Celebrating The Future Of Women Developers In Minneapolis

Much has been made of the lack of women working in the technology industry, we talk about it a lot on the podcast, especially when it comes to programmers and developers. Facts and figures abound to support the thesis.  Save yourself some reading… walk into any software development shop and it will it you square in the head. Yeah, not a lot of women in front of those screens or in that morning standup.

For whatever reason you want to cite for this lack of X chromosomes (education, environment, etc.), we have a lot of work ahead to get more young women interested in technology as a career…and I’m happy to say we aren’t shying away from the task.

Last Sunday I had the great privilege to be on hand for Appapalooza in Minneapolis, the culmination of the regional  Technovation Challenge. I am also a board member of TechnovationMN, a group dedicated to inspiring young women to create mobile applications that benefit our community.

The event saw the presentations of 22 middle school and six high school teams. These teams of two to seven girls showcased everything from medical alert apps to networking apps for students studying abroad. They not only coded the apps, they researched the competitive landscape, drafted a business plan and outlined how to bring them to market.

I wish you could have felt the energy in the room as these young women presented and watched others present. The room erupted more than once as local women in technology spoke to inspire the audience of teams, mentors, teachers, friends and parents.

The awards ceremony was crazy as four teams including  were selected for the next level in the Technovation challenge. It was electric. Check out the list of regional finalists.