On March 7, 2020, the 1st Annual San Diego Tech Women's Summit convened the region’s thriving and diverse tech workforce as we celebrated International Women’s Day in America’s Finest City. This Summit was produced by a strategic collaboration of San Diego-based advocacy organizations and women employee resources groups (ERGs) including Athena, Blacks in Technology SD, Designing Women, Girls in Tech San Diego, #LatinaGeeks, LEARN Academy, Qualcomm, TechSesh, Tech Women @Intuit, Women in Technology at Sony, and Women Who Code San Diego. Welcome to the power of collaboration!
Ranking 5th in the nation with the highest concentration of engineers and scientists, San Diego tech companies joined industry leaders, rising tech stars and gender equality advocates as our community reimagines the region as a destination for diversity. By creating this safe space defined by inclusiveness and innovation, participants were able to enhance their career paths and intimately understand which companies and career strategies most align with their core values and career ambitions.
Hosted at Qualcomm Campus, 250+ participants convened to learn from keynote speakers, panels and a tech career and resources fair.
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
Kimbra
Brookstein
Sr. Program Manager,
Tech Women @ Intuit
After the launch of San Diego Tech Women’s Summit in honor of #IWD2020 the quote “your network is your net worth” rang true! This was highlighted by the 250+ attendees who came together to learn, connect and grow! Tech Women at Intuit has the goal of Intuit being the #1 choice for female technologists, a place where women are empowered and diversity is embraced. On March 7, SDTWS certainly demonstrated that.”
Chelsea Kaufman
CEO
LEARN Academy
For collaboration to be successful, it's important to seek out and listen to people of all walks of life. Whether you are new or a veteran, whether you are a developer or a tech enthusiast, whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, your voice has value. SDTWS showed the full spectrum of diverse voices in that room."
Liz
Cotton
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Blacks in Technology
I am humbled by collaborating with this community-focused group of leaders. Creating a platform to shift change, diversify the pipeline, empower the masses, and bring industry awareness is no easy task. These San Diego women’s leadership groups executed with professionalism and a clear purpose."
Julie
Morgan
Founder
Designing Women
San Diego Tech Women's Summit shined a spotlight on hundreds of women in the tech industry. Designing Women continues to champion and amplify female-identifying UX professionals and their allies. We look forward to continuing to envision a prosperous and gender equal future in tech."
Sarah
Hassaine
Manager, Inclusion & Diversity
Qualcomm
My biggest takeaway is the importance of prioritizing my comfort level in work environments. So many times I focus on ensuring those around me are comfortable, tabling my own feelings. It was powerful to hear so many women share in that sentiment and the need to course-correct."
Hillary Opperman
Director of Operations
LEARN Academy
What I witnessed was not something I've ever seen before as 250+ attendees were a majority of women and it allowed me to appreciate the why. We did this for them, to bring them together to learn from women. It was inspiring, reflective, and needed. As we sit in very uneasy times, I am thankful to reflect back on that Summit and feel proud of our San Diego Tech Community."
Holly
Smithson
Chief Executive Officer
Athena
Given the powerful engagement by the hundreds of attendees at our Inaugural San Diego Tech Women’s Summit on International Women’s Day 2020, Athena's vision to reimagine the region as a diversity destination comes into greater focus. I'm taken aback by the unstoppable determination and intentional collaboration that's running rampant inside San Diego’s tech community.”
