With International Women’s Day around the corner on March 8, I wanted to pause for a minute and reflect on one of the challenges tech communities around the world are facing: diversity and inclusion.

These are loaded terms and mean a lot of things to a lot of people. I won’t use this column to get too deep into my favourite party topic – intersectional feminism – but I will say that the tech community, arguably more than other sectors, needs to be aware of all the ways in which their products will impact the world. A good way to achieve that is by hiring and promoting a team that reflects the world’s experiences.

There are too many cautionary tales to get into here, around what happens when you don’t have designers, use-testers, marketers and others who understand diverse experiences.

What I will say is, in my handful of years working in Waterloo Region’s tech sector, I have met so many strong women, from founders to designers to community builders. Even my team at Communitech is predominantly women. I’m lucky to be able to experience conversations about product development, the future implications of AI and machine learning, what a truly inclusive workplace looks like, and more, from the vantage point of this community. I think it’s a lot different from the experience I would have had if I held a similar position in Silicon Valley, and we should be proud of that distinction.

While women are only one marker of a ‘diverse’ workplace (and there’s still a lot of progress to be made regarding women of colour, queer folk and people with disabilities), I find myself so excited to look at my events calendar for this International Women’s Day and see what’s happening in Waterloo Region. There are more events than before involving the tech community, and more events centred around women’s strength than one person could attend. In fact, IWD has now stretched to span a week full of things to do.

You’ll find some of the tech-related events below in Something Good, and even more IWD events in What Can I Do. I’m sorry if I missed your event, but be sure to contact us here if you think I should know about a future one.

Happy International Women’s Day to all.

Something Good:

Smile.io has partnered again with the team at Woman2019 to put on what is sure to be a great IWD evening event on March 8, and will include muralist Trisha Abe, who recently blew us away at Communitech with her wonderful work in our EBC meeting room.

Bridgit co-founder Lauren Lake will be a panelist on Regional Chair Karen Redman’s Greater K-W Chamber of Commerce’s IWD Breakfast on March 1 at the Inn of Waterloo.

Shopify also has an event on March 8, where they’ve taken the one-badass-speaker route by securing Sandy Metz to tell you all about the art of persuasion. Later, on Tuesday, March 12, they’re hosting a second IWD session with a panel of women entrepreneurs on how they achieved economic independence.

Oracle NetSuite will be hosting a panel featuring women from several tech firms in town including NetSuite, McAfee, Emmetros, and D2L, chatting about the theme of ‘Balance for Better’ on March 7, starting at 5 p.m.

The universities have great IWD options as usual, with Wilfrid Laurier hosting Powered by STEAM: Advancing women in science, technology, engineering, arts and math, a luncheon, and University of Waterloo’s annual IWD Dinner featuring a video message from recent Nobel Laureate, Donna Strickland.

And finally, Communitech has rescheduled the LGBTQ2+ Allyship in the Workplace event that was snowed out last February for March 7 at lunch. A great session on how to be a better ally to all your queer teammates, woman-identified or otherwise.

What (Else) Can I Do:

Imagine it: Good and mad with Rebecca Traister, Kitchener Public Library, 85 Queen, March 1 at 6:30 p.m.

CMW Women Who Inspire Awards Dinner 2019, Coalition of Muslim Women KW, The Family Centre, March 2 at 6:30 p.m.

International Women’s Day with Martha Chaves, Zonta Club of KW, Bingemans, March 4 at 5:30 p.m.

Know Better, Do Better, Marit Collective, CIGI, March 8 at 6:30 p.m.

International Women's Day with Lisa LaFlamme and Michelle Shephard, Kitchener Public Library, 85 Queen, March 8 at 7 p.m.