Every year, the Interactive portion of SXSW exhibits new technologies and introduces the people behind them. Pop culture would have you believe that women are uninterested in science and technology, with depictions of the people in those fields being distinctly male. This could not be farther from the truth if the impressive lineup of women and female-centered programming at SXSW this year is anything to go by. The presence of women in technology, as professionals and consumers, regularly draws notice for better and for worse. However you choose to look at it, the influence and accomplishments of women in various forms of technology are undeniable.
Several female representatives of the space exploration community were present to share some incredible advances this year.
Blake Bullock, the James Webb Space Telescope Campaign Lead for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, introduced the public to the mission and details of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Holding a bachelor’s degree in astrophysics and a master’s in astronomy, Bullock is responsible for supporting scientific and technical advocacy for astronomy and astrophysics. Try saying that ten times fast and then try doing it.
Delaney Burkart video chatting with audience to discuss the James Webb Space Telescope
Delaney Burkart a lead integration and test engineer working on the JWST out of the Goddard Space Flight Center live video chatted, from a clean room where the telescope was being assembled, to answer questions from the public.
Mae Jemison, the physician made famous for being the first woman of color in space, along with Jill Tarter, astronomer and co-founder of the SETI Institute, spoke about the 100 Year Starship Program.
Perhaps more well known by their names alone are the entertainers and media figures, who consistently rely on certain technologies to find their audience.
Aisha Tyler the multi-talented actress, comedian, and author is also the creator, producer, and host of the award-winning podcast Girl on Guy. Tyler was the emcee of this year’s SXSW Interactive Awards. During the awards ceremony, a game had been rigged with the audience to have them take a drink every time Tyler said a certain word that was secret from her. A third of the way through the ceremony, the comedian asked the crowd if she had said the word and what the word was. When audience members yelled back “Nerd!” as the agreed upon word, Tyler visibly and audibly rebuked it.
“Nerd? I think the people who set this up thought I’d say that word a lot. But you’re not nerds,” said Tyler. “You’re business people and creative people. Screw that. How about we go with a different word? That cool? Let’s go with interactive. Everything’s interactive here and I want you people to get good and drunk.”
At the awards ceremony, danah boyd was inducted as the second member of the SXSW Interactive Hall of Fame. An incredibly influential woman in technology, boyd has a long and impressive resume as a Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research; Research Assistant Professor in Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University; a Fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society; Research Fellow of the Born This Way Foundation; and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales.
Rachel Maddow, widely beloved host of MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, spoke on a variety of topics from politics to pop culture.
This small handful of names is only a fraction of the women who presented and spoke. Wherever you looked during the Interactive festival, you were certain to find experts who happen to be women ready to share their opinions. Gaming. Social media. Coding.
The stereotype of science and technology being a strictly male arena is laughable and just plain wrong. The presence and success of these women illustrates a small sample of the diversity and progressive state of the technological community. Now, we can only wait and anticipate what marvels these and other brilliant people will discover, create, and introduce us to in the future.
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