2017 Talent Innovation Summit Showcases Leading Companies, Best Practices to Attract and Retain Female Talent

SANDY, Utah, May 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Women Tech Council (WTC) unveiled the Silicon Slopes companies with the most comprehensive best practices for attracting and retaining female talent at the conclusion of their 2017 Talent Innovation Summit last week. The Summit focused on inclusion and diversity in the workplace and the strategies and best practices needed to help women develop in technology careers to propel overall company growth and performance.

As part of the Summit, leading tech companies competed for the title Best Companies for Women in Tech by sharing best practices for hiring and retaining talent women. The winner’s holistic and comprehensive practices to create inclusion and foster diversity were as follows:

  • Leadership Award – Vivint Smart Home for their impressive work with involving women on every level.
  • Career Development Award – Adobe for their involvement of women in technology roles and including women in major company roles.
  • Innovative Recruiting Award – Domo for their commitment to finding qualified women and providing flexible scheduling, maternity leave and onboarding programs for women who are returning to work.
  • Emerging Leadership (a surprise award given by judges) – Chatbooks for their focus on developing a company that includes and values women from the start. Their “mom force” shows just how powerful a team of women can be.

During the Summit, WTC also launched the Best Practices Forum to continue to encourage discussion and implement change in the technology industry. The Best Practices Forum will run as a WTC program that continually works with major companies to develop impactful training and inclusion practices to not only bring women into the field, but to keep them in the field.

“Change is happening, in some areas more than others,” said Cydni Tetro, WTC president, “but we’re moving things in the right direction, and you can see evidence of that from these companies.”

To further foster the dialogue about women in technology, the Summit also included keynote speakers Sharon Kitzman(Dealertrack), Tom Stockman (Experticity), and Vance Checketts (Dell-EMC), all of whom highlighted the importance of diversity in the workplace and what executives are doing to make their companies great places for women. Other tech leaders gave five TED-style talks addressing the importance of individuals recognizing opportunity and taking risks to develop their abilities and inspire progress in others.