Authored by Paige Cox Lisk, chief people officer, and Dana Ledyard, director of strategic partnerships
There’s something empowering about seeing you belong. Walking into a room, or a giant conference hall, and seeing others like you, doing what you do, interested in the same things and striving for similar outcomes. It gives you energy, motivation and confidence to do your best work, and work your hardest to expand opportunities and create positive change for others. If they’re all in, then so am I.
For 25 years, this is the feeling that women in technology have experienced when they attend the annual Grace Hopper Celebration. Here’s a space dedicated to the support and advancement of women in highly technical roles. It’s a time to share experiences, mentor, learn and network. It’s also an opportunity to find, nurture and welcome the next generation of women technologists into the industry.
This is where Catalyte comes in and why we’re so excited to attend Grace Hopper Celebration 2019. We have the ability to find great software developers from unexpected places. We provide paths for people with non-traditional backgrounds into the tech industry and give them opportunities that they otherwise wouldn’t have.
Software engineering is at the core of what we do. We’re focused on diversity and producing great software developers. Our development teams, regardless of their backgrounds, outperform traditionally sourced teams by 3x. Because of their natural abilities and real-world experiences, our developers can adapt to and solve engineering challenges faster and deliver a more consumer-focused product.
At GHC 19 we will show women looking to get into tech, and companies looking to hire a more diverse and productive workforce, that this option exists. You don’t have to come straight out of MIT or Stanford to be a great developer. You can be a barista, a library science major or a high school science teacher. What matters is your aptitude, not your pedigree.
By expanding the definition of who can become a successful software developer, we can make more people feel like they belong. We can show that there is a future for people just like you in tech. We can help create a more inclusive next generation of amazing women technologists.
