer Waldern
P.S. We would also like to thank our partners and sponsors below who supported us for the Hack for Humanity Hackathon.
Originally published at vancouver.girlsintech.org on March 8, 2018.
Girls in Tech Vancouver 