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Why the LWT Summit is Important

What is LWT?

First, LWT is an acronym for Lesbians Who Tech & Allies, “a community of LGBTQ women, non-binary, and trans individuals in and around tech (and the people that support them).” Founded in 2002 by Leanne Pittsford, the community has grown to include 70,000 non-binary, LGBTQ women, queer women of color (and our allies) from over 100 countries worldwide. 

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Why Does it Matter to Me?

A photo of the Lesbians Who Tech San Francisco Summit 2023 - 10th Anniversary from the 7th or 8th row in the Castro Theater taken with iPhone 13 Pro by Hayley Turner

Next, LWT conference was much more than just having a few days to hang out with other individuals in the tech industry. Not only was there a nightly tech crawl, but also several speed networking sessions hosted by SquadJobs.com. I actually remembered my business cards this time, so I tried my best to hand out at least three per day. As soon as I got there, I felt a sense of community that I hadn’t felt since the last time I attended the LWT SFO Summit.

Highlights - Day 1

Wednesday, October 18 was my first official day at the conference, so I went straight to the Castro to get through the registration process as quickly as possible. This was in hopes that I could avoid standing in line for a few hours in the sunshine. After that, I hung around a nearby local coffee shop the Castro reading The Gifts of Imperfection while people poured into the cordoned streets and surrounding businesses. The first keynote was by Madame Gandhi, an artist and activist, who shared how she uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create music and beats in her songs. Some of the other keynotes included How to Build the Skills You Will Need for the Future (Lexi Butler) and How Our Most Human Characteristics Will Power the AI Work World (Brooke Skinner-Ricketts).

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown, Ph.D., L.M.S.W.
An obligatory "I made it through registration!" selfie.

Highlights - Day 2

Next, day 2 entailed more of the same from yesterday – keynotes in the Castro Theater, separated by breaks that were outside and located at one of the many booths that were used for the job crawl the night before. Thursday’s most memorable keynotes for me were Generative AI: The Next Frontier in Innovation (Sissie Hsiao, Google) and Driving Digital Transformation to Improve Your Healthcare Experience (Julie Durham, OPTUM).

Later, in another charged keynote, Raquel Willis spoke about their childhood and how difficult it was to grow up in Augusta, GA as a boy while having interests more commonly associated with young girls (i.e. the beauty of magnolia flowers as they bloomed). 

Despite the record breaking heat index, I braved the streets of the Castro to hopefully make some new friends in and around the back-to-back booths. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that there was little to no shade, not even underneath the tents (which for some reason had clear tops?). Only an hour and a half into jumping from small shaded area to the next, I began to feel the effects of the heat and had to retreat back to the inn I was staying at.

Highlights - Day 3

I just knew that day 3 was going to be special. After a keynote featuring Debbie Millman & Chasten Buttigieg, 7 Impactful Leadership Practicies as You Navigate Your Career by Janet Foutty of Deloitte, Jennifer Beals and Ilene Chaiken took the stage to be interviewed by Kara Swisher. If none of those names mean anything to you, you can skip the next couple paragraphs. 😂

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First out on the stage were Ilene (writer of The L Word) and Jennifer Beals (Bette Porter in The L Word). They spoke a bit about how they felt about working together in the early days of the show and how everything fell into place after the pilot released on Showtime. After a few minutes passed, another two familiar characters from The L Word joined the stage: Shane McCutcheon  (played by Katherine Moennig) and Alice Pieszecki (played by Leisha Hailey). I am pretty sure that this whole segment was recorded, so I won’t share anything of substance for those that weren’t in attendance (there were a few spoilers!). Either way, I was in the literal front row, and my dreams were fulfilled. Haha. 

Later, after a quick break in Togethxr Park to get free headshots, ALOK (they/them pronouns) talked about how hard it was trying to fit the mold that society had assigned them due to their sex at birth.

In this brief clip, ALOK speaks to how representing yourself authentically is imperative to living a full life. Captions are located beneath the video, which is 20 seconds long.

"...Because when we don't, the friends can feel like strangers and maybe even enemies. Because when we don't, we become estranged from ourselves and our own humanity. Heal so that you can hold onto your humanity. Find and alter in (sic) yourself for your humanity. For your precious humanity. And then the rest makes sense."

The Cutest Boy at the Tech Job Crawl

I have to take a quick moment to give a shoutout to the cutest retriever at the conference – his name was Sully! 😍

This photo was taken right as he saw me walking by, and I didn’t even say anything at that point… but he just KNEW. 

He proceeded to try to maul me (just kidding!) by nipping at my nose and ears. 10/10 for cuteness and sweetness for this adorable boy! Would pet again. 

A Step Back in Time...LWT Summit 2016

You may already know the story, but I first attended the LWT Summit in San Francisco, California in 2016. Up until today, I thought it was 2015, but I found some photos from the trip and saw the timestamps (oops!).

I feel like I took more than 4 photos but these are the only ones I was able to locate. From what I remember, I spent a considerable amount of time one day at Twitter HQ learning about what jobs they had there and how frequently they used the rooftop greenspace. I also walked around the Fisherman’s Wharf, ran on the path at the embarcadero, and enjoyed some fresh crab legs at Pier 39.

I could probably write at least a page on the food that I ate that week or how I got lost riding a bicycle by myself and ended up biking almost 55 miles up and down the massive hills of SFO…but I’ll just leave it with the rest of the pics I was able to find: 

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In Conclusion

After the delightful experience at the LWT summit this year and the trip down memory lane to the first time I attended, I am going to try my best (fingers crossed) to attend annually from now on. Maybe next time I will bring Dr. Jones. 😊

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