This photo from Web Summit 2017 generated a lot of buzz on social media. Here is why.
What the ‘women in tech’ debate keeps missing.
Giving away 14,000 free tickets to ‘women in tech’ seemed to have paid off for Web Summit; this year, 42% of the attendees and 35% of panelists were women, making it one of the most diverse tech events in the world.
But, despite inclusion efforts, a key female demographic seemed to have been neglected: working mothers.
Let me clarify: walking around the MEO Arena, it was clear that Web Summit 2017 had made a huge effort to promote gender inclusion. But, having spoken to several women with babies, they said that the support and facilities were lacking, which nearly caused them to miss out on the event.
And this is a problem. Encouraging ‘women in tech’ should not be limited to those who do not have children, or can afford childcare.
Babies in tech?
In fairness, Web Summit is a networking conference. It never claimed to be ‘baby friendly’, nor said babies were not allowed to attend.
But, as Daniela Mar pointed out on the Web Summit Women in Tech Facebook group:
“I feel it is intimidating to get a discouraging answer from the organizers, especially if you are a mom for the first time, new to this mom-stuff and love your job at the same time. Hearing that ‘you’re actually not welcome, BUT….’ felt intimidating to me last year.”
And, with 60,000 people, 25 conferences, loud noises and bright lights, why would women bring a baby to Web Summit? For one simple reason: they had to.
“He is two months old, breastfed and I didn’t want to leave him!” Sonia Teixeira told me in the Women in Tech Lounge, as her 10 week old son, Lucas, quietly nuzzled his mother’s breast.
And the freelance Graphic Designer (check out her work here) was not alone.
“I’m a single parent, so where I go, she goes. Also, my friend checked it out, asked if babies were allowed, they said ‘go for it’,” Latoya Akisanya, Digital Platform Manager at Clarivate Analytics, told me as her beautiful newborn daughter, Alyssa, watched the world go by in her pram.
“But, I mean, it is a conference, it is not meant for babies and mums, so I take that attitude,” she said.
Limited support.
Those who decided to put their infant into daycare, were unable to find help from the organization — even when they got re-tweeted by Paddy Cosgrave, Co-Founder and CEO of Web Summit!
“[My son] is pretty young, so I had to bring him with me. I couldn’t leave him behind,” Imai Jen-La Plante, Data Scientist at Presence Switzerland, told me. “I tweeted asking if there were any solutions and he [Paddy Cosgrave] re-tweeted it, but there wasn’t really any feedback or company that was suggested.”
“I think that it is surprising because there are so many other partners for the conference in terms of food, and local providers, hotels, that there wasn’t even a single company suggested,” she said.
The Web Summit team (well, Nicola) said that parenting rooms were provided on site, but all of the mothers that I spoke to were unable to find these areas.
“I think possibly a bit more of a dispensation because you know, we asked on the site, ‘are kids allowed’, so you would have thought that there would have been just a touch more,” Latoya told me. “Or at least made it more visible, and told their volunteers that women with babies have priority.”
Left behind, again.
And what happens when you don’t cater to working mothers? Women get left behind… again.
“I think that there are more women, more mothers, who are not here with their babies because they thought that they weren’t allowed, or it would be too difficult,” Sonia told me.
“We are very lucky because my mum actually lives near by, so at some point she will come from work and I can drop her [my child],” Beatriz Azevedo, Project Manager at PANDORA, explained to me. “But if it wasn’t for her, I don’t think it would be possible. Or if it wasn’t for my husband to be here with me, it wouldn’t be possible.”
Women with babies should get equal opportunity to learn, network and benefit from global tech events. So, if you truly want to encourage gender parity in technology, don’t forget the working mothers!
