23-25 April 2024
Virtual & In-Person*
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Brenda Darden
Wilkerson
President & CEO at AnitaB.org
"The Power That Comes with being a Technologist: Access, Opportunity, and Social Justice for Underrepresented in Technology"
"The Power That Comes with being a Technologist: Access, Opportunity, and Social Justice for Underrepresented in Technology"
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Session: The Power That Comes with being a Technologist: Access, Opportunity, and Social Justice for Underrepresented in Technology
There are many points of entry to becoming a technologist and more importantly how you can succeed when you become one. Brenda Darden Wilkerson (Founder/CEO of AnitaB.org) will detail her personal journey, while sharing insightful guidance for those in the audience. She will highlight her work, which includes connecting communities worldwide to enable women and non-binary technologists to advance and succeed in tech as well as the organizations where they learn, work, invest and gain funding to create cultures conducive to mutual success. She will describe how her passion for equity led her to create the "Computer Science for All Program" and how it turned into a national initiative supported by the White House. The takeaway? How we can all work together to create greater equality for women technologists in business, academia, and government.Key Takeaways
- We can all strive for greater equality for women technologists in business, academia, and government.
- In order to create a tech ecosystem that mirrors society, the tech industry must transform cultural norms and build work environments where women across all intersections can thrive
- An understanding of how important it is for young women and members of underrepresented groups to get exposed to computer science early on, so they can make discoveries that lead them to careers they love.
- No matter how many people try to tell you that what you envision can’t be done, it doesn’t have to be true. You don’t have to have all the resources you need when you start. But passion and determination and partnership can make it work!
Bio
Brenda Darden Wilkerson is a pioneering thought leader and an advocate for access, opportunity, and social justice for underrepresented communities in technology. She currently serves as the President and CEO of AnitaB.org, a global organization that connects, inspires, and strives for greater equality for women technologists in business, academia, and government. Her work includes connecting communities worldwide to enable women and non-binary technologists to advance and succeed in tech as well as the organizations where they learn, work, invest and gain funding to create cultures conducive to mutual success. Having a passion for education equity, she founded the original Computer Science for All program, building computer science classes into the curriculum for every student in the Chicago Public Schools, and served as the inspiration for the Obama administration’s national CS For All initiatives.