Choice Hotels’ employee resource group, the Women’s Business Alliance, hosted the Phoenix Women Who Code and Moxie Girls for a networking and panel event on August 30 at the Choice Hotels International to empower aspiring computer scientists and remove gender barriers within the technology field. The educational event was designed new coders with experienced, local coding and computer science professionals, and feature expert insight into careers and leadership opportunities with Phoenix’s thriving technology scene.
The networking event celebrated the culmination of a four-day introductory Java coding course held earlier in the week targeting diverse associates at Choice. According to Patrick Cimerola, chief human resources officer, Choice Hotels, programs such as these highlight some ways businesses and local organizations can work together to both educate and promote the importance of increasing inclusion and diversity in technology.
Panelists were Anna Scozzafava, vice president, strategy and planning, Choice Hotels; Bargavi Ganesan, national chair for Women’s Business Alliance; Sireesha Kunduri, senior director, engineering, Choice Hotels; Jenny Miller, senior director, engineering, Choice Hotels; Anna Devy, senior director, IT enterprise programs, Choice Hotels: Jill Alexander, senior director, cloud platforms, Choice Hotels and Judy Saw, director, resilience, Choice Hotels.
Women Who Code is an international non-profit dedicated to inspiring women to excel in technology careers. Our goal is to empower women with the skills needed for professional advancement, and provide environments for networking and mentorship. The organization has executed more than 5,000 events around the world, garnered a membership exceeding 100,000, and has a presence in 20 countries. Help us to empower even more women to advance in tech with the training and community they need to succeed by supporting our #WWCode networks. Learn more at womenwhocode.com.
Moxie Girls is an all girls club started to help empower girls to break the stereotype boundaries in computer science.
Most people think that that kind of thing is more something for a boy but we are going to prove those people wrong. This is the club’s first year and we are anxious to show these girls how amazing and powerful computer science can be.
