>>Mhm Hello and welcome back to the cubes coverage of 80 of his public sector summit live for two days in D. C. In person. CuBA's here is an expo floor that people face to face down here. Adriana guest co founder and Ceo of Girls in tech cube alumni friend of the cube. We've known her for a long time. Watch their success really making an impact. Great to see you. Thanks for coming on. >>Wonderful to see you, john, thanks so much for having me. >>You know, one of the things that Sandy carter talks about matt max Peter talks about all of the Amazonian leadership that's about is skills training. Okay, this is a big deal. Okay, so getting talented to the industry is critical and also diversity and women attacking underrepresented minority groups are key. This has been a look at constant focus, you've been successful and and convincing folks about tech and working hard, what's the update, >>wow. So the reason why we're here, not only as Sandy carter are amazing chairman of the board of six plus years, but I heard we heard so many pain points from several of our partners as well as our good friends over at the White House and the Department of State and many other public sector agencies that there is a deficit. It's been very difficult to find diverse groups of talent and talent period to join their companies and populate those important I. T. Jobs stem jobs, whether it's very very technical or more data driven or more sort of design focus, product development focus across the board it's been very hard for them to find talent for those jobs. So girls in tech has partnered with AWS to create an initiative called the next generation public sector leaders and really focusing on creating awareness on career development opportunities for up and coming talent diverse talent that is curious and interested in job opportunities and educational opportunities within the public sector. So it has multi tiers, right? And it's something that we've devised based on the need and based on a lot of data and a lot of interviews from a lot of our partners and within the A. P. N. Network and we're doing a mentorship program which is a six month long program matching these amazing public sector executives, really accomplished leaders as well as our members from around the world um to connect and expose them and provide that nurturing, fostering mentality so that they can succeed in their careers. So >>eight of us getting behind this mission. Yes. And public sector is really fast growing changing. You start to see a lot of public private partnerships go on. So not just the old school public sector business, I mean the pandemic has shown the impact of society. So what does that do for the melting pot of talent out there? Have you seen anything out there? And how does that relate to this? Is that helped you at all or what's that does that mean for the mission? >>So there is a melting pot of talent. I just think we need to do a better job of creating awareness and really knowing where that talent lives. Like what are the blogs that they read? What are the videos that they watch and listen to? Where are they? Right. And we need to do the hard work and investigating and understanding like taking a more empathetic approach to really finding out what um how we can access them what their needs are. What are the things that interest piqued their interest within these jobs within the public sector um And customize it and market it so that they'll be eager and excited. Um And it would be more appealing to them. >>So I looked at the press release I just want to get your reaction to something you got evening with the experts. It's an in person event. >>Yes. When >>is that? Is that here is that going to be on your own event? What's that about? >>All the events that are going to be in person? Will be in D. C. Um There will be some virtual events as well. Our mentorship program is all virtual six month long program with curriculum and matchmaking on a platform that we use the evening with the experts which is a panel discussion with experts from a A. W. S. And beyond the A. P. N. Network. We'll talk about challenges and technology opportunities within a career development and also jobs. Um Well do recruitment like on the fly type of activities as well. Speed and speed interviewing, speed networking? Um We also have a few other programs, our webinar which is about the next gen public sector opportunities and this is more about the challenges that people face that companies face and the new technologies that will be launched very soon. And we're doing a widget on our jobs board to highlight the new career opportunity, new job opportunities from all of the public sector partners. We work with >>a very comprehensive, >>It's very comprehensive on the six >>month guided mentorship program. How does someone get involved in applications? How what's that going on there? >>It will be an application process and we will promote it to anyone who signs up to our newsletter. So go to Girls in tech dot org. Sign up for our newsletter and we will be posting and sharing more information on how people get involved. But we'll definitely send custom uh E. D. M essentially promoting to the people who are here at the conference and also through our Girls in tech D. C. Chapter as well. >>So I have to ask you, I know you've been really busy, been very