The Power of #DadOps for women in tech

#womenintech#Iamawomanintech

Here’s some of my story

Disclaimer: Non-scientific, empirical evidence, based on my personal experience

/me

Amanda Whaley

@mandywhaley@CiscoDevNet

DevXdevs are users too

Devs

What is the most important thing I can say to the DevOps audience?

Who’s a Dad or Uncle? Who has a daughter or a niece?

Dads have some special powers

It’s not only about aptitude and skills

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/20/what-happened-to-all-of-the-women-coders-in-1984/

The mindset is more important than a specific

technologyTry, fail, iterate…deal with the unknown

• Lawyer & Doctor

• Telescopes• Cameras• Audiophile• Machine

Shop• Bicycles• Vintage Cars• Ukes!

He gave me many examples of learning

something newMany examples of iterating on the unknown

Many examples of things not always working perfectly

He didn’t let me sit on the side lines of this

learning“Give her a soldering iron and let her burn her fingers”

School is easy player mode for girls

Predictable, rules, defined outcomes, mostly constructed by women teachers

Few opportunities to learn to fail, try, iterate in school.

Bring your daughter into the project, share the journey and the iteration

Owning technology starts with the

technology @ homeWhat technology is your house?

What technology do the girls in your house “own”?

Here’s your stereo!

Let her be her own sysadmin (and give supportive guidance)

Debate with your daughter

About anything…Star Wars, Minecraft, Scrabble Rules, Music etc.

And listen to what she says...

Help her learn to communicate her ideas effectively to her peers… even if she is the only woman in the room.

Avoid the “Woman in a Meeting” meme

Its ok to break away from the pack

Choosing a technical field, is a choice, and it is counter to what most of your friends will choose…

#DadOps for #WIT