Tech jobs, once a fairly safe and lucrative bet, have become more elusive. In 2022 and 2023, tech companies around the world have laid off more than 400,000 workers, according to Layoffs.fyi, a site that tracks job losses in the sector. Tens of thousands of these cuts have been made by large employers like Meta and Amazon, and some companies have frozen hiring. The layoffs were particularly brutal for immigrant workers, who found themselves seeking sponsorship in the United States after losing their jobs.
The controversy at the Grace Hopper celebration shows the consequences of these job losses, as women and non-binary people still struggle to find equal footing in a male-dominated industry. Women made up only a third of people in STEM jobs in 2021, according to the U.S. National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
As job losses take hold, all future tech workers are becoming increasingly desperate for opportunities. During the conference, videos posted to TikTok showed a sea of men lining up to attend the conference or speak with recruiters in the exhibit hall. Men and women are seen running towards the exhibit as a staff member yells at them to slow down.
Avni Barman, founder of media platform Gen She, which focuses on female talent, says she immediately noticed “tons” more men and a more chaotic scene this time compared to previous years.
Bartender was at the conference to set up a meeting. During and after the conference, she heard from a number of sad and frustrated women. “This is a conference for women and non-binary people,” says Barman.
Nelly Azar, a computer science and engineering student at Ohio State University, attended the conference and saw long lines of people waiting to speak to employers. It was completely different from 2022, they say, where they were present and saw few men.
Azar says they were only able to speak to two of the companies they were interested in because the others were inundated with applicants. Long lines zigzagged outside the entrance to the event’s exhibition hall. The frustration was palpable. This year’s conference shows “not only how fragile our spaces are, but also why we need them more than ever,” Azar says. “Now is one of the most important times to advocate for gender equity. »
