Grace Hopper conference reflections

Last week, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Grace Hopper conference in Houston, Texas. I first attended this energizing, motivating event in 2010. I spent that week in Atlanta, Georgia with 3,000 technical women, and meeting so many outstanding female colleagues inspired me to further my education. Three years later, I earned my high tech MBA with high honors from the D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University.

2015's Grace Hopper event quadrupled in size to 12,000. It was a fast-paced event with many wonderful sessions and keynotes.

Leaving Boston, I smiled to see my neighborhood represented in this poster at Logan airport.

After I arrived in Houston, I checked into my hotel and ensured that I was organized and ready to go. The George Brown Convention Center is a quarter-mile long from end to end, and I walked it several times daily.

I hope I packed enough shoes!

The view of downtown Houston from the elevator of the Hyatt Regency, where I had dinner with EMC Distinguished Engineer and friend Helen Raizen

On Wednesday afternoon, October 14, I watched Clara Shih, founder of Hearsay Social, deliver an opening keynote. I admired her tenacity and composure in the face of discrimination. Here's an article summarizing her tech startup experiences.

Clara Shih, founder of Hearsay Social

I attended 2 interactive workshops on Wednesday, Showcase Your Work: How to Give Your First Lightning Talk and Build your brand as an emerging leader or technical expert. These sessions offered a fantastic opportunity to get to know some women working in tech and share my experiences. I mentioned my favorite way of sharing my personal brand with the world, a twesume: a 140-character version of your resume that you can tweet. 

I also had a chance to pop over to Helen Raizen's session. At an interactive student lab, she was sharing her 4 decades of experience in the tech industry to an eager crowd of students.

On Thursday, Hadi Partovi, founder of the Hour of Code, spoke to the crowd and encouraged all of us to participate. I do as well; it's a really amazing volunteer opportunity! Please read about my experiences here.

I attended a cool session, Driving Success Through Innovation & Change, that got you out of your technical mindset and into a problem solving way of thinking. I went with a new friend Jenny I met in the coffee line. She's an entrepreneur from Dallas. We became fast friends and have been keeping in touch after the conference via text. I love how a chance meeting at an event like this can present you with professional contacts or personal friends, or both!

Learning strategies for adapting to quickly changing circumstances

Not surprisingly, this tech conference came with an app. It integrated with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and allowed you to post status updates. I really enjoyed using it, and was able to connect to lots of attendees in this way.

A post with Ashley Trotman, also from Boston

Finally, what would Grace Hopper be without the parties?! I attended a reception Cisco hosted and landed the coolest swag, an LED fiber optic barrette that my 6 year-old daughter quickly absconded with.

At the EMC reception (photo credit Laura Tenney)

 

Google's TechMakers event had these cool, frequently changing lights they called sugarcubes

Sucarcubes from further away

Here are some photos from the ending reception held at Minute Maid Park.

With my new friend Lisa

With new friends Jenny, Alex, and Alon

Dance party

Here are some other memorable moments.

 Sheryl Sandberg's keynote (photo credit Laura Tenney)

Adding my contribution to the pride wall: "I am most proud of my daughter"

Shuttle selfie at the end of the conference

Please check out the Grace Hopper wiki for access to most of the conference material. The group Systers, a technical listserve, maintains it. Definitely sign up if you are a technical woman; they have many interesting discussions. Additionally,here is a link to download some PPT slides from the event. 

My heartfelt thanks goes to my manager Jay Chitnis for supporting my professional development and giving me the chance to share the unique qualities and culture of EMC with so many new colleagues and friends.

Think working from home is too good to be true? Think again!

When I was pregnant with my daughter in 2008, I realized my life was about to change drastically. Along with the awesome responsibility of being the caregiver of another human came a lot of other, smaller responsibilities such as doctor appointments, play groups, packing lunches, etc.

In anticipation of returning to work, I decided to propose a new schedule including some work from home and time flexibility. My priority was to ensure my commitment to meeting my job responsibilities. As luck would have it, I stumbled upon the amazing web site Work Options, which I used to help me craft both my telecommuting and my maternity leave proposals. I'm happy to disclose my affiliate status with this excellent company.

Note the old-school flip phone

The freedom to work when I want, where I want, allows me to deliver superior results for my company. I am available for questions at extended times. I feel inclined to work late on a deadline knowing that I control my schedule the next day. Most of all, I feel empowered by the trust that my employer instills in me to use my best judgement, and in return I put forth my best effort. For more on what drives motivation in the workplace, I suggest Daniel Pink's recent book Drive.

Since 2008, I have always had the privilege of working in an environment that afforded me some flexibility. Since this is such an amazing situation to have, I want to give as many friends, colleagues, and readers as possible an introduction to Work Options.

Please join me at 9 pm EST on June 11 for a free Work Options telecommuting webinar specifically designed for Charismama readers. I'm delighted that Pat Katepoo, founder of Work Options, will be online to answer your questions. I look forward to seeing many of you online.

Just click on this link to register! It's free, so you have nothing to lose but so much to gain ... like control over your own time.

On the recent developments in compensation equity for women

Last month, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke at the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) of Women in Computing. I didn't see it live, because my plans to attend the conference were thwarted by a company-wide travel ban. But since the GHC conference completely changed my career aspirations when I attended in 2010, I follow it annually whether I'm there in person or not. GHC has an amazing wiki that offers all sorts of amazing resources, from PowerPoint presentations to session notes. You can follow the whole thing on Twitter and it's the next best thing to being there. #ghcmanwatch was was an exciting hashtag to follow this year, complete with a male ally buzzword bingo game.

At the GHC 2014 conference, Nadella commented that women should trust the system, and karma, regarding compensation. Here is a recap of the controversy. He eventually backtracked on his comments and apologized. Compensation equity for women is a complex, tricky, taboo, subject, and it's easy to get oneself in hot water when discussing it. Personally, I applaud Nadella for showing up to GHC, and also for his later comments recognizing the bias inherent in his original statements. While #ghcmanwatch was entertaining, I yearn for a time when we can transcend the counterproductive shaming and name calling. The fact is that women absolutely need male allies if we are going to shatter the glass ceiling.

So where does this leave the cause of pay equity for women? I think each woman owes it to herself to educate herself on effective negotiating behaviors and be her own advocate.

One place to start is the book Women Don't Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiation and Positive Strategies for Change.

Conveniently, my colleague Pat Katepoo is giving away three copies of this book. To enter, all you need to do is like her on Facebook, comment on the giveaway post, and take a brief survey (2 minutes, tops) to share your feelings about asking for a raise and contribute to research in how to address the gender pay gap.

Do it now; it only takes 5 minutes to complete all 3, and the giveaway ends November 20.

If you're serious about understanding and getting your market value as an employee, you owe it to yourself to find out more about Pat's Pay Raise Prep School for Women.

P.S.: When you are looking for ways to improve your satisfaction at work, visit Pat's WorkOptions.com site. She offers strategies for getting approval for telecommuting, job sharing, flexible workweeks, and longer maternity leaves, and other flexible work arrangements, that are effective in even the most rigid workplace.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, visit my disclosure policy.