Financial management and life insurance firm Northwestern Mutual will hold its inaugural Women in Tech conference this December to help advance diversity and inclusion in the technology industry.
Northwestern Mutual, based in Milwaukee and the largest privately held company in Wisconsin, will operate the free event virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The conference will take place Dec. 3 and feature keynote presentations, development sessions and speakers, including former boxer and fitness expert Laila Ali, the daughter of boxing great Muhammad Ali, along with discussions led by executives at Zoom, Northwestern Mutual, Major League Baseball and Capital One.
“Gender equity is important for our teams, businesses and society to thrive, and with technology at the center of everything we do, it’s critical that we close the gender gap in tech careers,” said Sangeetha Rai, vice president of technology and customer success at Northwestern Mutual.
According to SmartAsset, women make up about 26% of the nation's tech workforce, but on average, are paid only 83% of what men are paid in the industry. In surveying U.S. cities that had at least 200,000 residents, SmartAsset found Milwaukee ranked 46th out of 59 cities for best places for women to work in tech. In Milwaukee, 29.3% of tech jobs are filled by women, who earn 82% of what men are paid.
