Touting some of the highest-ranking women leaders in technology, The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference is bigger and more influential than ever. The three-day conference is taking place this week in Houston, Texas, founded by two beloved and inspiring women, Dr. Anita Borg and Dr. Telle Whitney, as a tribute to Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, a computer scientist and Naval Admiral. Beginning back in 1994 with about 500 women in attendance, this celebration of women in technology has grown to host 15,000 people in attendance this year.

The focus is on women in computing, with the Grace Hopper event sharing career aspirations and mentoring young women trying to break into to a predominately male industry. And because of all the dedicated women who work hard to make this event happen, this week theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, puts The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in the limelight for our Women in Tech feature.

Let’s take a look at some notable quotes from day one of the conference and from theCUBE coverage live from the conference room floor:

Addressing the issue

Telle Whitney, president and chief executive of the Anita Borg Institute, began the event’s keynote address calling for action.

“Organizations today recognize the power and value of having women at the table in technology. … It’s time for women around the world to take ‘their rightful place’ as tech leaders and innovators,” Whitney said.

Kicking off with girl power

Rebecca Knight (@knightrm), co-host of theCUBE, started the coverage by noting the overwhelming attendance and mood at this year’s conference.

“There’s a real feeling of girl power, solidarity. You hear so much about the dearth of women in leadership positions in Silicon Valley and in technology in general, but it doesn’t feel that way right here,” she said.

“As we heard Telle Whitney say today, who is the head of the Anita Borg Institute … tt has never been a better time to be a woman computer scientist. I think that this is true. I think this is an inspiring message, one of hope, one of encouragement,” Knight said.

Focus on commitment

Irana Wasti, VP of Inclusion at GoDaddy Operating Company LLC, appeared on theCUBE with Auguste Goldman, chief people officer at GoDaddy. Wasti discussed how the company changed hiring practices to be more inclusive through surveying employees.

“GoDaddy has been on this journey of focusing on diversity, not just women diversity, but diversity as a whole, for the last several years. … So by the time we took the survey, it was actually one of the steps that GoDaddy has taken to ensure that there is focus on diversity, why we focus on diversity and getting commitment across the company to focus on it,” Wasti said.

Linking young women to computer careers

Sarah Clatterbuck, director of Engineering and key lead for the Women in Tech Initiative at LinkedIn Corp, explained how she encourages young women to become interested in computer science.

About being an engineer

“Many go in with the perception that it’s head-down coding work, but you have to have a lot of interaction with engineers. So, it’s more social than they realize,” Clatterbuck said.

What do employers want to know?

“Don’t just include your schooling. Tell us about who you are and what problems you want to solve, and what interesting experience you’ve had that may be nontraditional,” Clatterbuck added.

Thinking like an employee first

Anna Patterson, VP of Engineering, AI, at Google and winner of the ABIE Technical Leadership Award, told theCUBE about how she encourages women to take risks.

“I will often look around … and let an employee know ahead of time that I’m thinking of a new assignment for them, and how they can grow into it. … Usually, I tell people … nobody knows everything. … I tell them to study at night; be humble, ask questions, consult books,” Patterson said.

“I think people see themselves as living in the world of the mind, of ideas. You’re an engineer first, then an employee … you think of yourself as a woman, down the list … people are just engineers,” she added.

Diversity is good for business

Stella Goulet, CMO of Avanade Inc., joined Stephen Kelly, EVP and chief human resources and leadership officer at Avanade, for an interview with theCUBE team. Goulet sees diversity as something that is good for the client.

“There are more and more women in technology, and we want to encourage that,” Goulet said. “With inclusion and diversity, you come up with great ideas, resulting in better solutions for the clients.”

Don’t miss a minute of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of the Anita Borg Institute’s Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

Photo by SiliconANGLE