The event, in partnership with Czechitas and Storyous, drew around 150 guests from IT companies across the Czech Republic who had come to brainstorm ways to attract more women to this exciting and fast-evolving industry.
“There are already a lot of really amazing women working on the global IT market, but I'd like to see more. And the discussion needs to start here,” said STRV CEO David Semerad. “The local talent pool is phenomenal. STRV has teamed up with a number of companies dedicated to improving the number of women in the tech field, and together we are going to make a difference.”
The kick-off party aboard the Bohemian Rhapsody was the first installment of our LadyTech series. We invited numerous speakers from various tech companies and startups to outline the benefits of having a diverse office environment and what it will take to get more women joining the IT ranks.
“I think women in tech are really important. They have different viewpoints,” said Katerina Haslarova, product manager at Storyous, a social network that provides cafes and restaurants reviews and tips, told the crowd gathered Friday night. However, “girls are not motivated to study tech at school, which is just sad.”
Vanda Cabanova agreed, which is why she help found Czechitas, a Brno-based non-profit that routinely organizes IT workshops for women.
“Right now, we want to focus on girls who want to join the IT field and girls in high school, because that's the age we can make an impact,” said Vanda, who is an Android programmer and product specialist.
“We are trying to empower girls,” added Pavlina Louzenska from ZOOT.cz, the one of biggest online shopping platforms in the Czech Republic. “I hate to be labeled as a women. I want to be labeled as a successful person.” ZOOT.cz also offers workshops for women.
Other guest speakers included Jana Friedrichova from Simplecell, Barbora Polachova from Uber and Michaela Plesnikova from Yelp. STRV will be announcing future LadyTech events on Facebook and Twitter.
Check out the photo gallery from LadyTech Boat Party on Facebook.
