KARISHMA SHAH: Hello, hello, hello.
Welcome.
Truly, welcome.
Thank you for joining us today.
You just saw the video from last year's summit.
And I can feel the energy in this room already.
It's going to be equally amazing.
Let's connect, create, collaborate,
and celebrate today.
If you can't already tell, I'm excited to be here with you
and honored to support Women Techmakers, a group that I hold
very near and dear to my heart.
And I'll tell you why in just a bit.
Women Techmakers' global vision is
to provide visibility, community, and resources
for women in technology.
This is our third year hosting our global event series
in celebration of International Women's Day.
And this year I'm personally looking forward
to the women in this room exchanging stories
and inspiring each other.
I was the first female on Project Wing,
X's drone delivery project.
One book that's inspired me to embrace
such roles as a woman on teams was written by Elle Luna.
And it's called "The Crossroads of Should and Must."
What really resonated with me was her stance that changing
our internal dialogue to instill that we must be here,
rather than saying or questioning whether we should
be here, has profound effects.
So today I'd like to say not only should you all be here,
but the technology industry needs
the insights, perspectives, and ideas of females.
And you all must be here.
To quote Elle, "must is who we are.
It's our super powers-- our truest, deepest,
most unique gifts deep within us that we're allowing
to come forth and shine."
Must versus should fosters the kind of work
that will put ripples through the universe.
And I know the women inside and outside of this room
are going to make waves in the technology industry.
I truly believe that diversity of thought
is the number-one driver of innovation.
If we're going to solve the challenges that face our world,
we need the cross pollination of everyone's
curiosity, creativity, and energy in the mix.
So today, let's honor who we are and why we must be here.
I hope you'll be inspired by the lineup of speakers,
organizations, instructors, and workshops
put together by the fabulous Women Techmakers team.
And before we kick off, let's take a moment
to give it up for Women Techmakers and women
in technology.
[APPLAUSE]
So Google is a place where differences
are valued and encouraged.
I've experienced this first hand.
A diversity of perspectives and ideas
whether by gender, race, sexual orientation, neurodiversity
or a combination of them all lead to better decision making,
more creativity, better products, and a greater value
to the workplace and our culture.
We want to help the entire tech industry become
more inclusive from inspiring young students
to pursue computer science degrees
to getting more minority-owned small businesses online.
We want to create an industry where
people can pursue their dreams, build impactful technology,
and become leaders.
Woman Techmakers is Google's global program
for women in technology.
It was kicked off in 2012 by the current CTO of the White House
and then VP of X Megan Smith.
I'm going to take a bit of time to talk
about Megan because it's rare that I get this chance.
You know, I started out as an intern in 2011
working for Megan.
And she's been my personal sponsor, role model, and friend
since.
Without having crossed paths with her,
I probably would not be here today.
What I respect and admire most about her
is she's a true believer that no one is inferior or superior
to anyone.
She's instilled the belief in me that ideas
can come from anywhere.
And when you find your passion, you're unstoppable.
You can make amazing things happen.
She believed in me, and I'm eternally thankful.
And she believed in my very dear friend, Natalie Villalobos.
Megan and I were interviewing Natalie, actually,
about two and 1/2 years ago for another role here at Google.
And, of course, Natalie was my top choice.
And to my surprise and disappointment at the time,
Megan came to me one day and said, we're not hiring Natalie.
I have another plan for her.
And I said, come again?
Natalie and I led the 10x Thinking team here at Google.
And fast forward, here we are today.
Woman Techmakers is now led globally by Natalie Villalobos.
She's my go-to person when I need someone to "yes,
and" my ridiculous ideas.
And it's been amazing seeing the evolution of her vision
from a concept we were sketching on napkins
to the global scale it's at today.
If you haven't met her, I know she's going
to kill me for saying this.
But she's around, and you ought to meet her.
She's a gem.
She and her global team of Googlers
are passionate about empowering women in technology
through increased visibility, community, and resources.
At all of our events this year, we're
celebrating the theme of Our Time
to Lead, which was created by the Anita Borg
Institute for last year's Grace Hopper Conference.
By a show of hands, who was at Grace Hopper last year?
OK, a good amount.
We've got to get more of you there.
Together with the Anita Borg Institute,
we're able to increase the momentum
of this incredible movement.
Today, our goal is to showcase women
at all phases of their career as well as
organizations that are making positive change in the tech
industry.
It's not just about Google.
A lot of times when we think about diversity in technology,
we only think about the United States.
But look at this map.
Women across the world are coming together
to increase the visibility, community, and resources
to enable more women in the industry.
That's why across March and April,
Women Techmakers will be hosting 14 global summits
and over 100 community meet ups.
We believe in supporting communities
wherever they are globally.
Our first summit in Lagos, Nigeria
is actually happening on March 19.
And today there are three summits taking place
as we speak in Seattle, New York, and, of course, here.
It's encouraging and empowering to see so many women here
today.
Now, there are hundreds of Googlers
helping out across all of our summits and meet ups this year.
And a lot of times these folks rarely receive a thank you.
And it's held till the end, if it ever is done.
This year, let's thank them first.
Their countless hours and late nights
are what make days like this possible.
Can the volunteers please stand up
so we can give you round of applause?
[APPLAUSE]
If you ever need something throughout today,
find one of them in a Woman Techmakers shirt,
and they'll be sure to help you.
Today, we have an exciting agenda in store for you.
I'm confident that, by hearing the amazing talks
from our speakers today and by informally networking
with each other, you will end the day even more
ready to face challenges and celebrate your triumphs.