Women in tech networking and mentoring programs will feature at Web Summit, Collision and RISE in 2018.

Travel e-commerce company Booking.com has teamed up with Web Summit to host a Women in tech networking and mentoring program at Web Summit and affiliated events Collison and RISE in 2018.

>See also: Women in tech: Why equal representation really matters

Collision 2018

Booking.com will host the first networking opportunity women at the Booking.com Women in tech lounge at Collision 2018, New Orleans, USA, from April 30-May 3, 2018.

Collison invites CEOs from the fastest growing startups and Fortune 500 companies, along with investors and media. Booking.com’s CEO Gillian Tans will also take part in a panel on “Sustainability in Big Business” during the event.

Web Summit 2018

A ‘Women in tech Mentor Program’ will take place at Web Summit 2018, Lisbon, Portugal, from November 5-8. The Web Summit’s 2017 women’s mentoring program attracted nearly 200 participants, with 60 high-profile mentors.

RISE 2018

Booking.com will host a Women in tech networking lounge at RISE 2018, Hong Kong, from July 9-12 July.

Each year the event attracts 15,000 attendees from over 100 countries.

Gillian Tans, CEO of Booking.com, said: “We are excited to partner with Web Summit again this year to build on the strong demand and engagement we saw in 2017 and to continue our efforts in driving gender diversity in tech at a global level. Recent data suggests that 90% of women working in technology across the world have experienced gender bias in the workplace and this, coupled with the lack of mentors (48%) and female role models (42%), are the top three obstacles preventing women from choosing to advance their careers in tech.”

>See also: Quality over quantity: Women in cyber security

We are expanding our partnership with Web Summit with marquee events in Europe, North America and Asia to continue the conversations about gender diversity and to support women through mentoring and providing more opportunities for them to collaborate, network and share experiences. This global partnership will give us another platform to help pivot gender inequalities and gaps in the male-dominated tech workplace and encourage more women from across the world to become positive role models for others.”

Women in Tech networking and mentoring support

Paddy Cosgrave, CEO and co-founder of Web Summit, said: “Web Summit run the most prominent technology events in the world and we are committed to driving a positive change in the industry. We launched our women in tech initiative three years ago to increase the number of women participating at our events around the world. This commitment to change resulted in a female:male gender ratio at Web Summit of 42%:58% for the last two years.

>See also: Women in IT Awards 2018 – winners revealed

We are pleased to partner again with Booking.com to further this important cause and provide a platform for raising awareness about gender equality in the tech industry globally. The partnership with Booking.com will help us provide further opportunities for female tech talent attending our events to network with and learn from some of the most successful tech entrepreneurs in the industry today.”