Well actually it can be quite easy if you just make sure to hire people who fit the same mould, but then you would miss out on getting the great products and result that diversity gives. Or rather that inclusion gives; taking someone different and pressing them into our existing mould will make us miss out on the advantages that diversity gives.

Is it easy to have inclusion? Nope… Is it worth it? Hell yes.

Gitte has been working with the human side of tech for years and seen the effect of this; science shows that we need to focus on the human side to create great things. Inclusion, collaboration, communication – the list goes on and on.

On the other hand, many(?) companies focus on money, accountability, delivery, and the human side seem far away.
So why don’t we use the human side? How can we bridge the two and make it beneficial for all?
Gitte will show how leadership can use psychological safety as the bridge between the human side and the money side, how accountability is not just a bad thing, and how we can start creating companies of the future – if only we are brave enough!

We Agile enthusiasts have a tendency to believe that we’re miles ahead of the rest of the IT industry. And in many ways, we truly are. But let me share a personal experience that might challenge this perception.

Picture this: I’m a woman attending an Agile conference, ready to soak in all the knowledge and excitement. But there’s one thing that never fails to catch my attention. Every time nature calls, I find myself standing in line for what feels like an eternity, just to access the women’s restrooms. Interestingly enough, this never happens at general IT conferences. So, are we there yet? Not quite.

In this session, I want to shed light on the gaps between our perception of Agile and its community and the harsh reality we face. It’s not just about diversity, although that’s an important part of it. We still have hurdles to overcome, and it’s time to cross the chasm that separates us from our ideal Agile world.

Meet our sponsors in the lobby!

Our Gold, Platinum and Title sponsors have a table in the lobby.
Pay them a visit during breaks or lunch.

Spend the Monday evening of November 13th with the speakers for the EINDHOVEN Women in Agile Europe 2023 Conference at the conference venue.

The keynote speakers are sure to be there, as well as most other speakers. You may also meet some organizers and volunteers of Women in Agile Europe and Women in Agile Org.

The price includes drinks (soft drinks, beer, special beer, wine and soft alcohols) and snacks (bitter garnituur in Dutch) served at a bar at the venue, possibly the Abdijbar.

Meet the Speakers will be from 19:30 – 22:30.

You need to have a ticket to the Conference to take part of the Meet the Speakers before the conference.

Many leaders and organizations aspire to embrace diversity and make inclusive group decisions. Doing it in practice remains a real challenge.

• As a team or a leader, how can you navigate complex cultural dynamics, to make agreements across boundaries?
• As a diverse voice, how can you propose change, so that your perspective is heard and integrated

Sociocracy 3.0 offers a facilitated group process to overcome these challenges by:

• Giving a practical process to initiate and accept change using reasoned arguments
• Creating an inclusive decision-making environment based on consent and equivalence,
• Giving a step-by-step-practice for creating agreements across boundaries.

In the workshop I’ll briefly introduce this Consent Decision Making process, then we’ll experience its effectiveness with an immersive role-playing game. 🙂

Just Imagine…

You are part of a diverse group of leaders at AdaptCycle – a fictional organization that manufacturers bicycles in Holland. The organization is value-driven with a flat hierarchy.

Your goal is to agree on the product features of a new Omafiets (grandma bike) for cyclists with reduced mobility.

Can the CEO, an Iranian muslim woman with a handicapped mother, agree with the autistic Logistics Manager, whose first concern is the supply chain?

Can the young asian female engineer, who fled the American east coast to escape anti-asian discrimination be supported to collaborate with the white male COO?

This game is based on the RPG game system FATE and courses I’ve taught to leadership groups and diverse international teams who are serious about making inclusive decisions.

How will this diverse group of leaders come to an agreement?

Come and play to find out!

The purpose of the workshop is to empower participants to discover their unique skills, competence, and personal brand, and to explore ways to enhance their visibility.

Through a series of interactive exercises and discussions, participants will be guided to understand their strengths, values, and passions, enabling them to showcase their authentic selves and increase their visibility in their field.

The workshop provides a supportive environment for self-reflection, exploration, and learning.

The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method will be used to facilitate the exercises.