successful. You've been out and about what's the trend line looked like? Well >>not for the last few years though, >>you've >>been in lockdown now. >>You've been working hard, you know have not not about now. You >>are not >>about what's the temperature like now in terms of the pulse of the industry relative to progress, what's what's what are you finding, what's the current situation >>progress for women in tech in the industry. So Since I started girls in tech in 2007, we've made A lot of progress, I would say it's a lot slower than I thought it would be, but you do see more and more women and people representing bipac actually apply for those jobs. We it is astronomically different than 2006, when I started in my first startup and there's a lot more mentorship, There are a lot more organizations out there that companies are more accountable with the R. G. Groups and they're changing their policies, are changing their training programs are having more off sites, there's now technologies that focus on tracking uh productivity and happiness of employees so that like all of that did not exist or I should say none of that existed, you know? And so we worked hard, we've worked hard, but it takes a village, it takes a lot of different people to create that change. And now one of girls in text mission is not just providing that education that community, that mentorship, we want to get the corporate involved, we want to teach the corporate about D and I training the importance of diversity, different tactics to recruit uh so on and so forth. And and it's been so amazing, so inspirational, I love, I started working more in partnerships and having our monthly calls with partners because I love it. I love collaborating to >>recruit good peer group around you to accelerate and create more territory of awareness and impact more people can get their hands involved. And I think to me that's what I think you're starting to see that with podcasts and media people are starting to go direct to tell their story, apps are out there now as you mentioned. So, but I feel like we're on a crossover point coming soon, totally thinks it's different. Um, but it's still a >>lot more work to do a lot more. We just got the service. I know, I know you've just scratched the surface, but we're so excited to be here. Aws is a huge supporter thanks to Sandy carter and her team. Um, it's been an amazing experience. >>Sandy's got great vision, she takes risks. So she's actually got the Amazonian concept of experiment, try something double down if it works and that's great to see that you guys have extended that relationship with, with her and the team. I like this idea of the fellowship cohort model of the or that program, you have the mentorship program. I think that's super cool. Um, that's something I think will be very successful. >>Uh, it's been successful so far. We typically over sell our mentorship are mentee spots. Uh, we only have 500 spots and last one we had over 2300 like a crazy amount, so we know that our members are really hungry for it around the world. And we know it will just be as just as popular for the public sector. So >>what's next for you? What's the vision? What's the next step was events are coming back in person? We're here in person. >>Yeah, there's just so much going on. I wish I could clone myself and we're busting at the seams. And I think the things that are really exciting to me are being able to produce our programs internationally, specifically in developing countries. So we're working um we haven't made an official announcement yet or anything, but we are working on expanding in african countries with Aws. They're doing some efforts and making some movements there. So places like Cameroon Ghana Nigeria Egypt. Uh we are looking to create chapters there for Girls in Tech and then expand our programming. Uh we're also, as mentioned earlier, we're working a lot with corporations to provide DNA training. So, training about policies, Inclusive leadership. Making sure they have the tools and policies to succeed and for their employees to feel comfortable, safe and productive in their work environment >>is great to see you. Congratulations Girls in tech dot org. Yes. Is the U. R. L. Check it out a great mission, very successful. Making progress any stats you can throw out there, you can share. >>Yeah, of course, you >>wrap it up. >>Yeah. So right now, girls in tech has 58 active chapters in 38 countries with over 70,000 active members. And by the end of the year we will have close to 100 active members. So hopefully we'll see you next year and that number will double or triple sign >>up. Tell him johN sent, you know, don't say that because you won't get no. Great to see you. >>Thank you. Nice to see you too. Thanks so >>much, john. Great to have you on cube coverage here at AWS public Sector summit in Washington, D. C. Is a live event. Were face to face. We had some remote guests. It's a hybrid event. Everything is being streamed. I'm john Kerry with the cube. Thanks for watching. Mhm. Mhm

