While some industries have made headwind in attracting women to the workforce, the technology industry continues to fall behind. According to 2016 Women in the Workplace Study by McKinsey & Co and Leanin.org, the gender gap between women and corporate America is still prevalent in the tech industry. The research states that within the tech industry there are only 36% women workers in entry level positions, 25% in VP roles, and only 17% in C-suite executive roles.

In 1987, Mukilteo, WA resident and computer scientist Dr. Anita Borg set out to make an impact on this gender gap by starting the Digital Community for Women in computing called Systers. Since then, this community has grown into a leading organization for women in technology. Today, AnitaB.org works with women technologists and in more than 50 countries and partners with leading academic institutions and fortune 500 companies.

On today’s episode, Tyler sits down with Anita Borg Institute Community Leaders, Professor Sheila Oh, who serves as the Senior Instructor and Director of the Computer Science Fundamentals Certificate Program at Seattle University and Ross Smith, Director of Skype for Good at Microsoft. They discuss the gender gap in technology and how we as a society can change it together.

They also discuss how you can make an impact on the gender gap in technology by attending the upcoming Hopper X 1 Seattle Women in Tech Conference taking place March 22nd - 23rd. Tickets are available February 13th here. Don’t wait too long to register as tickets sold out within 36 hours last year!