Annual reminder: Grace Hopper Celebration exploits speakers, monetizes job seekers, centers male sponsors, avoids all permutations of the word feminist, only a few yrs ago recognized that trans women are women, & afterward still rejected opportunity to have a panel of trans women
More ways you'll be let down by GH : they are bad at serious diversity, lionize executives while holding up few engineers* as leaders and innovators, and spend lavishly on flash instead of scholarships, travel assistance, or speaker pay.
*especially ones not employed by sponsors
*especially ones not employed by sponsors
Every year I hear people wistfully saying they wish they'd known what a waste of time and money GHC turned out to be. This is me giving you heads up that there are literally hundreds of conferences that are better, more interesting, more diverse, and more relevant investments.
If you wanna go to GHC, do. I just want to enable you to make a decision that's right for you. When the only thing you know is "there are thousands of women" and "lots of companies hiring", it sounds amazing. You deserve to have a fuller picture. Then choose what's best for you.
Job interviews are GHC's big draw. But some companies interviewing at GHC are doing it mainly for appearances. If there's a company you'd go to GHC to see, it'd be useful to--before ticketing--ask the company what % of last year's hires had their 1st screen or interview there.
When I said
Grace Hopper Celebration monetizes job seekers, at the time I was referring to sponsors' special access to CVs. What I didn't know is that GHC works the angles from both ends, charging $800(!) to be in that database. I'd love to see this nonprofit's profit margins. https://twitter.com/cczona/status/1310037449385541633

This thread thoroughly captures the latest way GHC has upheld its long record of treating participants as a commodity. Tapia conference has a reputation as a much better optiom for students whose priorities are diversity, inclusion, and job/internship hunting. https://twitter.com/itshuhna/status/1309900894885076992