Ada Lovelace Day 2019 - Brisbane

1. ©ThoughtWorks 2019 Commercial in Confidence ADA LOVELACE DAY 2019 - BRISBANE Tharanga Kasthuriarachchi, Dominique Rolin, Sofia Woods, Caroline Teahan

2. Tharanga Kasthuriarachchi How Networking Paid Off

3. ©ThoughtWorks 2019 Commercial in Confidence 3

4. © ThoughtWorks 2019 4 Job Applications I didn’t hear back from many 20 16 12 8 4 0

5. ©ThoughtWorks 2019 Commercial in Confidence Internet Freedom Hack Nov 2018 5

9. ©ThoughtWorks 2019 Commercial in Confidence Startup Weekend Fashion Nov 2018 9 ● 3 days ● In charge of electronics and code

10. ©ThoughtWorks 2019 Commercial in Confidence Victory! 10

13. ©ThoughtWorks 2019 Commercial in Confidence 3 Major Struggles at Work 13

14. 1. Imposter Syndrome Biggest struggle ● Everyone was more experienced than me. ● Why was I chosen? 14

15. 1. Imposter Syndrome It’s ok to feel like this. 15

16. © ThoughtWorks 2019 16 The Dev Team MAXART Tom Knowles Danny Tan Patrick Chang Teej

17. © ThoughtWorks 2019 - ATLASSIAN DevOps is a set of practices that automates the processes between software development and IT teams, in order that they can build, test, and release software faster and more reliably.

18. 2. DevOps (and getting people to embrace it) Getting DevOps up and running ● Automated Builds / Continuous Integration ● Logging from apps 18

19. 3. Finding a balance between work and home Big one for me. ● Work does need to be done 19

20. ©ThoughtWorks 2019 Commercial in Confidence Blank Page With a Title 20

21. ©ThoughtWorks 2019 Commercial in Confidence Networking 21

22. ©ThoughtWorks 2019 Commercial in Confidence Networking 22 ● Meetups

23. ©ThoughtWorks 2019 Commercial in Confidence Networking 23 ● Meetups ● Talking to other developers.

24. ©ThoughtWorks 2019 Commercial in Confidence Networking 24 ● Meetups ● Talking to other developers. ● Talking to recruiters

25. Dominique Rolin & Sofia Woods From ‘One of the Boys’ to Becoming Your True Self

26. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Sofia Woods ● senior experience designer ● previous life was a dancer/circus performer ● live in co-operative housing with 5 others Dominique Rolin ● Thoughtworker for 4 years, developer for 17, geek forever ● practices olympic weightlifting ● has a 9 year-old daughter

27. © ThoughtWorks 2019 15min to smash the patriarchy ● The current state of women in IT ● Recognizing the effects of a male-dominated work culture ● Practical ways to transition to being our true self again ● Tips for allies to support women in STEM

28. © ThoughtWorks 2019 The Current State of Women in IT

29. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Fewer women are working in IT 36% 25%

30. © ThoughtWorks 2019 More women are quitting IT In the high-tech industry, the quit rate is: 41% for women 17% for men

31. © ThoughtWorks 2019 More women are quitting IT ….and it’s not about babies ● Women who quit mid-career (12 years in): 56% ○ 49% remain in STEM ○ 31% abandon the industry ○ 20% do not re-enter the workforce* ● Women in STEM who report “loving their job”: 80% Glass et al., 2013

32. © ThoughtWorks 2019 What it’s really about ● Bad workplace experiences ● Lack of Access to Creative Technical Roles ● Dissatisfaction with Career Prospects, Especially for Women of Color

33. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Recognizing the effects of a male-dominated work culture

34. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Boys club survival tricks Haha, that “dumb blonde” joke was so funny!I’m not like other girls, I like beer and hate the color pink

35. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Boys club survival tricks My team members have a fun new nickname for me: they don’t call me their tech-lead, they call me their Mom! Oh, it’s ﬁne, I don’t mind him sharing stories of his sexual conquests

36. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Boys club survival tricks You’re right, that guy is probably going to ﬁt in better with the team, let’s keep him for the next round and send the woman on her way. Of course I will move my maternity leave one month forward, I’m a team player!

37. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Boys club survival tricks Let the boys have their fussball room, I’ll use my breast- pump in the toilet. I understand: it was fair of you to assume that I wouldn’t have time for a promotion now that I had a baby.

38. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Haha, that “dumb blonde” joke was so funny! You’re right, that male candidate is probably going to fit in better with the team, let’s keep him for the next round and set the woman on her way. Of course I will move my maternity leave one month forward, I’m a team player! Let the boys have their fussball room, I’ll use my breast-pump in the toilet. I’m not like other girls, I like beer and hate the color pink. I understand: it was fair of you to assume that I wouldn’t have time for a promotion now that I had a baby. My team members have a fun new nickname for me: they don’t call me their tech- lead, they call me their Mom! Oh, it’s fine, I don’t mind him sharing stories of his sexual conquests.

39. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Practical ways to transition to being our true self again

40. © ThoughtWorks 2019 ME

41. © ThoughtWorks 2019 ME ● isolated ● blind-sided ● no support ● included ● informed ● supported Find Your peers!

42. © ThoughtWorks 2019 ME ● fake ‘work persona’ ● imposter syndrome ● ﬁnd common experiences Squash Your Imposter Syndrome!

43. © ThoughtWorks 2019 ME ● “one-of-a-kind” ● nothing special? Have An Existential Crisis!

44. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Would I be treated this way if I wasn’t a woman?

45. © ThoughtWorks 2019 I’m the #boss

46. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Something was happening

47. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Challenging my ability Um….where’s your developer (read: male) ? Shouldn’t he be here to answer these questions? I’ve had my friend look over the code, and you’ve done it all wrong. Bypassing me and going straight to my developer.

48. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Resistance to my process No, I don’t want it launched then, I want it launched on the weekend... I don’t have the content for you, can’t you just build this anyway? No no….I’ve got a better design..

49. © ThoughtWorks 2019

50. ©ThoughtWorks 2018 Commercial in Conﬁdence Blatant criticism “You’re actually doing a terrible job”

51. © ThoughtWorks 2019 What was going on?

52. © ThoughtWorks 2019 https://www.businessinsider.com.au/witchsy-founders-created-fictional-male-cofounder-2017-8?r=US&IR=T They noticed an enormous difference between how contractors and contacts treated him versus how they treated the women. “it was very clear no one took us seriously and everybody thought we were just idiots.” but to ‘Keith’ “they’d be like ‘OK, bro, yeah, let’s brainstorm!'”

57. How dare you tell me ‘I am not like most girls’ when those ‘girls’ you refer to are my sisters and mothers, my friends, the very solace and the kindness I have sought when the worst things in my life have happened? How dare you assume I should take that as a compliment and beam at you like it is praise when you are alienating me from the very core of my proudly female being? There are a thousand ways to tell me you love me, and making my sisters small to make me big isn’t one of them. Tell me you love me, but not because I am different. Tell me you love me, just because you do. - Nikita Gill

58. Caroline Teahan Bringing my Family Learnings to Work

59. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Caroline Teahan ● ThoughtWorker for 4 years ● multi-hats - BA, IM, PM, engagement lead, team coffee runner …. ● first heard about TWs in a playground chatting to another Mum ● Thermomix lover ● 3 kids did term 2 in school in Ireland

62. © ThoughtWorks 2019 My Siblings 36% Margaret Primary Teacher Anne-Marie Former banker turned car garage owner Bridget Pharmaceutical plant site leader Patrick Pharmaceutical VP Catherine Midwife Clare Executive Sales Director David HR & Operations Manager

64. Same event, diﬀerent perspectives

69. © ThoughtWorks 2019 Help 36% Women working at HP applied for a promotion only when they believed they met 100 percent of the qualifications listed for the job. Men were happy to apply when they thought they could meet 60 percent of the job requirements. Forbes Magazine: Act Now to Shrink the Confidence Gap

70. © ThoughtWorks 2019 My Learnings 36% Perspective Comms & Assumption Passions & Strengths Expectations & Outcomes Help

71. © ThoughtWorks 2019 My Biggest Learning 36% Everyone is human .. and poops Perspective Comms & Assumption Passions & Strengths Expectations & Outcomes Help

72. 74 Thank You For questions or suggestions: Caroline Teahan cteahan@thoughtworks.com