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WeAreDevelopers LIVE • Apr 18, 2023

KEYNOTE: Hidden Histories

Brenda Romero

Software didn't start out male-dominated; women were the original tech pioneers. Uncover how systemic biases erased this legacy and why reverse-engineering that shift is a strict business necessity.

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#1 about 3 min

The impact of familiar role models in technology

How frequently referencing the same famous women shapes stereotypes and career choices for the next generation.

#2 about 4 min

Modding board games and early software engineering jobs

Reflections on early game development experiences and leveraging table-top game rules into early coding careers.

#3 about 7 min

Historical origins of women as the first computers

Why programming was initially marketed toward women as menial labor and how cultural shifts changed industry demographics.

#4 about 7 min

Navigating the unicorn anomaly as a woman programmer

The professional frustration of having gender eclipse technical output and the importance of evaluating work rather than identity.

#5 about 4 min

Remembering foundational women pioneers in early computing history

Celebrating the technical architects who developed core computing elements like BASIC, pointers, assembly language, and compiler optimizations.

#6 about 4 min

Consequences of missing diversity in product development decisions

Real-world examples of how omitting marginalized demographics from leadership creates flawed consumer products and biased artificial intelligence models.

#7 about 5 min

Overcoming engineered biases to achieve equal technology representation

Strategies for dismantling societal myths and rethinking technical recruiting campaigns to foster inclusive software engineering teams.

Matching moments

1:39 min

Rewriting the historical narrative of women in technology

Babette Wagner Babette Wagner · Coffee With Developers

8:04 min

Pushing for female representation and leadership in technology

Katja Träumner

3:09 min

Introduction and perspective on the gender gap

Katrin Rabow Katrin Rabow · Europe 2026 Virtual

4:07 min

Overcoming visibility challenges for women in tech

Teena Idnani · LIVE

3:26 min

Setting the context for female leadership in artificial intelligence

Alexandra Wudel Alexandra Wudel +2 · World Congress 2025

4:14 min

Community involvement and the women in tech panel effect

Joana Simoes · LIVE

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Upcoming sessions on this topic

Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 14:10–14:40

Stage 1

The Broken Rung: How AI is Rebuilding Software Development from the Ground Up

Tomislav Tipurić

Chief Technology Officer, Nephos

Tomislav Tipurić
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 15:30–16:00

Mainstage

Our Brains in the AI Era

Cassidy Williams

Senior Director of Developer Advocacy, GitHub

Cassidy Williams
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 16:10–16:40

Outdoor Stage

When Humans Stop Writing Code: Rethinking Languages, Compilers, and Responsibility

Simon Auer

Organizer of flutter vienna meetup and CEO of marqably

Simon Auer
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 16:10–16:40

Stage 6

The Reality of AI Adoption in Enterprises

Priyanka Vergadia

Cloud and AI expert @Microsoft, previously lead Devrel @Google

Priyanka Vergadia
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 09:40–10:10

Stage 5

Vibe Coding Accessibility

Karl Groves

Focused on actively fixing accessibility

Karl Groves
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 16:50–17:20

Stage 1

Honey, look! I vibe-coded an OS!

Ian Smith

CTO of LYOS

Ian Smith

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