>> From San Francisco, it's theCUBE. Covering Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference. Brought to you by Girls in Tech. (upbeat music) >> Hey welcome back everybody, Jeff Frick here with theCUBE. We're in downtown San Francisco at the Girls in Tech Catalyst event. About 700 professionals, mainly women, a few men a busload of some kids came in to watch as well. And we're really excited to have the founder and CEO of Girls in Tech, Adriana Gascoigne. Adriana, first off congratulations on another great event. >> Thank you! Thanks so much, it's been awesome. All the energy, all the vibrancy in the room everyone's here to learn and grow and listen to these amazingly accomplished speakers from astronauts to venture capitalists to serial entrepreneurs, it's really exciting. >> They're great stories, I mean it's a really cool program just a single track program, single room. And they can have, how many sessions all together probably 30, like 15 a day? >> Lots. >> (chuckling) Lots. More than you can count. >> I think it's about 20 per day and then we also have some breakout sessions like workshops so it's a little more hands-on. We had a cocktail party last night, a lot of networking, a lot of connecting. So a lot of really productive ways of helping careers develop and also finding out about new and interesting opportunities and really connecting with other women in tech. Both in the high-tech sector as well as the start-up sector so it's really cool. >> Just some really simple advice, right? Like raise your hand, take advantage of new opportunities. Go into areas that you don't have expertise in. >> Be authentic, yeah. >> Ask questions. Be authentic, be curious. And that's what I really like. It's good, actionable, simple, straightforward things that you can do to advance your career. >> Exactly, exactly. >> You are everywhere. This organization has grown, (Adriana laughs) I keep an eye out on you on twitter and stuff obviously and you are all over the world so give us kind of an update as to where Girls in Tech is in terms of members and locations and kind of how it's grown over 11 years you've been at it. >> Yeah, over 11 years and our international or global footprint is something we're extremely proud of. We're in 60 chapters, so 60 cities around the world, in 36 countries and in six continents. And now we have over a hundred thousand active members. By the end of 2020, we're increasing that to 200,000 active members, approximately. And we're growing into 45 different cities and hopefully, knock on wood, in 100 chapters. So that's a pretty massive growth spurt that we're experiencing and there's just huge demand. Right now we have a list of over 160 people who want to start chapters in their city which is really telling about what people think about Girls in Tech, how our programs are impacting these tech communities, how we're empowering women to have a voice and really creating change within societies. So for us it's a pride thing but it's also the impact that we're making and really encouraging women to excel in their careers in tech. Whether it's become a manager at a start-up, or a high-tech executive, or start their own company. Everyone has a different path. We want people to find their passion and purpose in life and achieve that. Because if you do what you love and, you know, a lot of us do what we love, some of us don't. But if you do what you love you can be way more productive and happier. And at the end of the day, isn't that our goal? >> Exactly, and so much of the corporate participation has just skyrocketed too, since I think we first saw you a couple years ago in Phoenix. The number of corporate logos on the banner is fantastic. And really, the messages from the people we've talked to today is they not only see the value but want to get more involved and do more events with you guys. 'Cause they see, and it's altruistic a little bit, but it's also real basic business ROI. They need more good people and this is an avenue to get more good people. >> Exactly. I think diversity, inclusion is no longer a buzzword. They're really seeing the ROI in creating diverse workforces. It helps with building revenue. Right, so if you have a more diverse and innovative workforce, then you're able to create products and services that are more diverse, more comprehensive. You have more opportunities to problem solve in a creative way, so really there is a lot of different elements in addition to creating a company culture that's more conducive to creating safety and comfortable work environments for all employees. Minority groups, people of different genders, et cetera. So I think that it's something that is not just like I said, not just a buzzword. It's really important that they incorporate it into their strategy, overall business strategy. Recruiters are now flagging it as something that's extremely important 'cause they are seeing how it really impacts the company and their business. >> Right, really interesting story on the GoDaddy side. We've interviewed GoDaddy a ton of times at Grace Hopper. And I remember like GoDaddy, what are you doing at Grace Hopper? You guys were like the not as Grace Hopper of all. But they changed their culture and the interesting part of the story is it's a lot of little small steps can actually have a really, really big impact. And they've completely turned it and oh by the way, their financials are looking pretty good as well. So it definitely pays. >> Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah, GoDaddy was actually my very first sponsor. >> Really? >> Yeah. And so it's really exciting to see that. And people actually