Post-Conference Press Release
On August 20th, 2022, women from 18 countries gathered for the staging of the virtual and inaugural Women in Tech Caribbean (WiTC) Conference. In keeping with the theme of #WeAreWITC, there was a strong showing of talented and trailblazing Caribbean women in tech as 12 Caribbean countries were represented at the conference.
The keynote speaker, Ingrid Riley of Silicon Caribe, kicked off the conference as she passionately shared how we can future-proof the Caribbean through tech entrepreneurship and investment. According to Ingrid, “Women control US $36 trillion in total wealth [as] they make 70% of all major financial decisions for themselves and their families,” and she stressed that “the number one way to future-proof the Caribbean through tech entrepreneurship and investments is by women betting on themselves and betting on each other.” She delivered a call to action for every Caribbean woman to consider what steps they can take to support each other’s endeavours and work towards the advancement of the Caribbean region.
Our dynamic host Gillian Parague guided and facilitated well needed conversations, Q&A segments and giveaways throughout the day. Speakers from all over the Caribbean and the diaspora shared important and heartfelt pieces of advice while conference attendees found a space to discuss their projects, beliefs, plans and knowledge. Some common themes throughout the day were that “you don’t have to start in tech to be in tech,” and that “your Caribbean heritage should be celebrated everywhere you go”. Such themes highlighted by multiple speakers encouraged participants to accept every element of their background and to intentionally show up as their authentic selves every day in and out of the workplace.
Overall, the first ever WiTC Conference was a success, and could not have been possible without the kind generosity of several sponsors and partners. WiTC would like to thank our sponsors: GSD Solutions, capSpire Inc, Visual Tech Solutions Ltd, and ImpactWhit for sponsoring this year’s conference, as well as our partners: Caribbean Girls Hack, Coding Black Females, Women Techmakers and Digital Jamaica for supporting the community during the staging of this event. We would also like to thank our Conference Team and volunteers for working behind the scenes to produce, organize and market this event.
The WiTC conference will be hosted annually with a continued lineup of dynamic speakers of Caribbean heritage. Stay tuned to our social media pages to find out when recordings will be available. For more information about the conference and speakers, and for updates about future conferences, visit www.witc-conference.com.
Women in Tech Caribbean is an online community aimed at connecting self-identifying Caribbean women in the tech space at home and in the diaspora. It is a safe-space for over 250 members from 46+ Caribbean countries to network, share opportunities, ideas, jobs, and more. Follow WiTC at www.womenintechcaribbean.com, on Instagram or on LinkedIn for the latest updates.
