It seems like only yesterday we were running a giveaway for Lesbians Who Tech in Berlin. Itย really seems like only yesterday that we were raving about what a success LWT Berlin was. And now it is time โ New York City, let the nerdy lesbians descend upon us. Our bodies are ready. Is it so much better than the Pope and entire UN that have really messed with our traffic patterns this last week here in the Big Apple? Maybe not better, but certainly gayer. The Lesbians Who Tech Summit in New York City is coming up October 1-4, and is packed with events like TED-style talks and what is literally called “Networking that doesn’t suck.”
I caught up with Lesbians Who Tech Founder Leanne Pittsford to ask what the focus is for this coming New York Summit and what makes it new and different than the last. The interview was edited for length and flow.
Ali: Whatโs new and different about LWT NY that I can tell our readers this year?
Leanne:ย Yeah! So many cool things, Iโm actually working on a couple late additions, so Iโm hopeful will work out, but I think this year the focus on finance, media, and technology is sort of experimental and kind of a call to action to bring people that maybe otherwise havenโt been a part of our world before? And I think a lot of people really see technology as software development, and really specific to that, but a lot of things are technology. I mean just looking at finance, thinking about the billion dollars that are spent that make sure that our financial data is private and secure, and that we can use products to have financial tools to help all people โ thatโs really cool stuff thatโs happening in technology! …What Iโm really excited about is to have a few speakers/panels that are talking about the innovative things that are happening there, and how people are getting access to more financial freedom through technologyโand also kind of a call to action about hey, what still needs to get done, and who is going to help build this stuff, and how can we make sure that these products are great for all types of people. And so bringing these people together, the diversity of our conference with some of the bigger players in the financial world and the financial technology world I think could be really exciting for people.
A:ย So Iโm guessing that this focus on finance and technology is a product of speaking to the cities that youโre hosting in?
L:ย Exactly. Obviously when we first started, lesbians and queer women and technology was pretty niche right there, but to my amazement, itโs been really exciting to see just how many queer women there are in different types of technology, and when you focus on a specific industry, it makes them feel like, more committed, like โI have to be there” โ because weโre focusing on media and finance. Not to mention we obviously picked those two industries because itโs New York. We also have a fashion hackathon on Saturday.
A:ย Ohmygosh, wait, tell me so much more about this!
L:ย Yeah, so thatโs another area that we want to do more of next year for New York. We kind of decided to start with Media and Finances because we have better access to people in our current membership that were a part of the world, but we wanted to do something at least, minimally-fashion… but basically the concept is similar to a hackathon โ people will get together, itโll be more design focused. So, a lot of the queer fashion, a lot of the androgynous fashion thatโs popped up from all different companies, we actually have a panel ofย designers with different companies, theyโll be talking about the intersection of how we use different technologies to get different people the fashions that they need and want. The woman whoโs running it, her name is Vanessa Newman, sheโs amazing, she started Butch Baby, so the idea is more androgynous woman for women who are pregnant. So the idea is that not all women want pink, or super frilly kind of clothes. So her company is going to be marketed to the masses, not just to the queer community, but obviously thereโs something special in that intersection, and I think part of it is getting customer feedback and really thinking about how we can create tools that will help people get the product they want, specifically looking at fashion. So itโs going to be a little bit of fashion, hacking together, and also itโs going to be technology at the same time.
We have a regular hackathon thatโs focused on data for good, which weโre partnering with with Unicef on and Bloomberg, and the fashion one will be the same day. So people can choose whether they want to do the fashion one, or they can do the data one at Bloomberg.
A:ย Awesome, that sounds so cool. Iโm so excited!
L:ย Yeah, I think itโs fun! We want to do more, I mean, technology, literally, is โ it impacts every industry, everything we do, our experience as consumers, individuals โ all of these products, I think, and fashion obviously is huge in New York and I would like to make it an even bigger focus next year.
A:ย Iโm so excited, Iโm just so pumped. Is there anything thatโs completely different about this one than the last one? Other than the focus, so like, structurally, speaker-wise, is there anything completely different that I wonโt expect going in?
L:ย I mean, weโre trying to save a few surprises, you know?
A:ย [Laughs] Of course!
