Vary inputs, measure outcomes and iterate agilely — is this a formula for training a machine learning algorithm? No, it’s a formula for training the next generation of women in technology, according to Sarah Clatterbuck (pictured, left), senior director of engineering: application infrastructure, women in tech and accessibility at LinkedIn. Clatterbuck has spearheaded a number of women-in-tech training and support initiatives at LinkedIn during the past few years.

“Before we start them, we say, ‘What are going to be the things that we’re going to measure?'” she said.

Clatterbuck joined Erica Lockheimer (pictured, right), head of growth engineering and leading women in tech at LinkedIn, for an interview at Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in Orlando, Florida. They spoke with Rebecca Knight (@knightrm) and Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio.

One such program at LinkedIn, Reach, provides engineering training to individuals from diverse and perhaps unlikely backgrounds. “It’s such a special program that has changed the way we’re thinking about hiring,” Lockheimer said.

WIT Invest coaches female LinkedIn employees on career cultivation and advancement. Success metrics for the program speak for themselves; there is zero attrition among the women rounding the final 10 months of the program, and 40 percent achieve promotions, according to Lockheimer.

“What’s in it for the company is retaining top talented women. But then on the other side, it’s, are they achieving their career goals, are they getting promoted, are they able to step up?” Clatterbuck said.

Reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmtic

LinkedIn’s High School Trainee Program for girls sees 96 percent of pupils go on to science, technology, engineering and math majors, with 89 percent taking up computer science, Clatterbuck pointed out. (Similar programs have turned out very high numbers of CS majors.)

Many students entering the program doubt their abilities, but toward the end, those same students are certain they will become engineers, according to Clatterbuck. “That’s reflected not only at the end of the program, but also as they follow up with us in the subsequent years,” she said. One alumna went on to complete a CS undergrad degree at the University of Berkeley in two years.

These programs were fine-tuned through constantly measuring outcomes and iterating with new insights. “I think this is algorithm optimization. … We’re all iterating our algorithms to figure out what’s working and how we can do better,” Clatterbuck concluded.

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

Photo: SiliconANGLE