Seizing the Opportunity with Tania Ferreira

Marie Wiese:
Hi everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Women Talk Tech. I'm your host, Marie Wiese. And today it is my great pleasure to have on the show Tania Ferreira. And Tania and I met many, many years ago. Well, back in 2019, I think maybe even earlier 2018 when Tania was just launching the women in IT series and bringing these fantastic events. all over the world in order to celebrate women in IT. And we got to meet then and she continues to be an incredible advocate for women in tech. And she is currently director of events for the Global Women in IT series. And it is a pretty exciting series and we're gonna dig into it in a minute. But I just wanna quickly say, Tania launched the Global Summit Series in 2019 and has since produced. action driven content for the global community in both live and virtual events to compliment the long standing award ceremonies. And I've been part of them as a presenter, as a speaker, just such incredible events because it's a day of connecting, networking, bringing people together. So thank you so much for the work you do and welcome to the show.

Tania Ferreira:
Thank you so much, Marie. It's wonderful to be here.

Marie Wiese:
And I know that we're gonna talk about the summit and I wanna get right into that because we've got lots of details to share about the exciting topics that you're gonna bring forward. But first of all, let's talk about you. I always ask people to give me their backstory and tell me, you know, what were you doing in high school and what did you think your career path was gonna be?

Tania Ferreira:
That's a great question. It is very different to where I find myself today, in fact. When I was back in high school, I thought I would actually go into archeology. I

Marie Wiese:
Okay.

Tania Ferreira:
love ancient history. I love all things sort of Egyptian, the sort of Roman, Greek, Viking eras, Imperial China, all of those kinds of bits of history. When it got to modern less so, and I guess I strayed from that path and found my way into my other passion in life, which is sports and events, and actually thought of doing sports events as the ultimate goal. So studied tourism, studied sports science, and then went on to do a master's in events and conference management. But it's a long way away from where this Portuguese South African girl started. And it's been fun since.

Marie Wiese:
Now that's a point I want to make for listeners. You're sort of a world traveler, but where are you currently based today? Because I know during the pandemic, I think you went back to Portugal and so right now are you in London? Is that where we're finding you?

Tania Ferreira:
Yes, in London this week at least.

Marie Wiese:
You're right, right.

Tania Ferreira:
I say that as a joke because a lot of my friends, when they send me a message, they always go, first of all, hi, and are you in the country? And then they'll start talking about what they need.

Marie Wiese:
Right, right. And I get that because I've had the good fortune to see you in many places and I know you put a lot of time and effort into these events. So I want to just call that out first and foremost is that the Women in IT Summit is going to be taking place on the 14th of September in New York City for the US version and for the Canadian version it will be taking place on October 19th in Toronto. and you always pick the best locations. They're always lovely. And I've been to many events that you've put on and listeners, let me tell you, if you're a woman in IT or even an ally in IT or even just wanting to know what goes on in IT, I highly recommend you attend in either New York or Toronto and in New York will be having the pleasure of being at the Tribeca Rooftop, which is a great place that I've been to before. and the Intercontinental Hotel in Toronto, which is almost at the base of the CN Tower. So you can't miss it, a very iconic place for Toronto. So I'm excited. And tell us a little bit about what you've got planned for both those events. What are some of the topics we're gonna dig into?

Tania Ferreira:
Well, it's really exciting, Marie. First of all, let me say thank you very much. That's very kind of you to say. And also just a shout out to the team because I'm not the one that just chooses everything and, you know, it all comes from me. It's a very well-oiled machine of a team that comes together that works incredibly hard, that are very, very passionate about what they do and want to make sure that everybody has a brilliant experience. So a massive shout out to the Women in IT team for all of their efforts and everything that they do to bring these events to life. In terms of the content, also a very important part, obviously, of these events, we want to make sure that when people come, they feel impacted. They feel driven. They feel motivated to take action and go further, not just within their teams and within their organizations, but for themselves. So when we think of this year's theme, we think of impactful growth. And I mentioned that because last year we focused on emerging with impact after the pandemic, what are we doing, how are we doing it and how are we showing up. This year it's all about that reflection of what we've done and where are we going next. And growth and impactful growth can mean so many different things to so many different people. So we think about it from a personal and professional perspective, we think about it from an industry perspective, we think about it from a state. or even a country perspective. And then how are we creating and amplifying that to become something more global, more tangible, something that has a ripple effect and touches so many more people. So that is where this dream for this year has come from and what we aim to achieve. And by doing that and focusing on that theme, we've broken that up into obviously what that means for technology. we think about what it means for diversity, equity, inclusion. So how that plays a part also then in the end for professional development. So all of those three, those three pillars are fit in with the theme of impactful growth. And with each geography, we do the diligence of reading trade press, of meeting with our partners, with potential sponsors, previous attendees, judges, previous speakers. to really understand what's happening in that country, in that region, so that it's not just a copy paste exercise. There obviously

Marie Wiese:
Right.