Will you come out of the shadows and join us in the spotlight?

How often have you been jokingly addressed as ‘the boomer who no longer understands digital technology’ or ‘that young consultant with too few gray hairs and therefore too little seniority to join the room’? Or perhaps you’ve made such a joke yourself. We often don’t seem to take the generational chasm very seriously, while the consequences can easily lead to social disruption.

The generational chasm is a growing gap between the older generations such as the Baby boomers and the younger generations, Gen Y & Z. Unfortunately, this gap is widening in several sectors. In healthcare, for instance, we see seasoned professionals and surgeons, mainly from the baby boomer generation, holding top positions while the younger generation, crucial for innovation and fresh ideas, is rapidly leaving the field. Resulting in large gaps in the sector. In an aging population with a tight labor market, it is imperative to strike a balance between the generations and foster mutual understanding. Only through this harmonious coexistence can we develop products that truly satisfy our end-users.

In this workshop, based on the revolutionary insights from Geoffrey Moore’s book “Crossing the Chasm” and her own experience, Willemijn will offer practical strategies and techniques to bridge the generational chasm and create an inclusive Agile environment where various generations can work seamlessly together.

During this 90 minute interactive workshop we dive into the fascinating realm of introversion, extraversion, and ambiversion, and explore the diverse communication styles, cultural differences and work preferences that shape agile teams.

In this thought-provoking session, you will delve deep into the world of personality types and will gain insight into the unique qualities of introverts, extraverts and ambiverts. How can you leverage those? And how do you create a culture where all talent is valued?

In this inclusive and engaging session, preconceived notions will be challenged and you will be empowered to embrace the full spectrum of personality types. Whether you identify as an introvert, an extravert, or an ambivert, this talk promises to provide invaluable insights that will help you excel in the agile world.

Learning Outcomes

After the session:

• a participant understands the difference between introversion, ambiversion and extroversion
• a participant understands the differences in communication styles and knows his or her own communication style
• a participant understands the differences in work preferences related to different personality types and knows his or her own preferences
• a participant knows the cultural aspects linked to introversion and extroversion
• a participant can better understand colleagues based on differences in personality and communication style
• a participant can value differences in personality

Climate change is a significant threat to the future of life on earth and as I was looking for ways to do something meaningful about this, the idea started to grow that at work, in my own agile teams, we could also take the sustainability perspective. I dove into the subject of sustainable IT and started with a ‘Planet as a Stakeholder Retrospective’ for my Scrum Team in which we went over the Principles of Green Software Engineering. We discussed what steps our team could take to reduce the carbon footprint of our services.

Taking the sustainability perspective was a new approach for the team, but everyone agreed on its importance. During that session, the team estimated that optimizing our landscape and decommissioning legacy components could reduce our footprint by a significant percentage.

What if all agile teams would have this conversation? I started to give workshops about ‘the Planet as a Stakeholder’, in which I help teams to look at their IT services through the sustainability lens and let them define the first steps forward.

In this talk I will share failures, challenges, successes, and practical steps that teams have already taken to reduce their carbon footprint.

During this 90 minute interactive workshop we dive into the fascinating realm of introversion, extraversion, and ambiversion, and explore the diverse communication styles, cultural differences and work preferences that shape agile teams.

In this thought-provoking session, you will delve deep into the world of personality types and will gain insight into the unique qualities of introverts, extraverts and ambiverts. How can you leverage those? And how do you create a culture where all talent is valued?

In this inclusive and engaging session, preconceived notions will be challenged and you will be empowered to embrace the full spectrum of personality types. Whether you identify as an introvert, an extravert, or an ambivert, this talk promises to provide invaluable insights that will help you excel in the agile world.

Learning Outcomes

After the session:

• a participant understands the difference between introversion, ambiversion and extroversion
• a participant understands the differences in communication styles and knows his or her own communication style
• a participant understands the differences in work preferences related to different personality types and knows his or her own preferences
• a participant knows the cultural aspects linked to introversion and extroversion
• a participant can better understand colleagues based on differences in personality and communication style
• a participant can value differences in personality

There are more than 1001 ways to lead a business. What does it really mean in practice? Let us share our Scrum Facilitators proven crazy ideas that actually made the change.

