Why Sponsor DDD Perth?
Rebecca Waters
Chairperson
DDD Perth is an inclusive non-profit conference for the Perth software community. Our goal is to create an approachable event that appeals to the whole community, especially people that don’t normally get to attend or speak at conferences. We do this by:
- Making the ticket price as low as possible ($50 in 2018)
- Running the event on a Saturday
- Allowing anyone to submit about any software industry related topic
- Having a democratically chosen agenda
- Focussing on creating a safe and inclusive environment where everyone is welcome
Achieving the first point is hard. To give you some idea of scale, the cost of catering for the 2018 conference is over $50 per person. The ticket price doesn’t even cover the food we serve you on the day, let alone the hire of an amazing venue and a plethora of other costs associated with running the conference.
So, we need sponsors. We love the Perth software community and we see the companies that work in the space as part of that community. But, we understand it’s sometimes a tough sell to understand what you get out of sponsoring the conference.
Last year, one of our long term sponsors, LiveHire (opens in a new tab), wrote a blog post (opens in a new tab) reflecting on the 2017 conference. We’ve reproduced it here. They are a sponsor yet again for 2018, and this year are even sponsoring DDD Melbourne (opens in a new tab) (aren’t they amazing?). Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your continued commitment to DDD!
As an organisation that’s vision is to empower talent and support diversity, it was no wonder that LiveHire were proud gold sponsors for the 2017 Developer! Developer! Developer! (DDD) event held in Perth!
How is DDD different to a usual tech event?
Created as an approachable, non-profit event that anyone can attend or speak at, DDD Perth is an inclusive event for the Perth software community, promoting diversity in the tech sphere. It’s affordable and on a Saturday so that everyone and anyone can attend!
Some of LiveHire’s amazing staff!
Who presents is up to the public! Anyone can submit their presentation and the public votes on what they’d most like to hear. There is no reference to the applicant’s gender, name, or age, to encourage diversity in those who get the opportunity to speak.
So, let’s talk about the 2017 #DDDPerth event!
This year was double the size of last years event, with 360 attendees registered!
Last year**, zero** women submitted speeches. 👎 (opens in a new tab)
But this year…
5 presentations/ talks were delivered by women!
So, 21% of talks were conducted by a female, and 19% of presenters were female.
There were also 104 received presentation submissions from women. 🙌🙌🙌 (opens in a new tab)
Hooray to promoting diversity in the tech sphere!
(Ed: In 2017, there were 104 submissions total, roughly a quarter from women.)
Looking after the LiveHire booth at DDD Perth 2017
The LiveHire table was in full swing and fully stocked with #LiveHireSwag.
Whether it was to give out free doughnuts or to chat about innovative tech, our LiveHire team was keen to chat with anyone who stopped by. There was also the opportunity to enter win a UE BOOM 2! (Don’t miss your chance- You still have time to join our LiveHire Talent Community! (opens in a new tab))
Giveaways on the LiveHire booth at DDD Perth 2017
The speakers and presentations all had a strong focus on Inclusion, echoing the purpose of the event.
Some highlights of the day included:
- Jasmine Quek’s talk on How feedback helped me get over myself.
- Sam Ritchie’s presentation on Flying Solo — lifehack your way to a pants-optional workplace (YES PLEASE!)
- And Donna Edward’s inspiring Attraction and retention strategies for Women in Tech- an incredibly important presentation that should be taken on by tech organisations worldwide.
Donna Edwards speaking at DDD Perth 2017
LiveHire Co-Founder and Growth Director, Dr. Mike Haywood, also gave an address to the conference. Mike highlighted LiveHire’s role in nurturing creativity and diversity in candidates, and often supporting ‘will’ over ‘skill’ explaining;
“We let recruiters move to a proactive process where they have a reserve of engaged people who are ready to hire. When a recruitment team is frantically trying to fill a role, they hire for the person’s last role title and not all of their characteristics beyond that like personality and enthusiasm. Companies are getting creatively destroyed faster and faster because they can’t stay agile and relevant. It takes over two months to replace lost employees. At our core, we’re about developing every kind of worker, not just developers.”
DDD Perth 2017 conference attendees
Thank you, DDD Perth for creating such a worthwhile and exciting event.
If you’re interested in learning more about LiveHire’s own Women in Tech portal and how we empower and support women wanting to pursue a role in tech, you can learn more here (opens in a new tab).
Or if you’re interested in connecting with us at LiveHire, you can join the LiveHire Talent Community here (opens in a new tab).
See you next year! 👋 (opens in a new tab)
There are still sponsorship opportunities available for 2018; if you are interested, contact us via the website (opens in a new tab).
We can’t wait until August! See you there!