Respectfully....Can We Talk About 'Women in Tech'?

Respectfully… can we talk about Women in Tech?

A HerTechTime event, powered by Beetroot Consulting, and the live launch of The Root Podcast
About this Event

Respectfully… can we talk about Women in Tech?

A HerTechTime event, powered by Beetroot Consulting, and the live launch of The Root Podcast.

We are starting where people usually get nervous. Women in Tech has become one of those tag lines everyone knows and everybody is sort of supporting. This event is a discussion for those who want to sit inside what that actually means.

So, respectfully… can we talk about it?

This is a real conversation including the awkward bits in the scrum team, the funny bits on the teams call, the exhausting bits after the long weekend away and the brilliant bits when you see your work go live. Its all the things - because Women in Tech is also about:

• Race
• Gender
• Class
• Neurodivergence
• Care
• Money
• Power
• Visibility
• Leadership
• Burnout
• Ambition
• Belonging
• Safety
• Progression
• The rooms that keep asking women to be grateful for being let in

This event marks the launch of The Root Podcast, Beetroot’s new long-form podcast series for conversations that need more room. We are opening with Respectfully… can we talk about Women in Tech?

The evening will begin with a podcast discussion that opens up the theme and surfaces the key tensions, questions and lived realities. Following a short chat with the podcast speakers which will bring the key moments from that pod discussion. Our host will then help open those ideas out with attendees, creating a wider conversation where people can reflect, respond, add texture, challenge carefully, and build on what has been said.

If you want to watch the discussion, if you want a lecture, if you want to find out 'the answer' - you will be dissapointed. This room is being deliberately shaped for a different kind of conversation. Made for partcipation, for enough, for honesty - and grounded enough to move beyond the 'Imposter Syndrome' and 'Lean-in' 'Resilience' guff.

Hosted in the beautiful setting of Avesta Hair, the event has been designed with care, comfort and decompression in mind.

There will be picky bits, herbal tea, alcohol-free cocktails, fidget spinners for those who fancy it.

This event is inclusive of all genders, from anywhere. Those from tech, those not, those curious. Women in tech is an industry issue, a leadership issue, a design issue, a culture issue and a power issue - to be discussed by all.

At the end of the evening, the pod guest will be invited to press the big button and launch The Root Podcast live, together, in real time. Our room will choose to move the conversation out of the margins and into public space.

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Agenda

🕑: 05:30 PM - 06:00 PM
Arrival, picky bits
Host: Annie Mbako

Info: Guests can arrive, grab picky bits, herbal tea or alcohol-free cocktails, and settle into the space.
This opening half hour gives people time to land, connect, decompress if needed, and get a feel for the room before the main conversation begins.

🕑: 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Core event: Respectfully… can we talk about Women in Tech?
Host: Lauren Gibson

Info: The main event opens with a short introduction to The Root Podcast and why Beetroot is moving into long-form conversations that give more room to nuance, lived experience and the things that get flattened elsewhere.

We will then move into the launch theme: Respectfully… can we talk about Women in Tech?

This section will include the launch video, the speaker conversation, and a hosted discussion exploring the realities behind the phrase Women in Tech: power, visibility, race, gender, class, neurodivergence, leadership, belonging, burnout, progression, care, ambition and the cultures that decide who gets to thrive.
This is not a panel. It is an honest hosted conversation

🕑: 07:00 PM - 09:30 AM
Live podcast launch & Close
Host: Lauren Gibson

Info: There will be some time to chat to others in the room, before the evening ends with the launch moment. The podcast guest will press the big button, launching The Root Podcast live in real time with everyone in the room.