My grandmother always said the biggest business deals were made on the golf course. When I looked around at the majority-male 2016 WTIA Golf Tournament, her words reverberated in my mind. How many women were missing out on forming valuable industry connections that day? Later, WTIA – the non-profit I work for as Director of Member Relations – received feedback from people who echoed my concerns. The desire to see women participate in the tournament was there, but it wasn’t actually translating to the golf course even though, at least technically, all genders were welcome at the event. It was clear that despite the great strides women have made in the professional sphere since my grandmother first began forming her observation, the imbalance I was witnessing wasn’t going to fix itself. It would take intentional, strategic action.

 I decided to form the tournament’s first women-only training group and team. I rounded up eight members and we met up once a week for six weeks and learned how to play golf. We drank beer, ate snacks, and worked on our skills in a pressure-free environment. Once the tournament rolled around, however, we were hit with a dose of reality. One man asked a teammate what hole she was working at, assuming she wasn’t there to play in the tournament; another asked a woman if she could connect him to one of the partners at her company, not considering the fact the woman herself might be a partner (she was). Someone else expressed frustration at us for going the wrong way on the lawn, and other men gave us unsolicited coaching advice. For better or for worse, we weren’t exactly surprised by these uncomfortable interactions. After all, changing people’s biases doesn’t happen overnight. The all-women team members agreed that it was a beneficial learning experience overall, and wanted to continue making male-dominated spaces more woman-centered.

 

To that end, I next put together a women’s poker tournament. Poker is another activity typically coded as masculine, which means few women learn it and those who do can be averse to playing it since they’ll likely be playing with men. (Fact: Significantly more women play poker online than in-person, probably for this reason.) The interest in the event was staggering—75 women ended up participating. The turnout reaffirmed my belief that many women were interested in doing traditionally “manly” things, as long as intentional spaces were created for them to feel comfortable in. Being the only woman on the golf course or at the poker table can be a daunting experience, and those spaces will remain male-dominated if we are only relying on women to brave such spaces independently.

These experiences have opened my eyes to exactly what it will take to challenge the ubiquity of professional, male-dominated spaces. I’m taking all I’ve learned to my company so we can use it to best empower women in tech. WTIA is committed to creating intentional, professional spaces for women where networking and growth can flourish without being stifled by the pervading cultural norms that discourage women from full participation and therefore maintain the gender imbalance. If you care about doing this work with us, contact me at [email protected] and tell me how you want to shake things up or come see me at the Women in Cloud Summit on January 26th to build your network and expand your tribe!

Credit: This article was written by Toni Colman, Director of Member Relations, Washington Technology Industry Association

We are so excited to partner with Linkedin Learning to provide an opportunity for Women In Cloud Network to create technology courses. Are you an experienced technology professional with a passion to teach and share your expertise? If you have the knowledge to share, Linkedin Learning is ready to partner with you. Linkedin Learning team is ready to collaborate with cloud computing professionals to create video training courses to address the rapidly-growing audience.

LinkedIn is active in many facets of the Women In Technology movement, and LinkedIn Learning is working hard to realize diversity among our hundreds of instructors reflective of the real world.

They have got a platform & audience; they would love to help boost your voice and your position of leadership in the world’s tech communities so that others can follow. That’s one way to make a difference, together, in the work we do every day.

If your skills lie in one of these areas and you’re excited to share your knowledge with others, it is time to get connected with them!

  • Cloud infrastructure administration
  • Cybersecurity principles
  • Infrastructure architecture
  • Security architecture
  • Cloud migration best practices
  • Experience in an AWS, Azure, or GCP cloud environment

If you’re interested, please send an email with a little bit of information about yourself (including a link to your LinkedIn profile if you have one), and the tech topic area you want to teach others about, to [email protected].

[Please note: this is not a full-time, staff position. It is a part-time, contract position creating tech training video courses for our online learning platform.]

About LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning develops online learning courses on tech, business, and creative topics by some of the best experts in the world.

Some of our instructors are well known right now. Others are tomorrow’s community leaders.

And we believe the diversity of the world’s population needs to manifest in the experts we partner with.

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/

At LinkedIn Learning, we believe in connecting people to opportunity by sharing knowledge. With millions of LinkedIn members, your voice and expertise can make a difference.

Thanks for what you do.

The Women In Cloud Summit 2019 Summit is just around the corner!

We hope that you and your organization will join us in January at the largest summit in the Washington state on the address digital divide, gender equality and equity for women and girls in the cloud computing era. Under the theme “Accelerate. Access. Action.” we will bring together more than 700+ business leaders, entrepreneurs, community leaders, government officials, celebrities, academics, advocates, and journalists with the drive to accelerate progress for girls and women everywhere.

Sponsoring a table at the 2019 Women in Cloud Summit offers you the opportunity to include colleagues, clients, young leaders, and industry allies as your guests*.

Sponsor a Full Table (10 seats) for $2000

Sponsor Half a Table (5 seats) for $1000

If you want to only bring a few people for your table, we will invite a specially curated balance to meet your goals. You may fill the other seats by: 

  • Let us make the connection with another company that will be attending
  • Offer them as sponsored seats as a part of our Diversity and Inclusion program
  • Is there is a specific connection you want to make? Let us know and we will invite them to join your table!

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BEING A TABLE SPONSOR?

