Pittsburgh's GetWITIt chapter, an organization that seeks to connect women in the tech industry, held WITCON, its annual conference today.
Chapter co-presidents Erica Tamburo and Sunnie Fenk said that as the hiring process continues to change, networking has become more pivotal, and in a disproportionately male industry, that networking is even more important for women.
"Let's face it, it's not applying for a job and getting an interview [anymore]," Tamburo said. "The way people are getting jobs now is all through networking."
An annual report from the Computer Technology Industry Association found that in Pittsburgh, women make up 25% of tech occupations, despite making up 49% of the overall workforce. For female startup founders, this gap is even wider — Pitchbook data found that women-founded startups accounted for 2% or less of venture capital funding in Europe and the United States in 2023.
"Women, once they join the IT industry, they don't feel that connection because they work with a lot of men," Fenk said. "So they leave the industry."
But as Pittsburgh's tech sector continues to gain recognition for its robotics and artificial intelligence clusters, Fenk, Tamburo and the other chapter members, see an opportunity for the region to lead the industry.
"Pittsburgh has a very strong women's network," Tamburo said. "We're excited to be a part of that and helping to spread the knowledge that it exists."
The event was attended by approximately 250 people, who were able to attend breakout sessions, hear from keynote speakers and network throughout the day.
"They make these connections and they're like 'wow, this is awesome, you're going through what I'm going through,'" Fenk said. "They build those bonds and those lasting opportunities that they never had before. Last year ... I must have heard from at least five people that were so glad that they attended the conference because of people they met there, they actually ended up working [with]."
