EMPOWERING WOMEN IN DIGITAL SPACES

In a digital landscape historically painted with masculine strokes, women’s experiences bring a unique blend of challenges and triumphs. From battling biases to leveraging WordPress as a tool for empowerment, this session The presentation is designed to inspire women, share their stories, encourage diversity, and enrich the broader digital community.

Presented by Laura Kuimba Yu

https://LauraKuimba.com

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Laura Kuimba is a passionate WordPress user and digital entrepreneur. Through her journey of building an online presence and growing her business, Laura has harnessed the power of WordPress.

As a long-time WordPress user, she’s encountered both the challenges and opportunities the platform presents, making her insights invaluable for those navigating the digital landscape. Outside of her business, Laura champions women’s leadership, entrepreneurship, and empowerment initiatives.

At WordCamp, she’s eager to share her experiences and advocate for a diverse digital future, while also learning from fellow enthusiasts and contributing to the vibrant WordPress community.

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ABOUT LAURA KUIMBA

Laura creates frameworks and systems to help people successfully and strategically navigate the world with wisdom and compassion.

• 7-figure business owner & digital strategist for 10+ years
• Director & Co-founder, SpurPress & Puppet String Marketing
• Clients include McDonalds, Fujitsu & Zurich Insurance
• Board Chairperson, NZ-based NGO World Outreach International.
• Founder, SHENetworkAsia & WomenWILL (Women in Leadership Limelight)
• Genos-Certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner
• Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner

Transcript

1. DIGITAL SPACES EMPOWERING WOMEN IN REFLECTIONS ON WORDPRESS LAURA UIMBA K LK
2. ROADMAP 01 02 03 04 05 06 HELLO WORLD MY FIRST WORDPRESS WOMEN WHO WP CHALLENGES: WOMEN IN TECH NEXT STEPS CONCLUSION
3. ABOUT LAURA KUIMBA • 7-figure business owner & digital strategist for 10+ years • Director & Co-founder, SpurPress & Puppet String Marketing • Clients include McDonalds, Fujitsu & Zurich Insurance • Board Chairperson, NZ-based NGO World Outreach International. • Founder, SHENetworkAsia & WomenWILL (Women in Leadership Limelight) • Genos-Certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner • Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner I create frameworks and systems to help people successfully and strategically navigate the world with wisdom and compassion.
4. https://wordpress.org/news/2023/05/celebrating-20-years-of-wordpress/ 2003
5. 2007 -2009 Laura x WordPress The Journey WordPress Inception Inflexion point A new world order Covid19 Today, Tomorrow and Beyond Hello world Changes changes changes Growth & new beginnings A new era of adoption and expansion Embracing the Future 2003 -2006 2009 -2019 2020 2023
6. SUCCESS STORIES • WordPress has helped women to have a voice, to influence public opinion, and carve out their niche in the digital space. • Writing, publishing and contributing on a platform like WordPress can provide women with increased freedom in various ways. WOMEN WHO WP
7. M y W P S t o r y … A S e r i e s o f M a l a y s i a n W o m e n D r i v e n WORDPRESS SITES
9. Director of Early Autism Project Malaysia Director of Early Autism Project Malaysia Jochebed Isaacs is the lead instructor on Autism at Home and also serves as Director at EAP Malaysia. She is also a Clinical Psychologist, having completed her Masters of Clinical Psychology at University Kebangsaan Malaysia (the National University of Malaysia) and her Bachelor of Psychology at Curtin University of Technology, Australia. She has worked with hundreds of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Malaysia, Wisconsin (United States of America), Perth (Australia) and Singapore.
18. WORDPRESS Powers approximately 43% of ALL websites and is by far the leading content management system 43% https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wordpress-20-years/487756/
19. https://wpengine.com/resources/value-of-wordpress-worlds-first-study-of-wordpress-economy/
22. #WPmom WOMEN OF WORDPRESS • Kim Parsell, affectionately called #wpmom, is regarded as one of the first “women of WordPress.” • She invested a lot of her time in women who wanted to break into tech, working to create a safe environment sharing herself and her knowledge. • She contributed countless hours of volunteer time, receiving “props” for 5 major releases of WordPress, and was active on the documentation team.
23. WordPress Lead Developer WOMEN OF WORDPRESS • Helen is the Director of Open Source Initiatives at 10up and a Lead Developer for the WordPress open source software project, now powering more than 40% of the web. • From her start as a PHP/MySQL applications developer to focusing on “the front-end of the back- end” from both the development and UX perspectives, she has a knack for figuring out what people need to get things done on their websites, including most recently on the relaunch of WhiteHouse.gov for the Biden-Harris Administration.
24. At its core, WordPress is all about the democratization of publishing. It gives everyone a voice on the web. VOICES Heather Brunner, WP Engine CEO
26. Maria Popova is a Bulgarian-born, American-based essayist, book author, poet, and writer of literary and arts commentary and cultural criticism that has found wide appeal both for her writing and for the visual stylistics that accompany it. In 2006, she started the blog Brain Pickings, an online publication that she has fought to maintain advertisement- free. The blog, renamed to The Marginalian upon its 15th birthday in 2021, features her writing on books, the arts, philosophy, culture, and other subjects. In addition to her writing and related speaking engagements, she has served as an MIT Futures of Entertainment Fellow, as the editorial director at the higher education social network Lore, and has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired UK, and other publications. Since 2010, she has resided in Brooklyn, New York. She is the creator of "The Universe in Verse", a large-scale annual celebration of science and the natural world through poetry.
27. https://www.roadsofsuccess.org/programs/empowerment/
29. CHALLENGES • Gender Dynamics • Supportive Environment • Empowerment through Representation • Networking Promoting Diversity and Inclusion • Focused Learning • Addressing Gender-Specific Challenges • Combatting Imposter Syndrome • Safe from Harassment • Boosting Confidence
30. From a leadership perspective. It’s always important for me to look at how we can make sure the organization outlasts anyone who’s leading right now. Outlasts me, outlasts Matt, because everyone is one … catastrophic event away from not being able to do what they used to do. That’s always a very important part of this for me. I’m constantly training people who are with us in this work toward WordPress. I’m always training them to do what I know how to do because it’s never appropriate for me to be the only person who knows how to do anything that is vital to WordPress’s success.” EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director, WP
31. STRATEGIES Highlighting female leaders and contributors within the community can inspire more women to step forward and participate Understand the gender dynamics in your community. Openly discuss the challenges women face in digital spaces and promote solutions. Offer workshops, webinars, and training sessions tailored to women, especially those new to tech or WordPress. REPRESENTATION ADDRESSING BARRIERS EDUCATION AND TRAINING
32. https://www.womenwhocode.com
33. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/alaina-percival-women-who-code-ceo-grassroots-leader-hiker/ https://eightfold.ai/learn/alaina-percival-ceo-of-women-who-code-on-how-to-design-for-equity/
35. AWARENESS REFLECTIONS • Many women might not be aware of WordCamps or might not see them as spaces for them due to lack of representation. HISTORICAL TRENDS • Tech, in general, has historically been male-dominated, and while strides are being made, events like WordCamp reflect broader industry trends. INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT • Events like WordCamp have a clear code of conduct that addresses harassment and promotes inclusivity.
36. WHAT’S YOUR NEXT STEP? EDUCATE YOURSELF Reflect on your own explicit and implicit biases that might exist and challenge them. If you're part of a hiring or selection process, ensure that it's as unbiased and inclusive as possible. ENGAGE IN DISCUSSIONS When women share their experiences, listen without immediately jumping to solutions or dismissing their concerns. If you notice women holding back in discussions, encourage them to share their thoughts. Engaging in open conversations can be an eye-opener. ENCOURAGE & COLLABORATE Seek opportunities to collaborate with women in your field. Attend events or webinars organized by women-centric tech groups. Even if you're not a woman, your presence and support can send a powerful message. Empowering women in digital spaces requires both systemic changes and individual actions.
38. Questions? THANK YOU LAURA UIMBA K LK LAURA K U I M B A