Normally you’d have to pay hundreds of dollars to experience this geek-lady magic, but Leanne Pittsford wants to, once again, give away five Summit tickets to the Autostraddle community to make sure you โ yes you! โ can make it too. Simply comment on this post and let us know, well, anything you want to let us know. Tell us why youโre excited to go to the Summit, what your opinions are about the intersections between finance, media and tech, or what tech project youโre working on right now that you want to talk to your fellow nerd-queers about! Youโve got until Monday, Septemberย 28th at noonย to leave a comment. Iโll announce theย winners on Monday night! Winning will be random โ I use a random number generator and a spreadsheet of all the people who commented.ย Youโll have to arrange travel to New York Cityย yourself, as well as any overnightย accommodationsย you might need.ย And it goes without saying โ any Summit that we feature here on Autostraddle is trans and non-binary-folks inclusive. I also want to point out that some Autostraddle humans will be involved โ A-Camper Jeanie Chung will be speaking and Writer Loraine Kanervisto will be helping out with the Hackathon. And I’ll be there covering the event for Autostraddle, so come say hi!
Edit: Zomg, I forgot to mention one of the coolest things happeningโUS Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith will be interviewing Edie Windsor, gay marriage hero and also formerly with IBM. Good sweet lesbian Jesus, I can’t wait.
This has been the one-hundred-forty-sixth installment of Queer Your Tech with Fun, Autostraddleโs nerdy tech column. Not everything we cover is queer per se, but we talk about customizing this awesome technology youโve got. Having it our way, expressing our appy selves just like we do with our identities. Here we can talk about anything from app recommendations to choosing a wireless printer to websites you have to bookmark to any other fun shit we can do with technology. Header by Rory Midhani.
This sounds like basically the best summit possible.
yes please!
amazing amazing amazing! feeling so grateful that this event is happening!
Would love to go!
I’m about the start my first job in tech–would love, love, love to go this amazing event!
everything about this sounds fantastic
Awesome!
Umm, yes please!!! :3
I didn’t even realize this was a paid thing – I heard about it and was gonna go. I’m, umm, in between jobs at the moment, so the only way I could go is by a free/sponsored ticket. Also, trans girl, so yay more of us there? ;)
I’m learning to code by night and eager to learn from folks in the field. For this weekend, I want to learn to bi-locate (heh) so I can attend multiple sessions at the same time. and Pixar?! and “Hacking Bureaucracy”?! and Tao?! PLEASE, random-number-fairy, send me to the LWT Summit!
I’m super excited about being able to attend the New York Summit! I wasn’t planning on going, but then I asked to moderate one of the tech and finance panels. I cannot wait to meet and learn from other tech savvy ladies. :)
Looks like heaven for a techie gay college student!!
I would love to attend the Summit for networking and support from Women in the financial technology sector. I am currently the only female in my office location and the only female in my department company-wide. Being around other queer females in a professional environment is something I would love to experience! I am looking to grow and would love the perspective of other professionals on things that excite them and they find supportive in their journeys. I am very interested in the Finance Track that is being offered in the Summit! I live in New York City and this would be so wonderful to be a part of!
I create content, curriculum and programming for young girls of color at The Young Women’s Leadership School of the Bronx, and would love to take what I learn here and use it to contribute to our amazing programs that give young girls access to tech and coding knowledge! I want to see some fierce queer girls using tech to expand and give strength to their voices, stories, and future goals.
I create content, curriculum and programming for young girls of color at The Young Women’s Leadership School of the Bronx, and would love to use the knowledge I gain at the summit to create even stronger programs for my girls learning to use technology to create code, understand financial stability, growth, and freedom, or pursue their own amazing projects. I want to see some of my fierce queer girls using technology to amplify their own stories, voices, and future dreams and goals.
Yesss, just moved to NYC for an analytics position doing data modeling work. Sign me up!
I am very excited — I do a lot of campus activism and really want to learn some more tools to make organizing and building community a lot more media-savvy and tech-savvy!
I wish I’d read this article sooner! I was at a hackathon recently, and my group was having trouble picking a uniting project. My only male team member kept shooting me down and saying “you just want to do something about fashion, don’t you?”
And the answer was… sort of, yeah. It’s a field with so much potential that deserves more attention than it is currently receiving.