US: Queer women and allies pack tech confab

When there are long lines of women waiting to get into bars in the Castro at 10 on a Friday morning, it can only mean one thing: the Lesbians Who Tech Summit is back in town.

Beginning March 1 and continuing through March 3, more than 5,000 queer women descended upon the neighborhood where the nation's largest LGBTQ technology community held its fifth annual gathering at the Castro Theatre.

With over 35,000 members and chapters in more than 40 cities worldwide, the annual gathering featured dozens of lesbian technologists offering tips about getting ahead in the male-dominated tech field, as well as some well-known women allies who offered their perspective on the tech world.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed, a 43-year-old African American woman who is running for mayor, described her childhood in public housing in the Western Addition. Raised by her grandmother, who came from a family of sharecroppers, Breed said family and teachers "believed in me."

"Nobody succeeds on their own," she said, noting that tech industry leaders often mentor younger colleagues. "As business women and public servants, we're all in this together."

Despite progress, women still typically have to "climb and claw" their way through a glass ceiling, while hoping that the next generation of girls can "achieve their professional dreams" more easily, Breed said. Read more via Bay Area Reporter