Empowering Women in the World of Technology

Sitting in a tethered hot air balloon in the predawn darkness, your perspective is limited and uninspiring. But once the burner ignites and gravity’s spell is broken, there’s an exhilarating celebration as you see the world in a whole new light. 

getWITit (Women in Tech) is celebrating its fourth year of empowering women to see themselves and their place in the world of technology with conviction and confidence. Founded in Columbus, getWITit is a non-profit with the objective of increasing the number of women in information systems and computing and helping those who are interested ascend to leadership roles. By bringing together public and private sector partners to build awareness and create opportunities, getWITit is changing the face of technology. 

Elizabeth Toila, president of the organization’s national board, emphasizes how their dynamic and expanding annual conferences capture the heart and spirit of their mission.

“Everyone comes together and there is just something in the air. It’s hard to describe, so I just tell people they need to come and experience it. There is so much positivity with women supporting other women. A sense of empowerment. The energy is so high and you see women just light up. They start building communities through networking and meeting with one another. It’s really a time of uplifting each other!”

They hoped 150 people would attend the first conference in 2016. Over 300 showed up for the event. Five hundred were inspired to attend in 2017, and 740 caught the vision in 2018. This year, a waitlist was created when registrations hit the 840 room capacity.

With 2020 on the horizon, the getWITit executive team is excited about the creation of a new foundation for the development of scholarships, as well as expanding to new cities as they build their national presence. With the current groundswell of enthusiasm and support from both current leaders in tech as well as the next generation, the sky’s the limit.

For more information, visit www.getwitit.org or contact Elizabeth at elizabeth.tolia@getwitit.org.