Five things women in tech want to see at an event
'The fact that women want to be treated equally doesn't mean we all have the same needs, and it definitely doesn't mean we have the same needs as men.' Holly Brockwell discusses how tech events need to change
The fact that women want to be treated equally doesn't mean we all have the same needs, and it definitely doesn't mean we have the same needs as men.
There's been lots of discussion over the last few years about how to create events that are welcoming and inclusive for women in tech. But as ever, it's better to talk to women than about them, so we asked the women of Twitter to tell us exactly what they want to see from an event - whether it's one designed specifically for women or for everyone.
Here's what they said.
1. A code of conduct (CoC)
As the brilliant Ashe Dryden puts it in her indispensable Code of Conduct 101:
"To be considered an adequate code of conduct, it must have four complete parts:
● statement of unacceptable behavior
● how the policy will be enforced
● how and whom to make an incident report to
● training and reference materials for organizers, staff, and volunteers on how to respond to incident reports."
Game designer Jennifer Scheurle told us "I'm straight-up not going to conferences anymore without a decent code of conduct that is easily accessible."
Software engineer Samathy Barratt adds, "The biggest one is having a real enforceable CoC which details what one needs to do, how they can do it and what action is taken. And remind everyone that you have a CoC at the start of the day."
But of course, just paying lip service isn't enough. Character artist Shay wants to know where to go if someone breaks the code: "I would want it to be made clear where i could go privately if [the CoC] is breached. Sometimes you can't just go to any event helper or security guard with an issue. I would feel calmer knowing there was someone explicitly that I could go to."
Finally, software engineer Kelly Ellis points out that it's important to report violations and reinforce that your event's code of conduct is actually being enforced - "I want to know the CoC is upheld and isn't meaningless."
2. A comfortable temperature
Women are constantly undermined at work by freezing air con temperatures which not only leave us shivering at our desks, but actively impair our thinking.
The same goes for conferences. Designer-developer Jessica VanDusen explains, "I was at a conference where one only room in a huge conference centre was freezing. No idea why, but it made it nearly impossible to pay attention to the talk."
Kelly Ellis adds, "I'm at a tech conference right now and it's a huge issue for me. It's so cold in there, and I didn't bring a jacket (just a dress with no tights) that I decided to skip the keynotes. I can't even absorb information when I'm that uncomfortable."
3. A distinct lack of 'manels'
No surprises here: women in tech would really rather not see the male-and-pale panels that make up the ManelWatch Twitter account. As UX specialist Fiona MacNeill puts it, "If you cannot build a representative panel then you are asking the wrong questions and should change or bin the idea."
On a similar note, digital marketer Emily says " there should be ZERO assumption of someone's credentials or capabilities based on gender" because "getting to a tech event and immediately being talked down to [because] I'm a woman is a common occurrence."
UI engineer Stephanie Vacher makes the excellent point that dress codes should also be carefully considered: "no sexist/racist dress codes (natural hair is allowed, makeup is not mandatory, not forced to wear heels)."
And finally, games composer Zofia Domaradzka would like to request a women's cut of the free conference t-shirts. Preferably not in sizes XS and XXL with nothing in between...!
[Turn to next page]
Five things women in tech want to see at an event
'The fact that women want to be treated equally doesn't mean we all have the same needs, and it definitely doesn't mean we have the same needs as men.' Holly Brockwell discusses how tech events need to change
4. A bit of consideration
Modern women have a lot to deal with - more than men, in many cases. A lot of the women who responded to our tweet wanted to see some consideration for that at events for women in tech, in various forms.
A key way to take the weight off women's shoulders is to provide childcare at events. Of course, looking after the kids is in no way women's work, but as Fiona Mc Andrew points out, statistics suggest the bulk of the burden still falls on us.
Kelly Ellis suggests both childcare and private breastfeeding spaces, while backend engineer and keynote speaker Melissa Benua saysevents should have "at least a baby/toddler chill out area," because "sometimes life happens and you gotta suck it up and be mum at the conference."
If events can't provide childcare themselves, tech analyst Lauren Maffeo suggests a stipend, or else as Dr Effie Le Moignan puts it, "don't be weird about people bringing babies."
Free sanitary products in the toilets were a popular suggestion, though it's important to note that to be truly inclusive, these should be in all bathrooms, not just those marked 'women'. In fact, ideally, toilets would be gender neutral.
One last thing on loos - toilet paper and plenty of it. As Dr Le Moignan mentions, it always runs out at busy events.
5. Other women!
That means women on the panels, women in the audience, women on stage, women in the events team, women everywhere.
And not just any women, but women from all different aspects of tech - as founder of Ada Lovelace Day Suw Charman explains, "not just coders, designers and founders, but marketers, UX, HR, content managers, partnership managers, advocates."
A range of ages would be good too - Anya Rikku says, "Things that are for women just getting into tech [whether] 18 starting uni or 40 wanting a career change doing open uni. I'd love to go to these things but worry I'm out of my depth." Fiona Mc Andrew adds, "Trying to get a women over 35 on a panel can be tough. We are missing their valuable insights."
No excuses
This is all very prescriptive feedback, which means there's no excuse for event organisers to keep making the same mistakes.
That includes us, so we'll be doing our utmost to make the Women In Tech Festival UK 2019 the most welcoming, comfortable, inspiring environment we possibly can. See you in September.