As the importance of workforce diversity in technology continues to come to the attention of enterprises in all fields, long-standing institutions that have been championing those causes are gaining more of a platform for their efforts to be heard.

At the 2016 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, Telle Whitney, CEO of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, sat down with Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick) and Rebecca Knight (@knightrm), co-hosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, to talk about the conference’s growth and the importance of careful career path development.

Diverse attendance

Whitney was very enthusiastic about the event, saying that this year’s turnout “really surpassed anything we’d imagined,” with the variety of attendees being another point of excitement. “One of the things that we’re most excited about is the diversity of the commenters on the main stage,” she said.

Part of that diversity was shown in the rising percentage of male attendees. “We’ve always had men at the conference, and having male allies … is really important to equal participation,” Whitney said. “We’ve seen more and more organizations consciously bringing more and more men.”

And as men are drawn to the Grace Hopper Celebration, the organizers are looking to build on that change, as Whitney described. “One of the areas that we’re looking at is gender partnership … how men and women can work together. … Each and every person needs to leave here with an action that they can take … realizing that they too can make a difference,” she said.

Students and workers

Whitney also took a few minutes to talk about the event’s figurehead, Grace Hopper, both in her background and sense of character. “I think if she were here today, she would be excited by the young people … their enthusiasm for making a change, finding their own path,” Whitney said.

As the focus moved to the younger attendees, Whitney emphasized that it’s important to hear not just from the graduates, but from women who have been working in their fields for a number of years. “When you’re a young student, you’re not necessarily thinking about sexism or how women are treated. … What they want, when they look for a job, is the ability to have an impact, to make a difference. The more organizations can paint that picture of how they can come in and change the world, that’s the best recruiting tool,” she explained.

“Each of us is responsible for our own career, and so understanding what your dreams are, what you want, you have to do it,” she continued. “There are ways that signal that some environments care more about you than others, and so paying attention to the kind of company you’re joining can make a difference.”

Gathering growth

Looking to the future of the Grace Hopper Celebration, Whitney described how it would continue to adapt to the changing environment. “We will continue to grow. We have controlled growth. … We want to make sure that we don’t grow too fast, because it’s not just about quantity, it’s about quality,” she stated.

And the recognition the conference receives continues to grow. “Increasing numbers of organizations are bringing large groups of their female employees. … This is a key part of their business strategy. … We want to have a gathering place where all that are working on this problem can come together and have an impact,” Whitney said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of the Anita Borg Institute’s Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

Photo by SiliconANGLE