This might sound like heresy as indeed for some technical paths, top-notch skills in these disciplines are essential, but for others, creativity and ideas are what differentiates good from great. Another pervasive myth is that a career in tech means that you will be sitting in dark corners for endless hours debugging lifeless lines of code. In fact, with so much open source code available for use, the foundations of our digital landscape are becoming an increasingly accessible commodity.

A premium is placed on what value you can add to standard blocks of code to make them come alive. It's much more likely that this process, including developing new features and products, will be done in collaborative 'hackathon' environments, with teams of people working together on everything from debugging to the creation of breakthrough innovations.

It's no longer merely the logic of pulling together lines of code. Inspiration and ideas play a much more pivotal role.

And let's face it; there is no shortage of women with great ideas and with the desire to make a big impact. It's a fact that the most productive and successful product development teams are gender balanced and include women in key leadership positions but we need more. So, how do we transform these attitudes ands start making real progress? First and most importantly, we need to facilitate a better awareness of the great opportunities the tech sector offers.

Girls need more support and mentoring and we need successful women sharing their experiences on a mass scale. We need to raise familiarity around tech careers and help counteract the negative perceptions.


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We should champion existing role models within the industry and set up initiatives that create positive and encouraging narratives around their journey. Programmes such as the pan-European 'Inspiring Fifty' started by two wonderful female entrepreneurs, Janneke Niessen and Joelle Frijters from the Netherlands are a vital step forward in sharing the experiences we need to draw more young women into exciting tech roles. These organisations are identifying, encouraging and showcasing women in leadership positions in the tech industry. I recently had the privilege of hosting the Inspiring Fifty at 10 Downing Street for a rare conversation and mentoring session during International Women's Week.

It was truly moving. The state dining room was full of Europe's most accomplished and digitally savvy women tech stars; founders, entrepreneurs and business leaders representing over three decades of technology development and innovation. They all had one thing in common: Each participant delivered a truly unique perspective on our shared experiences as women in tech. We also invited a group called Girls in Tech to join us and we matched the Inspiring Fifty with their aspiring younger counterparts in a speed mentoring session making sure that each mentee had at least four mentor sessions.

The day culminated with a photo taken together in front of the famous No. It was truly one of the most fantastic days I can remember. The good news is that she will be home for a week mid October.

Send The Elevator Back Down: Parent’s Weekend | brickhousechick

I just want to make sure she is doing okay. Have been ever since American Beauty. King of Prussia Mall is pretty cool. I am dying to take a whole day to stay in my pjs and binge-watch everything Kevin. He really is a brilliant actor! I used to love going to the mall, now not so much. It is exhausting and too fragrant! Thank you for addressing this urgent matter!

What are they thinking? We should all get together, rush into department stores, and spray the girls behind the perfume counter… with mace….

Send the elevator back down

They attend the same one. Sounds like you had a great time. Very handy and convenient that your niece and nephew are at the same university! I wonder if she will notice a difference between them in terms of how they react to the reunion with their parents. Your post is very timely. We will be heading to our Parent Weekend in 3 weeks. It sounds like it was a great weekend.

Letting it all hang out

Swimmers have to work their asses off to get anywhere!! I will be keeping this post in mind when my son has other plans than seeing us on Parent Weekend. His dad was able to pry me away when we left him there a month ago but I suspect this time will be much harder. I never understood how my daughter had the strength and power to do the butterfly and do it well.

I am sure it will be wonderful and he will be happy to see you. I love Kevin too! As long as my kids are doing okay, I am okay with them being gone. Watching her get all emotional is what killed me! This too shall pass, right? Everybody is going to be great, daughter and parents. You thought she would stay with you at the hotel. On a weekend night. And next time, Mr.

How do you look in horizontal stripes? You like bars, right? Oops, not those kind of bars! I loved this post, Maria. I felt like I was at Villanova. Thanks for sharing the Wildcat weekend. I honestly though she might want to hang out with us in our King size bed and snuggle. What was I thinking? It was the weekend, after all. I am learning, slowly but surely. B is such an awesome hubby and daddy. He knew we needed him to drive through the maze to get to the mall so he took us.

Had it been The Patriots, he would have sent us home packing! As to Kevin my new bff , it was his loss.

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He let them go up on stage and everything. I treated myself to Chinese, bought enough to have leftover Chinese. Oh Maria, you always have a way of bringing on the tears. What a beautiful post. For your daughter, there will never be a place like home. Some students got to ask Kevin questions after his presentation and one girl even got to take a selfie with him! I was soooo jealous. My daughter would have died if I had gone up there.

Makes me wish my son were going to Villanova. So glad such a bittersweet moment was at least sweetened by Keyser Soze.


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All the best to you and your not-so-little girl. I have missed seeing your smiling face. I hope all is good with you. I am way behind on my blog reading so I will have to head over to your place to see what you have been up to. That would be such a fun thing to do on a rainy or snowy day. That had to be great! Dude that has to be a positive in the empty nest syndrome. Guat, when that time comes for you to take your babies to college, count on me to send the elevator down to you!

I will even ride down and hold the door open for you. And I have to say, on another note, I would drive six hours to hear Kevin Spacey read the phone book. Thanks for stopping by! Yes, seeing my daughter and Kevin my new bff , were definitely worth the 6 hour drive! LOL on him reading the phone book. The good news is that she comes home for a week in October!

What a beautiful post, Maria. I waved good-bye to my parents in late August with barely a backwards glance. By mid-October, I was desperate to make a trip home to re-visit the familiar. Sounds like Kevin Spacey gave a wonderful talk. Thank you so much for reading, Nancy! I remember my freshman year right about this time, when one of the girls on our floor began to cry. Not only was Kevin my buddy now entertaining, but his messages were very inspiring.

Yes, I have been resting for the past two days. He is one of my all-time favorite actors. Good to hear that he may just be good enough to send the elevator back down. I was so excited to see him.