There are a number of benefits that are included when you become a table sponsor:

  • Invitation to all executive roundtables and dinners throughout the year
  • Be offered the addition to the delegation team to have the opportunity to join in the continuing conversation with UN
  • Receive special year-round discounts
  • Be announced as champions at the Women in Cloud Summit
  • Be offered the opportunity to participate in TechNative video interviews for Women in Cloud video collage
  • Logo inclusion on-site at the sponsored table and in selected marketing materials
  • Be offered the opportunity to advise young girls and women as a part of our Cloud Accelerator network

HOW DO I BECOME A TABLE SPONSOR?

Don’t miss out on this unbelievable value!

Visit https://wicsummit.eventbrite.com to become a table sponsor today!

Download the Table Sponsor Benefits Flyer

For more information and to submit your logo, contact Raisa Noelle at [email protected]

The cloud has officially touched almost every aspect of the business: from infrastructure and AI to mobile workforces and social impact. We hear about major industry trends, technologies, and M&As, but what we don’t often hear about are the women in the workforce that are powering these technologies and organizations.

I’ve been working in the Cloud Computing community for the past 2.5 years and while the technology advancements and latest startups are constantly changing, one thing has remained the same: the amount of women in the industry who are highlighted is nowhere near their male counterparts who are touted as industry experts, thought leaders, and keynote speakers. Attend any tech conference or industry trade show and guaranteed it’ll be the one place you’ll ever go where the line for the women’s restroom is shorter than the men’s. Great for us at the time, but not as great for the overall industry in the long run.

So how do we address this ongoing issue? By coming together and sharing our stories, experiences, insights, expertise, and advice to lift each other up and give voice to those who wouldn’t otherwise be heard.

BrightTALK has done this by launching an online Women in Tech community where we’ve partnered with the Women in Cloud initiative to help provide a platform for these conversations. Since it’s inception in November 2016, we’ve grown the community to over 18,000 subscribers.

Check out some of the sessions hosted on BrightTALK here:

The Women in Cloud Summit is another fantastic way of addressing and closing the gap between female and male leaders in the industry. It’s a once-a-year opportunity to come together and hear from the top women in Cloud Computing on how they’ve gotten to where they are today and what both men and women can do for future generations of women in technology.

Whether you’re looking for a mentor/mentee relationship, how to stay ahead of the technology curve in this fourth industrial revolution, network with like-minded professionals or learn a new skillset, there’s something at the Women in Cloud Summit for everyone.

Register here to join us in January and play a key role in supporting the Women in Cloud community.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Please connect with Kelly Browing to explore mutual opportunities!

Welcome to the “Women In Cloud Annual Summit: Now we Accelerate!”
Women key drivers of economic growth. However, we continue to face substantial hurdles in accessing the resources needed to launch and grow businesses and careers. From addressing the financial inclusion gender gap in funding to providing women the tools, knowledge, and networks they need to reach their full potential, Women in Cloud in 2019 declares this is the year to ACCELERATE.

We are pleased to announce the Second Annual Summit, a one-day immersive experience on Jan26th, 2019 at the Microsoft Conference Center, Redmond Washington. This event is open to everyone.

This year’s summit is designed to connect you to cloud industry leaders, women-led cloud companies, intrapreneurs and allies of all types.

The 2019 Summit will explore:

  • Enabling New Innovations: Provide ways to leverage and adopt cloud technologies to innovate
  • Personal & Skill Growth: Give women access to personal and cloud-related skills development
  • Networking: Accelerate ideas and access to resources including strategic partnerships
  • Customer Connections: Identify new ways to acquire customers, understand the customer experience & drive customer obsession

As a past supporter of Women In Cloud experience and events, we wanted you to be the first to know! Please save the date and we look forward to seeing you there!

Step 1. ARE YOU READY TO ATTEND

  • Registrations are now open.
  • Grab your tickets and secure your 30% discount by Nov10th. Use Discount Code (WICEarly)
  • Secure your spot today and also consider sponsor D&I ticket.

Step 2. CALL FOR SPEAKERS

We are building a full day agenda of keynotes, breakouts, lightning talks and workshops in the areas of personal and business acceleration. Ready to submit a session? Apply to speak

Step3: DIVERSITY & INCLUSION SCHOLARSHIP TICKET 

Would your company like to provide an event ticket for one or more aspiring entrepreneurs or diverse young women growing their career? Are you a diverse emerging technical or entrepreneurial talent who’d like to apply for a D&I scholarship ticket?

Reach out here!

Step 4. PROMOTE & ENTER TO WIN $50 AMAZON GIFT CARD

Calling all social media champions!  We’d love your help to get the word out and invite your network of amazing women leaders and entrepreneurs.  By doing so you will be entered into a drawing to win a $50 Amazon e-gift card. No cost to enter and you can participate till Jan04th, 2019. You can enter either via an email address or facebook account.  Promote, Participate & Win!

Step 5. SPONSOR THE SUMMIT

Sponsors get amazing access to leaders, entrepreneurs, a potential job candidate, investors, community leaders and many more during the summit to connect. Learn more by downloading the sponsorship kit.

WHO IS WOMEN IN CLOUD

Women in Cloud is a community-led initiative supporting technology entrepreneurs who identify as women! Via private-public partnerships with innovative companies and leaders in tech, Women in Cloud creates access to partnership opportunities, programs that accelerate business growth in the cloud and strategic alliances that advance the success of women in tech. Follow us on FacebookLinkedIn & Twitter and our website at https://www.womenincloud.com/summit2019
Media Contact: Jacqueline Touma, [email protected]
Sponsorship Contact: Raisa Noelle; [email protected]
Speaker Contact: Chaitra Vedullapalli, [email protected]
##Press passes available, Press announcement