The daylong event, to be held at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, features panels and workshops that cover tech-heavy topics from industry hiring practices and the basics of launching a business to coding essentials and advanced digital marketing. In the afternoon, five local women-led startups will compete in a business pitch competition known as the Sharkette Tank.
“Any time you can get women who are starting companies out to pitch, it’s a good thing,” said Geek Girl founder Leslie Fishlock.
Men are welcome, and make up as much many as 25 percent of attendees at some events. However, while many conferences have come under fire lately for failing to include many women on panels, 90 percent of Geek Girl presenters are women.
“I was excited to participate in a program that gave woman a special opportunity to ask whatever questions they wanted and feel comfortable and get that sense of camaraderie,” said Meghan Blair-Valero, owner of Fogged In Accounting of Cape Cod and Boston, and a presenter for the past six years.
The seeds of Geek Girl were planted in the early 2000s, when Fishlock was working in Boston’s startup scene and realized how few of her tech colleagues were women.
A few years later, living on Cape Cod and running her own Web development company, she started hosting informal meet-ups at the local coffee shop to answer questions about anything related to tech. As these gatherings quickly grew from five women to 40, Fishlock realized she was on to something.
In 2008, she held the first official Geek Girl event, an evening of short educational presentations in a Hyannis hotel function room. Thirty women were expected; 100 showed up. The next year, the evening event turned into an all-day conference.
“Then we started expanding to different cities,” Fishlock said.
Today Fishlock lives in San Diego and manages Geek Girl events full-time. The organization runs tech conferences in Boston, San Diego, and Charlotte, as well as returning to Cape Cod every year. Fishlock is looking at expanding into Austin and Portland, Ore. as well.
Tickets are still available for Thursday’s event at boston.geekgirltechcon.com; prices range from $75 for students to $169 for general admission.
Sarah Shemkus can be reached at sarah.shemkus@gmail.com.