Girl Geek Dinners Ottawa

Last Wednesday, Serena Ngai of Girl Develop It Ottawa presented her case about the revolution of women in technology. From Mattel’s Barbie career innovations to five-year old girls dreaming of being astronauts, Serena pointed out the large social gap between girls and boys in the field of computer science and everything related.

When you Google search “computer scientist”, what’s the first image that appears? Is it a guy with glasses and a plaid shirt? Trust us, we’re not being biased. In fact, research has shown the number of women with bachelor degrees in computer sciences has decreased rapidly over the past 20 years from 37 per cent to less than 20 per cent. Today, less than one per cent of women would be interested in studying computer science as an elective in university. But, there is hope!

In 2010, Mattel posted a public survey asking girls which career they would like Barbie to pursue. To everyone’s surprise, the number one career was computer engineer. Are women beginning to see technology as a fun, innovative, career savvy form of income?  Let’s hope so!

To help regain the number of women in computer sciences, Serena and Gail Carmichael founded Girl Develop It Ottawa to bring back the flare and fun of building websites in a supportive environment. Serena taught us how technical skills can be valuable for your career and any career, why this “women in technology” thing really matters, and how their upcoming workshops can help you become the next Marissa Mayer. Well, in part.

Girl Develop It is hosting their next workshop Intro to HTML and CSS on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6, from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. They’re also looking for volunteers to help teach workshops and share technological skills with Ottawa women. If you or someone you know likes to teach and is tech savvy, contact Serena or Gail.

And lastly, congratulations to our Girl Geek prize winners who went home with fabulous gifts from our event sponsors – the National Arts Centre, Media Miser, UsedOttawa.com and Ingrid Aesthetics.

To read more about this month’s event, check out the following reviews from our Girl Geek attendees:

Amy Campsall (blog post)– @AmyCampsall

Alexandra Reid – @TechAlly

Mel Gallant – @MelGallant

Hana Abaza – @HanaAbaza

Just Do It

This was the recurring theme with our presenters last night.  Come to think about it, this seems to be a recurring theme with several of our Girl Geek Dinner speakers.  From entrepreneurship and women in leadership, to looking for a new job.  We all have to deal with uncertainty and doubts, and sooner or later, we just need to decide to Just Do It and see how it goes.

Some other take-aways from last night:

• Understand your customers
• Understand your competitors
• Surveys are often not enough, find nuances through conversations
• Keep it simple to start
• Welcome feedback, but know when to ignore it.  Keep the focus on what you’re good at
• If your business is product centric, focus on innovation
• If you are offering service, focus on service excellence
• Blogs are the new magazines
• As social media changes, so should the way you use it
• Use giveaways to build your audience

Thank you Vivian, Hana and Amy for sharing their stories with us and thank you to all who attended our Girl Geek Dinner last night.  We hope you enjoyed it and found some inspiration for your next challenge.

Thanks again to our sponsors for their continued support.  We hope all the door prize winners enjoy their prizes!

CIRA .CA

Thornley Fallis

Shopify

Media Miser

Laura Jane Photography

the SPA

Little Cakes