Women In Tech PGH hosted representatives from around the world for an event on workforce development backed by the State Department.
The event was co-hosted by The Equity | Impact Center and hosted international delegates as part of the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program, which focuses on workforce development in emerging technologies.
"It was so interesting to have a firsthand experience hearing how different types of policies from different countries and cultures impact the way that people show up to work and how it defines how they contribute to their jobs," WITPGH CEO Alison Falk said. "Not only in terms of their output, but also their well being as well. When we have these conversations it is important for us to understand and to look at work comprehensively."
Delegates attended from several countries, including Australia, Japan and India. The event was part of a larger visit organized by the State Department bringing tech players to Pittsburgh because of the city's growing reputation as a tech hub.
"[The delegates] were visiting Pittsburgh because Pittsburgh was marked as a city focused on emerging technologies," Falk said. "Since that is a component of our work and programming at Women In Tech PGH, they thought we would be a great candidate to design a convening for them."
Falk called the event "eye opening" and that because the tech industry is constantly evolving, sometimes a "pause" is needed to reevaluate what is and is not working in terms of workforce development.
"There were a lot of candid discussions around gender equity and how policy impacts gender equity in different countries," Falk said. "It was very eye opening to see how even though culture and policy can have great impacts on the work that you do in other countries, at the same time they're still really experiencing a lot of the same issues that we see here in Pittsburgh."
