Kickoff the year 2020 with Tech Intersections: Celebrating Womxn of Color in Technology, taking place at Mills College in Oakland, California, for its third year on Saturday, January 25, 2020

Our conference features ALL womxn of color in tech speakers for an all womxn of color audience.

A sampling of our ~40 speakers includes:

• Tiffani Ashley Bell, Executive Director, The Human Utility
• Irma Olguin, Jr., CEO and Co-founder, Bitwise Industries
• Susana Benavidez, Student, Stanford University
• Aubrey Blanche, Global Head of Diversity & Belonging, Atlassian
• Idalin Bobé, Founder of TechActivist.Org
• Joy Dixon, Senior Manager, Engineering, at Salesforce
• Nancy Douyon, Design Ethicist & Product Philosopher, Douyon Signature
• Marlen Andrea Salazar, Web Developer / Co-owner, Design Action Collective
• Christianna Taylor, CTO, Gantri
• Rae Wright, Donor Support Manager, ActBlue

View all speakers and sessions.

Why Is This Space Important?

We created Tech Intersections to address the needs of womxn of color, such as African-Americans and Latinx, who rarely see others like themselves in the workplace, especially in higher-ranking positions. Existing tech conferences — even ones specifically designed for women — often have few underrepresented womxn in attendance and as speakers, particularly on technical topics. Additionally, tech conferences are generally unaffordable, creating a financial barrier to those interested in breaking into the industry. Tech Intersections addresses these concerns by having inexpensive tickets, providing free childcare, being located where womxn of color are, and limiting attendance to our target audience. We also hold a concurrent Ally Skills workshop for supporters outside our target demographic who want to learn how to support womxn of color.

Sneak Peek of What To Expect:

Our workshops will include topics like:

• Use your story to get your next opportunity
• Get Your App in the App Store/Google Chrome Sooner with Ionic
• Re-Engineering your Career into Technical Product Management
• Hacking Entrepreneurship: Trademarking and Business Protection for Creatives

Free childcare will be provided.

We Hope You Can Join Us!

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Tech Intersections is primarily focused on womxn of color most underrepresented in tech. While we value our allies and recognize that all womxn in tech and mxn of color also face discrimination, this is a unique opportunity for those most underrepresented womxn to have their own space. We hope our allies will join us at a concurrent allies workshop.

Specifically, this conference is exclusively for people who are:

• women, non-binary, or genderqueer, and
• engineers, entrepreneurs, activists, teachers, or leaders in tech (or aspiring to be), and
• members of an ethnic group considered most underrepresented in tech, including, but not limited to:
  • African-American/Black
  • American Indian/Native American
  • Latinx
  • Middle-Eastern
  • Pacific Islander
  • Southeast Asian

The above list of underrepresented ethnic groups is not meant to be exhaustive. Please contact us if you are unsure whether you qualify.

If you do not fit in all of the above categories, we hope you will consider attending our concurrent ally skills workshop.

All attendees are required to follow our code of conduct.

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Mills College is accessible by AC Transit and has free parking. Talks will take place in Littlefield Concert Hall and the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business, which are wheelchair accessible. Gender-neutral washrooms will be available. Please contact the organizers for disability accommodations.

We will provide free childcare.

FAQs

Can allies attend the main conference?

No. We encourage them to attend the concurrent allies workshop.

I'm Asian. Can I attend?

It depends. Some Asians are underrepresented, including (but not limited to) Filipinas, Koreans, and Vietnamese, while people of Chinese, Indian, and Japanese descent are generally not considered to be underrepresented in tech. However, we are aware there are exceptions as there are marginalized castes and ethnic minority groups throughout Asia. Feel free to contact us with questions.

I'm multiracial. Can I attend?

If you identify as a womxn of color and part of your identity is an underrepresented ethnicity as described above, you are welcome.

How much do tickets cost?

We do not want cost to keep anyone from attending so offer a sliding scale:

• $10 for students, teachers, and unemployed people, thanks to generous sponsorship from Handshake
• $50 for self-paying employed people and employees of small nonprofits
• $150 for people funded by their employer

Are there scholarships?

Yes! You can apply for a full or partial scholarship.

Is housing available for out-of-town attendees?

Yes. Double occupancy rooms are available at Mills. Reach out to housing@mills.edu for more info about Mills housing. Some locals have offered space in their homes in the past. There is a channel on our Slack for discussing housing. You will receive an invitation link once you register, or you can email info@techintersections.org.

How can I contact the organizer with any questions?

Please email info@techintersections.org.