I attended a Bay Area Girl Geek dinner which featured women designers at tech companies like DropBox, Yammer, and Airbnb.
Did you know that only 33% of designers (in the UK) are women? This surprised me because I work with so many talented women at Intuit (p.s. we’re hiring!). However, it’s a good reminder that when it comes to workplace diversity, we can do better.
The lightning talks featured a mix of new and experienced speakers which made for a well-paced and enjoyable evening. Here are my notes from the event:
Alice Lee, Product Designer, Dropbox
A reminder that all of us start as amateurs and that to overcome impostor syndrome, practice and find mentors.
Nina Mehta, Product Designer, Pivotal Labs
How to get design prioritized: build respect for your work and play nice with others.
Elle Luna, Designer & Artist
Even with “success”, is your work your job, your career, or your calling? An inspiring call to seek out the clues that lead to your life’s work.
Cindy Alvarez, Director of UX, Yammer
No one (but designers) care about delighting the user. Instead, focus your efforts higher up in the funnel, where decisions are made, and use the language of business.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to capture notes for all of the talks, so check out Twitter and the Bay Area Girl Geek website for more design goodness.