BHP hosted a Perth{Web}Girls event, exclusively for BHP staff and their families, to teach women in the BHP community coding and tech skills. The event was hosted at BHP on the stunning Level 45, with views over the CBD and river, making it a spectacular backdrop for what was unfolding inside.
Between mentors, organisers, and attendees, over 200 people attended across the day, with children as young as 4, all the way up to 65. The atmosphere was infectious!
To a room of more than 180 people, Diane shared her story of daring to dream big and use her individuality in STEM as an opportunity.
“Being the only girl in many of my engineering classes at times made me feel uncomfortable, but it also unlocked so many doors. And so many more opportunities came my way once I finished college.
I’ve never stopped daring to dream… or to think big!” says Diane Jurgens, BHP CTO
Programming and coding has played a big role in Diane’s career. She learned to code – mostly self taught – and started programming the library computer system as a 16 year old. The money she earned from this helped her pay part of her university education – and changed her life.And technology, Diane said, will also change the course at BHP.
A special thank you to Diane Jurgens, Kieran McCluskey, Alex Nehammer, Norbert Gatt, Reddy, BHP mentors and staff, and Cocoa + Spice for helping us put on this incredible opportunity and allowing more than 180 females to come together and learn how to code.
“There were several pivotal moments at Saturday’s event, but the two most remarkable by far were a Biology university student’s intent to switch her major and pursue IT human biology courses in the future and when I caught sight of a 4 year old girl coding with mastery in a corner of level 45!
This is second Perth{Web} Girls event I run and every time I am only more and more impressed at the impact our workshops are having in creating a solid pipeline of tech driven and innovative female talent for the future“ says Carolina Serrat Mora, organiser of BHP PWG event.
The event followed with an abundance of survey responses from attendees which highlighted the need for continued learning and mentorship.
So what's next?
Office Hours Mentoring Sessions are available for previous attendees of Perth Web Girls - Mondays between 9:00am - 12 noon at FLUX Basement. Participants will have the opportunity to learn from BHP mentors one-on-one and ask any follow-up questions you may have from previous workshops.
Perth{Web}Girls level-up course - Plans are underway for a follow-up course to Perth{Web}Girls. Please email carolina@spacecubed.com if you are interested in an opportunity like this and to stay tuned.
PWG South West - Proposals are in the works to have Perth{Web}Girls launched in the South West regions of WA.
Couch Talks - Want to hear more about women in entrepreneurship? Come along to our panel series featuring women in entrepreneurship, leadership, and business. The next event is Tuesday 25th July. Sign up here.
The next Spacecubed Perth{Web}Girls event is due to happen at Flux, in Perth November 4th so stay tuned!