Amazon Web Service Inc. early today announced that it will provide support for the global nonprofit Girls in Tech and its annual conference.

The conference will host a Digital Career Fair as well as a virtual hackathon focused on creating real-world technical solutions powered by women. AWS is also offering support for a Virtual Mentorship Program, as well as Amplify, a startup pitch competition where entrepreneurs can secure funding and mentoring.

With women being vastly underrepresented in the tech industry – just 26% of computer scientists are women – Girls in Tech has been trying to change that imbalance as well as bring attention to the discrimination that women have faced in the workplace for years. This week Girls in Tech founder Adriana Gascoigne talked with LaDavia Drane, AWS’ head of diversity, equity and inclusion about the genesis of the nonprofit and the road ahead.

Gascoigne explained that back in the mid-2000s she was one of few women working in Silicon Valley and it was during this period that she faced “regular harassment and discrimination.” After being called overly sensitive by bosses after such harassment, she decided she had to do something about the prevailing issues that women in tech faced.

“I thought to myself, ‘I’m not the only one experiencing this,’” said Gascoigne. “It’s a systemic issue throughout the tech sector, not just in startups. I was determined to fix it so that more women would apply to jobs in tech, be excited about STEM, and most importantly — feel safe, comfortable, productive. I wanted women to be treated equally and have a seat at the table.”

From a small organization, Girls in Tech became global, operating from its headquarters in Silicon Valley and rolling out education and mentorship programs to its various chapters around the world. Gascoigne said such programs can have a massive impact in countries where women are severely underrepresented in tech.

“There’s certainly no shortage of other factors holding women back, including things that would seem relatively easy fixes – from offering more comprehensive onsite childcare, to longer parental leaves, equal pay for equal work, aggressive recruiting of women and so on,” said Gascoigne. “But they will not become a priority until they’re a boardroom priority, and that won’t happen until we have more women in the boardroom.”

She admits that she may not see gender parity in her lifetime, but says Girls in Tech has come a long way since its inception in 2007. New chapters have just been opened in Berlin, Greece and Tunisia, and a Finland chapter is on the way. More members, she says, is only one thing, and collaborating with large corporations such as Amazon, as well as smaller businesses and institutions, is also needed.

“Things are getting better,” Gascoigne said. “When I started Girls in Tech, there were so few women working at startups, and like me, they tended to be on the non-technical side of things. What I’m seeing now is more and more women graduating with degrees in computer science, and a range of other technical expertise.”

The virtual hackathon will run April 12-23. Women working in any area of the tech industry are invited to join.

Photo: CityofStPete