asked me, I mean they're so controversial, or they were in their Superbowl ads. Like, why would you go out on a limb and work with them? And I said, well I talked to their whole executive team. They hired this amazing CTO, happens to be a woman. We had multiple discussions about them changing their brand around and you know, everyone deserves a second chance, I believe. And so they ended up supporting not only the organization, but me as their leader, and I owe them a lot for that because we were able to produce the first Catalyst Conference as a result and many other programs. And more importantly start hiring a staff, have money to invest in operations, different resources for our chapters around the world, deploy more programs like our coding boot camps, our amplify business pitch competition, our global classroom which is our e-learning platform, our hacking for humanity series, so GoDaddy is is really, has been really a strong partner to us and we owe them a lot for our success. >> Right, well it's funny too, 'cause she said that they did the analysis and like 60% of their customers were women operating small businesses and it's like, hello, maybe there's a good thing there. >> Yeah, that is the entrepreneurial sector. That is the target, yeah. >> Well I know you're super, super busy. Give you the last word before I let you go, and again, thanks for having us. We're super excited to be back here again. And really, you put on such a great program. >> Thanks so much. Yeah, we always love working with theCUBE and we love you guys having a presence here and capturing the amazing soundbites and stories from our very accomplished speakers who happen to be amazingly passionate and amazingly altruistic. >> Yes, there's no shortage of energy in the room even though they're all a little tired, been a long week. (both laughing) All right well thanks again. >> Thank you. >> She's Adriana, I'm Jeff Frick, you're watching theCUBE from Girls in Tech Catalyst 2018. Thanks for watching. (upbeat music)

>> From San Francisco, it's theCUBE. Covering Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference. Brought to you by Girls in Tech. (upbeat music) >> Hey welcome back everybody, Jeff Frick here with theCUBE. We're in downtown San Francisco at the Girls in Tech Catalyst event. About 700 professionals, mainly women, a few men a busload of some kids came in to watch as well. And we're really excited to have the founder and CEO of Girls in Tech, Adriana Gascoigne. Adriana, first off congratulations on another great event. >> Thank you! Thanks so much, it's been awesome. All the energy, all the vibrancy in the room everyone's here to learn and grow and listen to these amazingly accomplished speakers from astronauts to venture capitalists to serial entrepreneurs, it's really exciting. >> They're great stories, I mean it's a really cool program just a single track program, single room. And they can have, how many sessions all together probably 30, like 15 a day? >> Lots. >> (chuckling) Lots. More than you can count. >> I think it's about 20 per day and then we also have some breakout sessions like workshops so it's a little more hands-on. We had a cocktail party last night, a lot of networking, a lot of connecting. So a lot of really productive ways of helping careers develop and also finding out about new and interesting opportunities and really connecting with other women in tech. Both in the high-tech sector as well as the start-up sector so it's really cool. >> Just some really simple advice, right? Like raise your hand, take advantage of new opportunities. Go into areas that you don't have expertise in. >> Be authentic, yeah. >> Ask questions. Be authentic, be curious. And that's what I really like. It's good, actionable, simple, straightforward things that you can do to advance your career. >> Exactly, exactly. >> You are everywhere. This organization has grown, (Adriana laughs) I keep an eye out on you on twitter and stuff obviously and you are all over the world so give us kind of an update as to where Girls in Tech is in terms of members and locations and kind of how it's grown over 11 years you've been at it. >> Yeah, over 11 years and our international or global footprint is something we're extremely proud of. We're in 60 chapters, so 60 cities around the world, in 36 countries and in six continents. And now we have over a hundred thousand active members. By the end of 2020, we're increasing that to 200,000 active members, approximately. And we're growing into 45 different cities and hopefully, knock on wood, in 100 chapters. So that's a pretty massive growth spurt that we're experiencing and there's just huge demand. Right now we have a list of over 160 people who want to start chapters in their city which is really telling about what people think about Girls in Tech, how our programs are impacting these tech communities, how we're empowering women to have a voice and really creating change within societies. So for us it's a pride thing but it's also the impact that we're making and really encouraging women to excel in their careers in tech. Whether it's become a manager at a start-up, or a high-tech executive, or start their own company. Everyone has a different path. We want people to find their passion and purpose in life and achieve that. Because if you do what you love and, you know, a lot of us do what we love, some of us don't. But if you do what you love you can be way more productive and happier. And at the end of the day, isn't that our goal? >> Exactly, and so much of the corporate participation has just skyrocketed too, since I think we first saw you a couple years ago in Phoenix. The number of corporate logos on the banner is fantastic. And really, the messages from the people we've talked to today is they not only see the value but want to get more involved and do more events with you guys. 