The fourth year it’s running, the Conference, hosted by The League of Extraordinary Women will inspire a new generation of female leaders in tech with a day-long list of lectures, workshops and meet-greets.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8HgSy4nVdA/
“I’ve always wanted to change the world,” Co-founder Sheryl Thai told Women’s Agenda four years ago. “By creating the league and these meet-ups, where we encourage people to talk about their struggles by getting one of our speakers to tell everyone [about their journey], it opens up a conversation to say, ‘Hey, I feel the same way and I have the same problems. The more we share stories about female entrepreneurship the more young people will go, ‘I want to run a business’.”
With this conference, Thai, along with her other co-founders, will take to the stage with other technology entrepreneurs to address the concerns that women currently make up only 27.8% of the IT workforce. According to the latest study from the Boston Consulting Group, Australia faces an 18 percent labour shortage of women in the next decade. The Australian Bureau of Statistics also revealed that “the percentage of women working in computer design and related services” has actually reduced since 2001.
Thai said in a statement that these statistics inspired her to create the “Techformation” conference.
“The conference aims to foster conversations, builds confidence and ultimately provides access to some of our most successful female tech entrepreneurs who can demonstrate that it’s a path which is both accessible and achievable,” she said.
Other speakers include co-founder and CEO of Adore Beauty Kate Morris, Australian entrepreneur Gretta Van Riel, founder and director of frank body Jess Hatzis, and co-founder of the mobile gaming company Kabam, Holly Liu. The events will be an opportunity for attendees to learn about the strategies to stand out as a minority in the tech industry, as well as ways to combat common challenges in their field.
There is just ONE thing that's inside your circle of control – https://t.co/a7owbRadBe pic.twitter.com/0zssXplvmi
— League of Extraordinary Women (@TheLeagueWomen) January 24, 2020
Other speakers include the founder and director of CODI Agency, Lisa Teh, co-founder of Sidekicker, Jacqui Bull, CEO & co-founder of Mr Yum, Kim Teo and chief of staff at BUPA, Sonja Ruddock. These women will highlight current trends in the industry and share how aspiring young tech enthusiastic can get involved in the digital revolution.
The event will also aim to attract more girls into tech, with secondary school focused events catered for the 100 plus school-aged girls expected to attend.
Techformation will be held on Friday 28 February at Deakin Edge, Federation Square in Melbourne from 9-3. The full line-up of speakers can be viewed at here.