Guest presentation at the IBM Innovation Center overviewing the latest labor and workforce statistics surrounding women in the tech and STEM industries including the gender wage gap, the lack of women in these sectors and the pace at which pay equality is progressing in 2018. Also covered are personal experiences as a minority woman of over 10 years working for and within tech/startup businesses, ranging from private Internet upstarts to corporate enterprise companies along with actionable insights and suggestions on how both men and women in the workplace, particularly in STEM fields, can help advocate for women, reduce the churn of women in these roles, and increase the pipeline of women candidates in the future.

1. Going to Work
for Women
2018 International Women’s Day
#PressforProgressIBM Innovation Center

2. Work Amber
● Goes by Amber Fehrenbacher
● Currently Marketing Director for
EquipmentShare
● Formerly CMO for SuretyBonds.com
● Started out in ad tech space
● Comet Carnival Committee 2017 at Paxton
Elementary (with 2 IBM Project Managers and
had an awesome time)
● Really loves supporting women in the workforce
and thinks the pay gap is ridiculous
Who is this person?
“We were hoping for Michelle Obama but we’d settle for Sheryl Sandberg.”

3. Non-Work Amber
● Mother of 2 ages 5 and 7
● Usually tired and never in pictures
● Driver, housekeeper, cook, lunch packer
and laundry folder
● Stopped trying to do it all a long time ago
● Really loves supporting women in the
workforce and thinks the pay gap is
ridiculous
Who is this person?
“Not even close to Michelle Obama.”

4. First things first…
A thank you and a disclaimer.

5. Let’s look at the state of
women in tech according to
these sources….

6. This
A thank you.

7. This
A thank you.

12. It will be more than that, Rose!
115 years to close the gap at the current rate we’re moving
toward equality in STEM.

13. Speeding Things Up
What Can We Do?
3 Places to Accelerate Gap
Closeth Rate for STEM Equality
1) Your Work (duh)
2) In Your Home
3) In Our Schools

14. YOUR WORK If you see something, say
something (be an ally!)
Hire for talent, not
diversity metrics
ALWAYS KNOW YOUR WORTH
& ASK FOR MORE WHEN YOU KNOW IT’S
YOURS TO ASK FOR $$$$$$
Closing the gap at

15. IN YOUR HOME Share domestic responsibilites
equally
Recognize and reject traditional
gender norms at home
Set new examples of parenthood and avoid
absolutes (e.g. “That’s a mom job.”)
Closing the gap

16. IN OUR SCHOOLS Let the child dictate his or her interests
instead of selecting for them
Stop excusing un-excusable behavior when it
comes to gender (e.g.“boys will be boys” or
“he’s only mean to you because he likes you”)
Get involved and see where missed opportunities
may lie for STEM grants or coordinate a camp with
your coworkers or professional network
Closing the gap

17. I wish I knew then
what I know now.
Advice for a future that’s coming up female...

18. Being smart
is cool.
Getting Cs and skipping class seems to be the recipe for popularity in high school
but it rarely shakes out after that.
Don’t be afraid of how brilliant, creative or different you are.

19. I decide how to
be, look and feel.
I don’t have to “smile more,” or “stop getting all emotional,” or “be nicer about it,”
because I’m a woman.

20. Things don’t have to
be the way they are
right now.
The world around me is just a bunch of stuff that people decided to do or build or
create before I came along.
If there’s a better way to do something, I can make it happen.

21. No, I will not plan
the holiday party.
Or take on coordinating office events or bring a homemade dish for a work potluck.
I hate cooking and I was hired for none of those things.

22. Ask for more,
fearlessly.
Ask for more money, ask for more transparency, ask for better treatment, ask for a
pumping room, ask for better maternity leave policies.
Ask for more than what you’ve been convinced into believing is good enough for now.

24. THANK YOU!
amber@equipmentshare.com
@afehrenbacher
#pressforprogress #IWD2018