Tania Ferreira:
are some content pieces that are relevant across the board, but we try and make it quite specific and make sure that it's relevant for the people we're going to be serving.

Marie Wiese:
Now, can you give me a sneak peek of what you might be talking about in Canada? Is there any little tidbits you can share today?

Tania Ferreira:
Well, this will be hot off the press because the team is going to be brief today as well.

Marie Wiese:
Alright!

Tania Ferreira:
This is a very professional development focused event this year, mainly because we're looking at all of these emerging technologies and thinking, what does my future look like? Where do I play a part? How

Marie Wiese:
Right.

Tania Ferreira:
am I going to need to be relevant and continue to be involved? It's about inclusive design. It's about upskilling, understanding the current trends, knowing what to look for and what resources you can use, but also taking that back to your organization and asking for that within your organization to ensure that you have that seat at the table, that you are part of this inclusive design and that you are ensuring your place in an AI future. So

Marie Wiese:
Yeah.

Tania Ferreira:
I'll, I'll leave. there in terms

Marie Wiese:
Wow.

Tania Ferreira:
of

Marie Wiese:
Okay.

Tania Ferreira:
some of the things to expect.

Marie Wiese:
Well, you know, there's two things. Okay, so there's two things I wanna talk about then in terms of what you've just said. So I think this tees up nicely and I have to get a plugin for our new report that we've just released, the ambition report, the survey we did. We've done that in conjunction with you. And I think we're so excited by the results. We're so excited by what it said. And I think that this idea of how you get your place at the table is very much going to dovetail into what we found in the report and this idea of ambition not being dead. We wanted to study this idea of ambition. Where are we at with ambition? Ambition is not dead. Women are in fact more ambitious than men and they want to really focus on the path of the trailblazer and be part of that. And so I think that as part of the conversation that we're going to have in October at the I think this idea then of where is my place at the table? What the heck do I do with this thing called AI? And then the idea that, well, we're at another crossroads again in technology. We're about to go through yet another revolution. Now is the time for even more trailblazers. Now is the time for more people to say, I'm going to take this thing and we're going to figure it out. I'm going to wrestle it to the ground and I'm going to figure out how it becomes part of my future. And I think it's not going away. And do you remember Tanya, when we talked about AI on many panels, we talked about the ethics of AI, we talked about how AI was gonna impact us, and suddenly here we are, and AI is everywhere, it's in everything, and it's starting to really affect how we work, where we work, what we wanna do. So I think as always, you're on the cutting edge here of helping people. And I think it's gonna be a pretty exciting event to get to talk about all of these things. But more importantly, what I love about the Women in IT series is I love the fact that there's these tangible takeaways. It's not just sitting and talking, it's these tangible takeaways. Connections get made. introductions, people get to meet each other and actually have conversations around what do you do in tech? Here's what I do in tech. You've had speakers over the years who I've continued to connect with because I follow the work that they're doing. And so I really want to say thank you for doing this. Thank you for doing this work and thank you for bringing people together because a lot of people coming out of the pandemic thought Oh, well, events are dead. Nobody wants to get together anymore. There's no point to this. And you've

Tania Ferreira:
Thanks.

Marie Wiese:
proven them wrong. There definitely is a point. And I have to say, I come away from your events, just feeling full of hope and wisdom and about five new ideas. I'd say more than that. I think the last event, I must have written down 20 things that scared the heck out of my team. But there must have been 20 new ideas I came away with. And so I thank you for that. I thank you for getting the community together.

Tania Ferreira:
Thank you, Marie. That really means a lot. I have to say that that's why we do what we do. That's why it's so important. That's what drives us. That's what motivates us. And I have to share a funny story from last year, and I think you might remember, is I was wearing a lovely new blazer that I'd bought and debuting it at Canada, which I didn't realize was gonna be a bad idea because I received so many warm welcomes and hugs that by the end... My blazer head ripped at the back.

Marie Wiese:
So it wasn't hug proof. You couldn't, you couldn't,

Tania Ferreira:
It wasn't hug proof.

 

Marie Wiese:
okay. Okay, I love that.

Tania Ferreira:
I didn't expect so many hugs and so much love and such a wonderful welcome. And to your point that we also grappled with this idea, should we go back live, should we continue virtual? Virtual has obviously its positive side that it's obviously a lot more accessible for many more people. However, that... one-to-one connection, that sort of touch and feel coming together and having that idea storming session around a table is something that people did really, really miss. And it was so amazing to see that it was nonstop networking. We had speed networking, which we'll introduce again this year. We had the impactful idea stage where we got to see so many new innovative ideas that are gonna be using tech for good and to help underrepresented groups and communities. We're bringing that competition back to life with a different theme. I don't wanna give too much away. And then

Marie Wiese:
Okay, all right.

