GHC 2016, a Global Gathering of Women in Tech, Announces IBM CEO Ginni Rometty as Keynote

Women pursuing careers in technology is a growing trend, and there’s no better proof of this than the enormous growth of the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing (GHC), the world’s largest and most influential gathering of women in tech. GHC, which is a program of the AnitaB.org (ABI), will take place on October 19-21, 2016 in Houston, Texas.

In the last three years, AnitaB.org has seen GHC skyrocket from around 4,500 attendees in 2013 to 12,000 in 2015. This year, we expect over 15,000 attendees at GHC 2016. This hockey-stick growth points to one indisputable fact: there is tremendous demand for a platform that brings together women technologists and the organizations that employ them. GHC is that platform, and so much more.

Not Your Average Conference for Women in Tech

GHC is not your average conference – it’s a movement launched by AnitaB.org to serve as a rallying point for women technologists at all levels, whether you’re a student or new graduate just entering the field or bring years of industry experience as a seasoned technologist.

Women of all ages and from all walks of life come together at GHC to be inspired, connect with one another and discover new opportunities found nowhere else. For organizations, there’s no better opportunity to reach this pool of diverse, talented women who are eager to transform the industry.

GHC is also an incredible destination to learn about the latest technology trends and provides women technologists at all levels an opportunity to explore areas of focus they’ve always wanted to learn about. In fact, GHC was recently highlighted in a Forrester Research report that lists the top conferences for the developer community. From sessions covering everything from robotics and human-computer interaction to bioinformatics and the latest in data science, GHC offers something for everyone.

Tech’s Most Inspiring Speaker Lineup

Over the years, GHC has hosted some of the most inspiring thought leaders from across industry and academia as speakers, and 2016 will be no exception.

We’re delighted to welcome Ginni Rometty, Chairman, President and CEO of IBM as a keynote speaker at GHC 2016. Ginni’s personal journey represents the many challenges and opportunities that women face in technology, and she’s a phenomenal role model for the thousands of women in technology who will attend GHC 2016.

As a computer science and electrical engineering graduate of Northwestern University in 1979, Ginni was part of the wave of women in technology that peaked in the mid-1980s. She joined IBM in 1981 in Detroit, and since then has held a number of leadership positions within the company, and was named Chairman, President and CEO in 2012.

Today, Ginni is an internationally recognized technology leader and has pioneered IBM’s transformation into a cognitive solutions and cloud platform company, including the development of IBM Watson.

We are thrilled to have Ginni on stage at GHC 2016 and speak to everything this incredible gathering represents — the undeniable power of thousands of women coming together to transform technology to be more inclusive and welcome everyone’s ideas.

Take a deep dive into the full impact of GHC by reading our Impact Report.