Women in Tech (WITsthlm) is coming to Stockholm for the fifth consecutive year on International Women’s Day, 8 March. The event is supported by 10 main sponsors from a range of industries and aims to inspire women to choose a career in technology. As in previous years, WITsthlm is free to attend and open to all – and for the first time will span a full day. 1,500 tickets will be released on 1 February, and for those not able to follow the event on site at Folkets Hus at Norra Bantorget in Stockholm, the event will be shown live on the streaming service Viafree and WIT’s homepage.

Today, Women in Tech has grown into a movement generating enormous interest from both people and businesses. On 26 January, WIT will be a finalist in the first ever Diversity Impact Awards and its Spotlight Award, a prize celebrating ground-breaking initiatives that have helped increase diversity at management level. The WITGlobal group on Facebook has 7,500 members from around the world, and more companies than ever before want to support WITsthlm. This year’s event has 10 main sponsors: Accenture, Bonnier, EY, Google, HTC Vive, Kindred, MTG, Nasdaq, Scania and Tieto. An even larger number of businesses are backing the event in various ways, and over 100 companies have paid to secure tickets for their employees.

“It’s amazing to see the interest in WIT grow year after year. Gender equal companies are successful companies, and the tech industry continues to face challenges in attracting women. More businesses than ever want to be part of WIT, which shows that the industry understands what’s required. Simply put, companies need women who work in tech, and that’s why so many businesses want to raise their profile among this audience,” says Rikard Steiber, founder of WIT and CEO of HTC’s virtual reality initiative, Viveport.

As in previous years, WITsthlm is free to attend and open to everyone – both women and men. Starting today, anyone can register as a member here. On 1 February, an invitation will be sent to registered members only and 1,500 tickets will be assigned on a first come, first served basis. In 2017, all tickets were taken within just seven minutes.

“In 2017, women speakers accounted for 100% of our program. We chose these speakers not only as women, but as experts in their fields. There are so many successful women engineers, developers, entrepreneurs and investors with huge amounts of knowledge to share. We’ve shown that a world class tech event primarily by, with and for women is possible – and we’ll do it again this year. March 8 will be a great day with a mix of great keynotes, along with lightning talks that take a deep dive into world class projects and targeted breakout sessions where participants can learn more about the hottest areas in tech,” says Paulina Modlitba Söderlund, who is responsible for the agenda at WIT.

“I’m delighted to have the chance to moderate WIT again, especially as a full day event. WIT is a fantastic platform for highlighting issues that are particularly relevant for the tech sector, such as skills and new technologies, and for sharing knowledge, inspiration and networking possibilities. By doing this – and by making female role models more visible – we aim to help open young women’s eyes to tech, to encourage women leaders to remain in the industry, and not least to create a more equal and sustainable business culture,” says Sabinije von Gaffke, who will serve as moderator for WIT for the second year in a row, together with Anna Olin Kardell.

“Moderating WIT is one of the most inspiring things I’ve done. Tech is one of the fastest growing areas of employment and companies have a huge need for talent. High numbers of women continue to reject tech as a possible career, and this is not sustainable. It is also worrying that so many women leave after spending time in the sector. Initiatives such as WIT that offer women stronger networks and clear role models are needed, and we will meet some fantastically accomplished people on the WIT stage,” says Anna Olin Kardell.

The WITsthlm agenda is still under development; details of speakers will be published on WIT’s homepage when confirmed.

For more information, check out WIT’s homepage and follow the event in social media via #WITsthlm2018.

Contact:

Jessica Sjöberg
VP Corporate Communications, MTG
jessica.sjoberg@mtg.com, +46 764 94 09 13

Partnerkontakt

Rikard Steiber
President Viveport and SVP Virtual Reality, HTC
rikard.steiber@gmail.com

Women in Tech started as an event on International Women’s Day in 2014. Since then, it has grown into a community, a platform and a movement. The goal for WIT is to inspire women to choose careers within media and technology, through providing networks and experience from successful women and men from the business and entrepreneurial world.