The annual Developer 30 Under 30 awards is evolving into something bigger, Evoke, a three-day event taking place next week from April 1-5. The conference is looking to bring together the entire developer community, for what it is hoping will be the largest developer-focused conference in Canadian history.
“As a woman in tech, my goal is to get more women involved and interested in the industry.”
The three-day developer’s event is featuring workshops, networking, as well as the annual Developer 30 Under 30 awards. It is also looking to create an inclusive atmosphere, with an equal split of men and women attendees, as well as speakers. Therefore, Evoke is offering complimentary passes to women attendees.
Last year, Brookfield released a report that found only nine percent of software developers in Canada are women, this is in comparison to the overall tech sector, where women have made up between 23 to 25 percent of the workforce for the past decade. Another Brookfield report also found that the pay gap between men and women in the tech industry is nearly $20,000.
Evoke is presented by Havas Canada, an organization that brings digital, mobile, media, and creative services to local and global brands, along with Plastic Mobile, a creative experience consultancy. In support of Havas’ stated mission of “making a difference”, Evoke has teamed up with IBM to offer the free passes, in a campaign it is calling, “Change the Ratio.”
“Last year, several reports revealed Toronto’s tech scene was so hot the city created more jobs than the San Francisco Bay area, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.,” said Melody Adhami, CEO of Havas Canada. “It’s exciting to see the tech scene grow but as a woman in tech, my goal is to get more women involved and interested in the industry. By offering free conference passes, women are given the opportunity to participate for free, network, and gather information that will help them gain interest and ultimately, get involved in the industry.”
On top of the Developer 30 Under 30 awards, Evoke also features two main events:
Microsoft’s DisruptAI Hackathon takes place over April 3 to April 4. Individuals will form teams of up to five members, who then attend workshops and work together to build their own unique project. Microsoft is offering learning sessions including: How to Confidently Build and Deploy Machine Learning Modules in Microsoft Azure, The Future of Computing: AI Use in the Real World, and DevOps for Data Science.
All participants in the hackathon will receive complimentary passes to the conference, and up to $10,000 in prizes are available to be won. Registration for the hackathon is free.
Evoke’s Engage event occurs on April 5, featuring leadership talks on best practices, debates and discussions surrounding technology, and networking sessions with over 500 developers, executives, and entrepreneurs. Following the conference, the 2019 Developer 30 under 30 awards will take place. A panel of judges will select the top 30 devs from all disciplines across the country.
Tickets for the conference are priced at $495.
Individuals interested in attending the event can find more information here.
Feature image courtesy Evoke Twitter