July 10, 2022

BGTS returns

In case you missed the memo, the Black Girls Tech Summit is back better than ever in 2022, and we couldn’t be more excited. As we connect with more of our valued community all over the globe, we’re giving you not one but two summits. As they say, go big or go home. 

BGTS Berlin, in partnership with Zalando x Adan 

Berlin-based tech babes, where you at? We’ll be kicking off our first BGTS in Berlin, with an event in partnership with Zalando x Adan (Afro Deutsches Akademiker Netzwerk) on October 26th, 2022. Mark your calendars! 

Speaking of the summit, Vikki Leach, Diversity & Inclusion Director at Zalando, said: 

“We are proud to be supporting Girls Talk London this year with their launch of Girls Talk Berlin. At Zalando, our vision is to be the Starting Point for Fashion that is welcoming to everyone. We strive to be inclusive by design, bringing to life the diversity of our talents, leaders, customers and partners. This partnership is another step toward achieving our commitment of 40% women in technical roles by the end of 2023, as outlined in our D&I do.BETTER strategy.”

You can read more on our upcoming Berlin summit here. 

BGTS London & globally 

For our London community and members all over the globe, our second BGTS will take place in November. 

The summit will strive to forge meaningful connections between leading tech companies and 3,000+ Black women from 37+ countries killing it in tech. 

Stay tuned for updates on sponsors and speakers. In the meantime, you can secure a FREE place to join us here and join our BGTS slack group here. 

Join our Linkedin group here & our Facebook Group here

Follow our instagram page for regular updates

First-hand experience

BGTS was created to bring incredible talent together, adding value at every opportunity. We recently caught up with BGTS alumnae Valentina, who shared her summit experience with us. 

Valentina currently works as a Communications intern at Snap Inc. Although she had already landed her role before the summit, she gained a lot from the event. 

Speaking about her experience at the summit, Valentina told us, “BGTS helped open my eyes to the array of amazing opportunities in tech and reminded me as a young black woman that there is space for me to thrive in the industry”. 

Career benefits 

When asked how attending the summit has benefited her career, Valentina explained, “I feel that careers in tech, besides software engineering, aren’t talked about, which is why I never considered it a path. However, my manager at the time, Tobi Ruth – also a speaker at BGTS – invited me to come along, which I am so grateful to her for.”

She added, “I was exposed to so many amazing women who gave rich insight into their roles and what they do. This inspired and motivated me, opening my eyes to a new world of possibility. It made me believe I could be in the industry and be as successful as the amazing women who spoke. So, after BGTS, I seriously considered working in tech as my career path.” 

The takeaways 

Valentina said, “a key takeaway for me was hearing representatives from big businesses such as HSBC talk more about their company, potential roles and what they look for in future employees.” 

She continued, “I feel like there’s a lot of information online about getting jobs in tech but hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth was amazing. I also learnt about the many different avenues in tech – it’s not always black and white. There are so many roles out there to choose from.”

The highlight 

Lastly, we wanted to hear about a personal highlight for Valentina. She told us, “A highlight for me was the panel about debunking the myth of black girl magic. It was so insightful hearing the panellists discuss their opinions clearly and respectfully. I felt very seen as a black woman. Hearing other black women’s struggles when navigating their careers felt comforting, as I didn’t feel so alone. It was also great seeing Nissy Tee host BGTS – I have been following on social media for years too!” 

Step Up 

After attending the BGTS, Valentina also joined our tech talent accelerator program Step Up. Step Up is a six-month programme for students who identify as female and are in their 2nd year of university to receive mentorship, work experience and skills development training. Stay tuned for updates on our 2023 program by registering your interest here 

If you want to hear from more of our BGTS attendees, you can read the experiences of Busayo, who is on an internship at Zalando and Keisha, who is working at Snap Inc. 

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