Tania Ferreira:
at the same time, we're gonna be working on those takeaways that you talked about, Marie.

Marie Wiese:
Yeah.

Tania Ferreira:
It's so important that it's not just sitting there and listening to the same old, or just thinking, okay, that was interesting, but what do I do now? This is really going to focus on what we need to do to stay relevant and continue. to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in organizations, within our teams and within the products and services that we design. But it's about making sure that gap between women and tech development doesn't get bigger and bigger as we go along. We've

Marie Wiese:
Yeah.

Tania Ferreira:
got to stay on course.

Marie Wiese:
Okay. So let's, let's just, let's just talk about that point for a second. I want to, I want to, there's, there's always a tough question I ask on the podcast and here's the tough question. And I think you're sort of answering it with that last point. So you, maybe it's not going to be as tough for you, but you know, to those people who say, why do we still need women in series? Why do we still need to be segmenting this and calling it out? What do you say to those people who say, who, who say things like that?

Tania Ferreira:
the same question. I admit I asked the same question that it's just common sense that it shouldn't be needed and I hope, I pray that one day I don't have to do what I do because it's just the norm. And so what I say is right now there is still a place for it. There is still a need to show women that there are other women. doing what they're doing, succeeding, really going for the top of the hill. They are breaking those barriers. They are proving that it can be done. And our younger generation needs it too. I was actually reading the other day that we are doing better. If we look back at 2019, the stats were around 18 to 19% of the workforce in tech were women. We have gone up. to between 26 to 27%. So I'm not saying it's us, but there is movement, there is growth, and we just can't stop doing that until we've reached a place that is equitable. So there is still a place.

Marie Wiese:
Yeah. So thank you. And thank you for those new numbers. Cause I was thinking we were at 23%, but you know, I'm sort of happy to hear 26. It's still low. Still like only a quarter. So, and I think that that's really important. I want to read you a quote. Um, and this was, uh, something that the team at, uh, at women talk tech have pulled out as we've been talking about issues of, of the ambition report. And so sort of to answer your question, you know, to answer the question and put some muscle behind why do we still need women in series in 2015. Okay. So 2015 was only eight years ago. The co-founder of Vice Media, Gavin McInnis, appeared as a guest on Fox News and on the program he claimed that women are less ambitious than men and most are happier at home. Then in a 2019 study from Northwestern University, it was investigating how gender stereotypes in the US have evolved over the last seven decades. And what was uncovered that women were no longer regarded as less competent or intelligent than men, but one key finding emerged. Women were viewed as less. And I think that we can't let the torch die on the fact that we are still overcoming decades of gender bias, of women being seen differently in the workforce, but let's face it, we need not just to be in the workforce, but we need a different workforce.

Tania Ferreira:
100%

Marie Wiese:
We need to help evolve it and we need. We can't let our voices diminish on this topic just because we think we're reaching equity in the workforce. We can't let them die. And so what I really am excited about in the ambition report is that ambition is not dead. Women are not less ambitious than men, but they want a different definition of ambition. And it needs to include more than just this work financial situation. And when we do that, we start to evolve the workplace and we make it more diverse and inclusive for those people who couldn't access it before because of those barriers that we put up there as business people. And so that's what I'm most excited about in the report. I love that we continue to have these conversations in the summit series. And I know you are having those conversations all year long and I thank you for that.

Tania Ferreira:
Thank you so much. And also just to add to that Marie, that when people say ambition, sometimes they regard it as a bit of a negative word. And I just want to give that a shout out as well to just say, it's not, it's great. And you can be ambitious about anything. It doesn't just have to be like you say with work or financial aspirations. You can be ambitious and passionate about anything else. but don't let that drive, that passion about something, that desire to do or be more feel like it's a bad thing. It is not, and you are completely entitled to be feeling it and should celebrate it.

Marie Wiese:
Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much. And that's definitely what the conclusions of the report are. Now we've, we've given it all away, but I still think you should download the report and I still think you need to come on 14th of September at the Tribecca Rooftop which is a really interesting location and in Canada on the 19th of October at the Intercontinental Hotel in Toronto, Canada. I'm really looking forward to those events and I think there's going to be a lot of exciting stuff discussed.

Tanya, thank you so much for being on the show today. As always, just such a lovely breath of fresh air. Thank you for being here.

Tania Ferreira:
Thank you for having me, Marie, and thank you again for all that you do and all your support throughout the years.

Marie Wiese:
Oh, absolutely. We wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks so much to all our listeners. This has been another episode of Women Talk Tech and as always, thanks for listening.