'Cause they see, and it's altruistic a little bit, but it's also real basic business ROI. They need more good people and this is an avenue to get more good people. >> Exactly. I think diversity, inclusion is no longer a buzzword. They're really seeing the ROI in creating diverse workforces. It helps with building revenue. Right, so if you have a more diverse and innovative workforce, then you're able to create products and services that are more diverse, more comprehensive. You have more opportunities to problem solve in a creative way, so really there is a lot of different elements in addition to creating a company culture that's more conducive to creating safety and comfortable work environments for all employees. Minority groups, people of different genders, et cetera. So I think that it's something that is not just like I said, not just a buzzword. It's really important that they incorporate it into their strategy, overall business strategy. Recruiters are now flagging it as something that's extremely important 'cause they are seeing how it really impacts the company and their business. >> Right, really interesting story on the GoDaddy side. We've interviewed GoDaddy a ton of times at Grace Hopper. And I remember like GoDaddy, what are you doing at Grace Hopper? You guys were like the not as Grace Hopper of all. But they changed their culture and the interesting part of the story is it's a lot of little small steps can actually have a really, really big impact. And they've completely turned it and oh by the way, their financials are looking pretty good as well. So it definitely pays. >> Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah, GoDaddy was actually my very first sponsor. >> Really? >> Yeah. And so it's really exciting to see that. And people actually asked me, I mean they're so controversial, or they were in their Superbowl ads. Like, why would you go out on a limb and work with them? And I said, well I talked to their whole executive team. They hired this amazing CTO, happens to be a woman. We had multiple discussions about them changing their brand around and you know, everyone deserves a second chance, I believe. And so they ended up supporting not only the organization, but me as their leader, and I owe them a lot for that because we were able to produce the first Catalyst Conference as a result and many other programs. And more importantly start hiring a staff, have money to invest in operations, different resources for our chapters around the world, deploy more programs like our coding boot camps, our amplify business pitch competition, our global classroom which is our e-learning platform, our hacking for humanity series, so GoDaddy is is really, has been really a strong partner to us and we owe them a lot for our success. >> Right, well it's funny too, 'cause she said that they did the analysis and like 60% of their customers were women operating small businesses and it's like, hello, maybe there's a good thing there. >> Yeah, that is the entrepreneurial sector. That is the target, yeah. >> Well I know you're super, super busy. Give you the last word before I let you go, and again, thanks for having us. We're super excited to be back here again. And really, you put on such a great program. >> Thanks so much. Yeah, we always love working with theCUBE and we love you guys having a presence here and capturing the amazing soundbites and stories from our very accomplished speakers who happen to be amazingly passionate and amazingly altruistic. >> Yes, there's no shortage of energy in the room even though they're all a little tired, been a long week. (both laughing) All right well thanks again. >> Thank you. >> She's Adriana, I'm Jeff Frick, you're watching theCUBE from Girls in Tech Catalyst 2018. Thanks for watching. (upbeat music)

(calm pop music) >> From Phoenix, Arizona, theCUBE. At Catalyst conference. Here's your host, Jeff Frick. >> Hey, welcome back everybody, Jeff Frick here in Phoenix Arizona, at the Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference. Fourth year of the conference. Going to be back in the Bay Area next year, but again as we've said before, something in the water here in Phoenix because we were here two years ago for the Grace Hopper Conference as well. So a lot of good women in tech action happening in Phoenix. So, we're really excited to have the brainchild behind this whole thing. The force who's really making it happen, Adriana Gascoigne. Welcome. >> Thank you. Good to be here. >> Thanks for having us down. So Adriana, tell us the story of Girls in Tech and Catalyst specifically. >> So Catalyst was an inspiration based on when I worked in intel. We invested, or sponsored a conference, for Oprah. It was called Oprah's O Conference, and what was super compelling about that conference, was that there