Reflections on vGHC 2020
By: Kailin K
Tags: Grace Hopper Conference, Uc Berkeley, Women In Tech, Ischooldiversity, Graduate Students

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration, this year held virtually with the theme #TogetherWeBuild.

As a first-year Master of Information Management and Systems (MIMS) student at UC Berkeley focusing on product management and data science, I was excited about the chance to learn from other women in technology.

This year’s conference was virtual! The plus side of this was I attended more events than I could’ve otherwise, because I was able to watch the recordings for sessions that conflicted with my classes.

Women face obstacles in the technology sector. Previously, I attended a panel of Women in Data Science. Panelists with young children shared that they faced discrimination and barriers to advancement. This angered me because some of the most talented colleagues that I’ve partnered with are working mothers. I was also dismayed by a recent HBR study that found women were more likely to volunteer and be volunteered for non-promotable tasks at work than men, which has profound implications on who ends up leading technical organizations. It is particularly dismaying because research has shown female directors are more effective and collaborative decision-makers than their male counterparts.

I feel strongly that it’s my responsibility as a future leader in technology to prioritize inclusive spaces in tech for women and working mothers.

I found two sessions at the Grace Hopper Celebration particularly inspiring for where I am now as a MIMS student: You Too! Becoming an Influential Female CIO, a panel that featured three women in lead information roles in various fields, and Lessons in Building Responsible ML, a presentation featuring two Google Product Managers.

These insights have stuck with me:

Personal Branding Matters. A panelist described a famous CEO without needing to mention the CEO’s name, because it was evident just from the description. I’ve never felt like a personal brand was something meaningful to me, but thinking about it as “what people know about you” made me better understand its importance and impact.

Networking is more than just Wine and Cheese: One panel discussed the importance of mentors and colleagues in navigating their careers. I liked how they framed networking as developing meaningful connections with others, rather than just small talk at an event.

Data is the Product Too! A machine learning product manager explained how her product wasn’t just the model itself, but the data used to train and build the model. Thus it requires being deeply involved in how the data was collected and ensuring it is representative of the user base.

“Failure Culture” Enables Open Communication. A presenter stressed the importance of having team members be willing to speak up if something wasn’t working. Particularly as a product manager working with engineering teams on go-to-market plans, I’ve thought a lot about how to make space so that everyone feels comfortable making their voice heard. I had never heard the expression “failure culture” before, but I love the idea of embracing that things will break and planning for that eventuality.

Obligatory first day of school picture

I chose to enroll in the MIMS program in large part because of the I School’s commitment to diversity. Supporting events like the Grace Hopper Conference, appointing equity advisors, and offering the Data for Good Fellowship demonstrates the I School leads with its values.