I ran a poll on Twitter this week looking for answers to a question I was curious about. I find the results interesting. On the one hand it encourages me how many people have apologised and it went well. On the other, the number of people who say “no reason to” makes me despondent. The […]
There’s a question that I have found myself asking a lot over the last two years: “do you know what a good environment looks like, though?” I ask it when a friend comes to me with anxiety about performance reviews. I ask it to the friend who left a bad environment only to end up in […]
Earlier this year I withdrew from a conference because the organizer refused to implement a proper code of conduct (eventually he put up something but he refused to specify unacceptable behavior). I did not expect this to be such a contentious decision or one I would have to be reminded of nearly 6 months later. […]
My notes from @Jo_Miller‘s session at GHC. The Emerging Leaders Quandary – can’t get recognised as someone who is ready to lead a larger team. Why we get stuck – you can’t get that higher level job without the leadership experience… but you can’t get the leadership experience without the job. Do not outsource your […]
I don’t always manage all of these but I typically regret the ones I miss… If coming from any distance, arrive Monday. Stay until Sunday – and don’t make any plans for Saturday. Stock up on snacks – the keynotes start so early (830) and if you want a decent seat you won’t have time […]
One complaint that I heard a bunch last year – and levelled myself – was that it was so student focused there wasn’t a lot for mid-career women. But last night I went to two events that were really different from other events I’ve attended before at GHC! So exciting. First was Munchies, Mojitos & Making […]
I’m heading to Houston, Texas this week to go to the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. It’ll be my sixth time attending, and over the years I’ve gone in various guises. As a grad student, a Google employee, in disguise (I de-branded myself and refused to do any recruiting activities), as an independent. This year […]
One of the things I’ve been meditating on since escaping the tech industry is what skills do you not acquire when the main skills you are learning are how to cope in a bad situation? And do you have to unlearn them to go back? The other thing about environments where we “cope” rather than “thrive” […]
Over the last year the way I use social media has changed. It wasn’t dramatic. Just time passed… how much I was willing to share decreased, I started to feel anxious at times. The most vicious things normally end up in the moderation queue of my blog, and I could probably still quote things long […]
Earlier this year I pulled out of a conference because the organiser and I disagreed on code of conducts. Specifically I thought there should be one, and he did not. He did eventually add one, but refused to define unacceptable behaviour. Myself and another woman pulled out. This whole experience was really upsetting to me, […]