Red Hat celebrates Women’s History Month around the world

March is Women’s History Month and Red Hat hosted events around the globe all month long in celebration. Diversity and inclusion are among our key values and we hope through events such as these we are able to make a positive contribution to the next generation of women leaders in the open source community and throughout the tech industry.

The events kicked off on Mar. 8, International Women’s Day, with a webcast featuring Herminia Ibarra, an expert on leadership development, economist and professor at London Business School, and author of Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader. Herminia discussed the unique challenges and opportunities women face as they navigate their careers. She also offered three tips for growing in your career:

• Redefine how you think about your job for your own development.
• Network across and out so you connect to and learn from a broader range of stakeholders.
• Be playful with your sense of self so you grow beyond familiar leadership styles.
   

The Red Hat Singapore office participated in a panel discussion and fireside chat facilitated by Dr. Annie Koh, vice president, Office of Business Development, and professor of finance at Singapore Management University.

On Mar. 9, the Red Hat Singapore office also participated in a Global Mentoring walk with Beyond Diversity and Vital Voices. Global Mentoring walks are a global movement to promote the culture of mentoring for women, convening established and aspiring women leaders to walk together in their communities to discuss professional challenges and triumphs. Additionally, the Singapore office hosted a workshop on unconscious bias which was attended by dozens of participants from across Asia-Pacific.
 

We also launched the latest installment of the Open Source Stories series, Because we had to: Open hardware at the intersection of art and innovation. This article series profiles three women who are blurring the borders between art, technology, and culture, and finding more inclusive ways to create all three.
 

On Mar. 15, Red Hat hosted a webinar with Jenna Carpenter, Ph.D., founding dean and professor of engineering at Campbell University. Dr. Carpenter shared insights from her research and personal experience in a presentation titled "Unconscious Bias - Why It Matters and What We Can Do About It." One of the big takeaways was that we are all susceptible to unconscious bias, and she offered tips for how to not let those unconscious biases impact your behavior and decision making.
 

Our Brisbane, Australia office participated in a run/walk fundraiser to raise money for women with breast cancer.
 

The Westford, Massachusetts office participated in series of inspirational lightning talks by Red Hatters called "Use Your Voice," where colleagues discussed a time they used their voice for a positive outcome.

These are just a few of the many events that took place around the globe in celebration of Women’s History Month. We look forward to continuing to host events like these throughout the year to help move us forward as we work together to achieve a more diverse, inclusive meritocracy here at Red Hat.