The Women in Design & Tech Leadership Forum

On Tuesday evening, Berlin’s first Women in Design & Tech Leadership Forum took place at Edenspiekermann as part of WebVisions Berlin. Speakers from across design and tech talked about their experiences of being a woman in a leadership role, and more than 70 guests joined us in the discussion.

60% of Germany’s top companies have no women in management roles. This might seem like an unbelievable statistic, but the figures are the result of a study published this year. (You can read more about the report’s findings here.) 2016’s International Women’s Day theme was “Pledge for Parity”, but there’s still a long way to go.

The forum offered an opportunity for people to come together and discuss how these statistics can be changed. Leading the evening, Maren Heltsche, founder of Speakerinnen and part of the Digital Media Women organization, set the tone: “Instead of being a step ahead of the game, what we really want to do is change it.”

Following short talks from our five speakers—Marguerite Joly, Kora Kimpel, Pia Betton, Kristina Schneider, and Lauren Lucchese—the group discussion got underway.

The audience and speakers shared experiences and insights from a range of backgrounds, picking up on key themes from the talks like visibility and role models, as well as balancing personal and professional lives and getting men involved in the discussion. Extending beyond the industries of design and tech, the topics and discussion dealt with the broader subject of female leadership and progression, offering plenty of food for thought. We’re happy we could add to the conversation by hosting the first of these events in Berlin, and know that the discussion won’t end here.

We’ll be posting more on our speakers and their key topics in the very near future—keep an eye on the magazine and social media channels for more quotes, insights and inspiration.

Photography by Konstantin Börner