In the News – Page 10 – Women Tech Council

Women Tech Council and Leading Tech Companies Partner to Drive Opportunities For Women in Tech

Partnership creates platform to highlight impact women have in the technology economy

SALT LAKE CITY, May 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Women Tech Council (www.womentechcouncil.org), a non-profit, today announced its 2016 industry partners. The partnerships enable opportunities, visibility, mentoring and networking for women in technology. The Women Tech Council was created 9 years ago to build a community of collaboration and performance around women in tech. Headquartered in Utah, where more then 5000 tech companies are located, the Women Tech Council has a community of more than 10,000 that work together for this cause.

“Our organization has always focused on the impact women have on the technology economy. The support for that focus is demonstrated by our […]

Kristin Wright2018-07-11T21:48:50-07:00

5 things you didn’t know about being a woman in tech

1. I use the words “what if” a lot.

We all go through life wishing things could be done differently. Technology has the power to change the way we live and work. I helped launch video and e-book products that impacted hundreds of thousands of educators to coach them in teaching best practices. Imagine how many student lives were impacted by helping teachers be more effective. A lot of technology is being created for the first time. Being able to create is incredibly energizing and accesses the highest levels of thinking. So a lot of conversations with my teams start with “what if we did this?” Women have incredibly innovative minds, and often they […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-06T01:04:17-07:00

Tech Leaders Discuss Ecommerce Market, Future

In the constantly shifting landscape of ecommerce, it can be tough to keep up.

During a discussion sponsored by the Women Tech Council’s three leaders in the industry talked about the ways they try to stay ahead of the curve—and compete with other tech giants, like Amazon.

Stormy Simon, president of Overstock.com, said the industry has advanced to the point of allowing unprecedented opportunities for drawing customers. That advantage is half of a double-edged sword, with the other half being the increasingly specific demands of shoppers, she said, particularly those who are younger.

“It used to be someone would look for ‘red couch.’ But Millenials, these dang kids, they look for ‘red couch, three cushions, buttons on the back,’” […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T04:23:42-07:00

1.2K high school girls participate in STEM event

OREM — More than 1,000 high school girls filled up the Utah Valley University UCCU center Friday.

They were there for SheTech Explorer, a STEM event put on by the Women Tech Council and Utah Valley University. It was sponsored by Ancestry.com and the Utah STEM Action Center.

To kick off the conference, STEM-advocate Thelina Smith and Angela Trego addressed the girls. Trego told them, “it’s about you discovering things you like and don’t like.”

The girls could discover their interests through an interactive TechZone exhibit and an assortment of female-led panels and workshops. Ninth-grader Sidnee Meyers said she liked the TechZone the most because “you get […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-14T03:11:17-07:00

Girl power: SheTech links growing number of high school girls to STEM

When Angela Trego read a feedback survey where a girl admitted she didn’t know she could do things in science, technology, engineering and math until she attended SheTech Explorer Day, she knew the event was doing what it was meant to.

“We want girls to come and do this and create a wow factor,” said Trego, assistant professor of technology management at Utah Valley University and part of the leadership for the Women Tech Council. “They come and do this and say, this is fun and I can do it.”

Around 1,200 high school girls from 121 schools across the state, including as far away as Monument Valley, registered for SheTech Explorer Day, held […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-14T03:11:38-07:00

Registration for SheTech Explorer Day Now Open

Registration for SheTech Explorer Day now open

Registration is now open for the third annual SheTech Explorer Day, an event to introduce more than 1,000 high school girls in grades 9-12 to programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

This year the event is sponsored by Ancestry.com and the STEM Action Center, and hosted by Utah Valley University and the Women Tech Council. It aims to create a safe and fun environment that encourages young women to explore opportunities in STEM fields.

Numerous technology companies will have displays set up featuring interactive projects for participants to discover throughout the day. Girls will spend the day involved in different workshops, which they choose. Areas of study include aerodynamics, […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-21T19:35:20-07:00

Recap: Talent Innovation Summit.

