In our June WTM Meetup, we explore three journeys from three women in tech: an Engineering Manager, an up-and-coming Engineer, and a UX/UI design Practice Lead. Come and hear their stories and learn from them! AGENDA: 18:00 - 18:15 - Welcome to GDG! 18:15 - 18:30 - My journey: From junior engineer to engineering manager đ - DinĂ© Bennett When I started working as an engineer, I had no idea what shape my career would take. Github, iPhones and "Leaning In" had not yet been invented. I had met one other professional female software engineer, but I'd never even heard of any other engineering managers who were women. I knew I liked coding, I knew I wanted to be good at it, and I knew I wanted to make things that people enjoy using, but that was about it. In this talk, I'll share a little bit of my career journey, with all its ups, downs and lessons along the way. Bio 18:30- 18:45 Yet Another Language?! Why I Learned to Love Go - Clara van Staden In an ever changing tech landscape, one cannot help but feel overwhelmed by yet another up and coming language. In this talk, I will share my journey of how I apprehensively approached Go, how my skepticism turned into delight and what aspects of Go I have learned to love. Tune in for a bird's eye view of this niche, simple and powerful language. Bio 18:45 - 19:20 - âLet me explain it to youâ â and other things women LOVE to hear - Lizette Spangenberg As women in tech, weâre often treated differently. Held to a different standard, spoken to differently, expected to behave differently. When thinking about experiences throughout my career, what kept standing out to me were specific things that have been said to me. Mostly infuriating, sometimes downright insulting, occasionally amusing. This talk discusses some of those things (with the help of lots of memes), along with things I have learnt from it and some practical tips for surviving this crazy industry. Bio 19:20 - 19:30 - Giveaways and Thanks! WHAT TO EXPECT: Please remember, we have a code of conduct at our meetup. Everyone is welcome and if you feel uncomfortable please let any of the organisers know.
My programming journey started with Turtle Graphics and Geocities back in primary school. By the time university came around, I knew I wanted to study computer science. I graduated with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Cape Town, returning a couple of years later to complete a Masters in Information Systems. I've worked as an engineer in various industries including electronics, the NGO sector and a number of tech startups. I've recently decided to take a stab at the management track, and I am currently an Associate Engineering Manager at Luno in London. When I'm not working, you'll find me drinking coffee with my husband or singing Baby Shark to my new baby.
Clara is Backend Software Engineer at Over (recently acquired by GoDaddy) and works remotely from Pretoria. She spends most of her days building APIs (Go, swoosh of Kotlin, some DevOps) to make Over for Web come to life. Over is a creativity app for individuals and companies to easily create compelling visuals for their online presence. In 2018, she was named a Next Generation Woman Leader by McKinsey & Company. Apart from a love for technology, Clara also enjoys art as a hobby. She is passionate about mentoring as a means to create new waves of young stars in South Africa.
Liz is the Practice Lead for UX & UI design at DVT and is passionate about human-centered design, research, and solving problems. She's currently busy with a PhD thesis in health humanities, has summited Mt Kilimanjaro, and plays violin in various orchestras. She strives to create beautiful and intuitive experiences on any platform, and to help others learn and grow in the field of design.
Lots of great content and smart developers! (Oh! And some awesome prizes to be won)
