CTG Promoting Career Growth for Women in IT

By Alexandra Suder and Caylor Feeley

The biggest take-away from CTG’s participation in the RVATech/Women conference last week? Women are empowered to drive career growth in our IT industry.

Courtney Ferrell, the master of ceremonies, began the all-day event at the Science Museum of Virginia with an encouraging perspective on the creativity needed in the technology industry. She pushed the idea of finding inspiration, away from the desk and with the community. Ferrell reminded the attendees of the importance of women involving themselves within the community groups of: Richmond, other women, and the technology industry. 

                

The five keynote speakers brought strong records of success in technology. Throughout the Oct. 6 event, each shared a different perspective on the power of women in the technology community – with the lessons including:

• Yvonne Wassenaar, CIO of New Relic: Women must overcome personal fear to reach the fullest career potential in the tech industry. She encouraged the presence of more women leaders in the industry, as the current state of women leaders is caused by a perception problem.
• Laishy Williams-Carlson, CIO of Bon Secours Health System: With her experience in changing careers, Williams-Carlson encouraged all women to create and know their own personal career brand.
• Jocelyn Mangan, Chief Product and Marketing Officer of Snagajob: Mangan encouraged women to see value in every aspect of their career, to push past judgements that often follow them as they make career decisions, and to always love their job.
• Joey Rosenberg, representing Women Who Code: Breaking news from Rosenberg was that Women Who Code has officially been established in Richmond. Throughout her presentation, she encouraged women to applaud other women as they tackle the male-dominated industry of technology. Rosenberg gave CTG a shout out during her presentation because half of our company’s employees are women!
• Dr. Karen Rheuban, M.D., professor of pediatrics at University of Virginia. She shared with us the exciting innovations in technology that allow for telemedicine.

Our CTG employees attended different breakout sessions. One session focused on building ideas in a real-world setting through the use of Legos, while creating an environment that opened the mind to ideas and communication. The second session introduced the concept of intrapreneurship and how to use this concept in the workplace, where you act as an entrepreneur within the enterprise. The final breakout session explored the changing world of virtual reality and augmented reality, with a look at privacy concerns and how the VR/AR affects the technology, business and personal spheres.

We and our female colleagues are inspired and motivated by what we learned at this year’s RVATech/Women conference – and we’re looking forward to doing our part to continue to build empowering communities within the technology industry. With an understanding of community comes inspiration and with inspiration comes innovation. Keep your eyes and ears open!

Alexandra Suder and Caylor Feeley run CTG’s marketing department.