were 10,000 women in the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and they were engaging and raising their hand, and sharing their own personal stories, trials and tribulations, and speaking about really interesting hot button topics. Such as building a business, or finances, or interior design, things that really were compelling to them. And so what really struck me about this environment is that women actually had a voice. They were encouraged to raise their hand and speak up. And I wanted to do this in the tech world because in a very, gender-scare world, it's important for us to have both voices, right? So, I think this environment enables women to speak up and share their feelings and their passions openly. >> And I think I heard your story early on, where you were at a startup, and you were like the only woman. And then they hired more people, and you were still the only woman, and they hired more people and (chuckles), you were still the only woman. So you kind of lived it firsthand. >> Yeah. So that was sort of the impetus behind Girls in Tech, and I felt that the company, the startup I was working at, wasn't doing enough for recruiting. And recruiting, not just women, but just diverse groups of people, which does affect product development. You need many different perspectives, many different experiences and backgrounds, in order to have a comprehensive product. So I decided to take matters into my own hands, and I started Girls in Tech in 2007, and nine plus years later, we're in 60 cities around the world, and six continents, and 36 countries, with over 40,000 members. So it's awesome to see the growth. I'm now doing it full-time, and the sky's the limit. >> So how do people get involved. What's your kind of, corporate mission statement? And then, if people are watching from some city that you either are in, or maybe you're not, how do they get involved? What does it mean to be involved in Girls in Tech in city X. >> Yeah, so our tagline is, empowerment, engagement, and education of women in tech. So this is an inclusive organization, for both high-tech women who want to learn more about entrepreneurship and leadership, and for women that are in startups that want to be employees, or leaders, or start their own companies. So we've developed curriculum that we prototype and pilot in Silicone Valley, perfect it, and then deploy it to our 60 chapters around the world in electronic press kit format. This is great because we get to customize it with the teams on the ground, and do everything from coding and design boot camps, entrepreneurship boot camps, to the Catalyst Conference, to our lady pitch night competition. Pitch night, not anything else (laughs). >> Yeah, yeah, I got that. Pitch, it's pitch. >> It's pitch. >> You know, we're a PG show, no problem. (laughs) >> And we do an exchange program that brings 20 to 30 female entrepreneurs to Silicone Valley to really experience the nuances of this tech ecosystem, what makes it thrive, learning skills on how to become entrepreneurs, meet and greet with VCs and influential people in Silicone Valley. And we have a few other programs that you can check out on the website. But it's exciting, because it's not one size fits all approach. It's, I'm a woman and there are many different changes I have in my career lifetime. So we want to be there for you within your junior, middle career, as well as a leader. >> Right, and we certainly heard that over and over with the guests that we've had on today, about people changing tracks, changing careers, changing industries, and really this theme of continual learning, continual growing. It's a long journey. We have a saying at our company, you're never there, you're only here, there is still there, and you keep moving down the road and it just keeps moving further out. So a couple three-day conference. What are some of your takeaways, some surprises, over the last three days that you'd like to share? >> Wow, where do I begin? I mean the soundbites are all so stellar, inspirational, skills, best practices, but the thing that really stood out, I think in this year specifically, was people's stories. Their emotional stories, their passions. The things that wake them up in the morning. And they say, yes, I want to change the world and make an impact and love my life while doing it. It was very candid, you know, some of these women really shared difficult situations. And these situations help fuel energy and their fire to make change in their life, to help and pay it forward with up and coming women, and leaders in the tech industry. So it was powerful from the candor, and the friends that were made, and the passions that were shared. >> Awesome. Well I know you got to get back to the conference, you're the master of ceremonies, keeping everything on track. (laughs) So I appreciate you taking a few minutes out of your time to stop by >> It's my pleasure. >> Again, thanks for inviting us to this conference. We're really excited to come down, and we'll look forward to next year's. >> Yeah, next year's going to going to be in the Bay Area. So, in your neck of the woods. >> Awesome. >> Yeah. >> Adriana, again thanks for inviting us. Running a great show, the Girls in Tech Conference. I'm Jeff Frick, you're watching theCUBE. Thanks for watching. We'll catch ya next time. (upbeat pop music)