We’ve all heard about the serious dearth of women in tech roles. At Google, for example, women make up 30% of the company’s workforce, but hold 17 percent of the company’s tech jobs. At Facebook, women fill 15 percent of tech roles. At Twitter, it’s just 10 percent.

Worse yet, women stand to gain one new STEM job for every 20 that are lost in other disrupted industries.

But how do we close the tech industry gender gap? Last week’s inaugural Talent Innovation Summit, sponsored by the Women Tech Council and held at Adobe’s Utah office, aimed to get the conversation started. Senior executives, HR personnel, business leaders, and a standing-room-only crowd gathered to discuss […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T05:20:09-07:00

Women’s Tech Council Discusses Wage Gap, Workplace Diversity

Lehi—It’s no secret that Utah, despite the overall health of the state’s economy, still has a long way to go in recruiting, retaining, promoting and fairly compensating women in many of its industries. Recent figures by Voice for Utah Children show that Utah only pays women 70 cents on the dollar (as opposed to the national average of 79.2 cents), which leaves $1.6 billion in personal income that would be added to Utah’s economy each year if Utah’s wage gap were no larger than the nation’s. The technology industry, despite—or perhaps, because of—its recent boom in the state, is hungrier than ever to attract female talent.

Now, initiatives like the ElevateHER challenge and groups like the […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T05:28:52-07:00

MX Attends Women Tech Council Talent Innovation Summit

Hiring and diversity was the focus of the Women in Technology Council’s first Talent Innovation Summit. We had the opportunity to be in attendance with so many successful women in tech and it was truly an impactful morning. The last panel of the event featured four women from top companies in the area. Jill Layfield, former CEO of Backcountry, led the panel with Dianne Rivera (Goldman Sachs), Denise Leleux (eBay), and Alison Lutjemeier (Adobe). The panel shared great ideas for innovative recruiting and maintaining diversity. Some of their tips include:

1. Have women on your recruiting board.
2. Remove all unconscious bias by educating your employees
3. Set up a diverse slate of candidates, […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T05:31:59-07:00

New summit striving to address problems for women in Utah tech companies

“Starting the conversation” was the point of the Women Tech Council’s first Talent Innovation Summit Wednesday.

“If we don’t have the conversation, nothing changes,” said WTC president and co-founder Cydni Tetro.

Senior executives, human resources personnel, and business leaders filled Adobe’s Alpha Bravo gym to capacity Wednesday to discuss how to recruit and retain women in local technology companies. Because it was the WTC’s first try at a summit of this size and breadth, the goal was to bring in some top leaders to start the conversation, and present their ideas on what has worked and what hasn’t.

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T05:38:17-07:00

11 Utah organizations changing the tech game for women

SALT LAKE CITY — The Silicon Slopes are growing more diverse thanks to innovative groups, initiatives, organizations and companies that are pushing for more Utah women to pursue technology careers. Many female leaders at major tech companies are leading the charge.

Utah, which topped Forbes’ list of Best States for Business, has high household incomes and great job-growth rates. Forbes calls it a “technology hub,” with companies like Novell, WordPerfect, Microsoft, Oracle and Adobe Systems building major hubs within the state.

“The talent pool in Utah is incredible,” Scott Murray, vice president of global customer experience for eBay, told the Associated Press. An integral part of that talent pool […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T05:44:57-07:00

How I learned the value of networking in 10 minutes

Networking is a nearly everyday experience for us MBA students. From in-class speakers to alumni events to mingling with our peers, networking opportunities abound.

Unlike other networking events, however, the Women’s Tech Council Speed Networking event on Oct. 21 offered a unique experience to interface with five inspiring female business leaders from around the Salt Lake valley.

The Women’s Tech Council is a nonprofit community organization that seeks to empower women in technology roles and technology companies through mentoring, networking and visibility. For the past three years, the group has participated in a speed-networking event at the Eccles School. The event was sponsored by Women in Business, a club that aims to engage, develop and support women […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T05:56:45-07:00