In this talk we challenge you, by thinking outside the box to trigger intrinsic motivations to flip the traditional mindset in your work environment. Get practical tips and dare to start your journey.

The world of finance has long been dominated by a selected few, but in this talk, I will share with you my inspiring story of how I changed careers in my thirties and went from being an unhappy  sports scientist working in health care, to becoming a successful and happy agile coach in the finance and insurance domain.

I want to talk about the challenges I faced in my former field of work (yes, shockingly Sports Science is a male-dominated field), the tipping point, the unique skills I leveraged, and the innovative mentoring strategies that supported and nurtured me during this transformative journey, both on a personal and professional level.

My presentation will focus on three key aspects of this transition. First, I’d like to highlight the transferable skills that a Sports Scientist can bring to the world of finance and agile coaching, such as communication, adaptability, empathy and resilience. Therefore crossing the chasm between two different disciplines, using similar skillsets.

Secondly, I will outline the adapted training program, that facilitated the development of my technical and financial acumen – crossing the chasm on an hard skill and more specific industry level.

Thirdly, I would like to discuss the supportive mentorship, that fostered my growth as an agile coach, enabling me to break through traditional barriers and excel in a male-dominated field.

I want my story, to inspire and empower the audience to recognize the potential of diverse skill sets and backgrounds, and to encourage initiative, individuality and creativity. But also to underpin the importance of open-minded mentorships, that focus on encouragement, support, playing to the mentees strengths, fostering inclusivity and celebrating success in traditional settings, such as the finance domain.

I want to show that it is possibilities for individuals from all walks of life to thrive as a female in a male-dominated profession.

According to a 2021 survey conducted by ProductPlan, women hold only 37% of product management roles. In addition, women continue to make an average of 7% less than their male counterparts.

Diverse representation matters because inclusive teams are 10x more likely to be highly effective, 9x more likely to innovate, 19x more likely to be very satisfied in their jobs, thus wanting to remain with their companies.

If you are looking to grow your Product career (or get started in one), and not sure in which direction you should head, let’s explore together some of the paths available together.

In this interactive workshop, we will explore what it takes to craft a career in the Product disciplines. Participants will create a career planning canvas to identify where we are today, and to begin to consider where we might like to go next. Then we’ll discuss typical roles associated within the Product disciplines, the competencies needed for each, and some ways to grow and strengthen those skillsets. Participants will leave with a starter roadmap of next steps to take toward fulfilling their career aspirations – one they can get started on fulfilling while still at this conference.

Envision yourself having the job of empowering women in technology to succeed in their profession. How would you address challenges such as cultural diversity, gender inequality, bias towards minorities, or stereotypes? Karla identified that mentoring can be extremely valuable in these circumstances and understands how significantly it may impact someone’s life. 

She will share her insights on the challenges of working with individuals vs. teams, the impact of multicultural dynamics, contrasting experiences from African countries vs. East European countries, and how knowing all these could be a valuable tool in an agile environment. 

By attending this interactive talk, you will learn:

• To identify challenges related to top-down management and cultural diversity
• About the value of mentorship in addressing these challenges
• Practical guidelines to apply mentorship in a meaningful way

What do you do when you find the world is evolving at a pace you can’t keep up with? Where you’re struggling to meet expectations and realize that working harder, faster and longer doesn’t solve anything?
This is the situation that #Enexis found itself in some time ago.

Enexis decided that it was time to take a good look in the mirror. Taking the challenge head on, they ventured into uncharted territory, step by step. Chosing to slow down to enable acceleration. They embraced agility and adopted the SAFe framework as their way of working. 

In this talk, one of their Scrum Masters will connect her own story with the company transformation, sharing the struggles on both sides. She invites you all to join their collaborative quest in finding agile.

As an  immigrant woman (second generation) with obesity, daughter of a Muslim father and Catholic mother, working in a male-dominated field, who is married to a disabled, unemployed man of color, I could write books about the non-inclusive society.

In pursuit of inclusivity, I’d like to emphasize the importance of self-awareness and fostering a culture where addressing non-inclusive behavior is the norm.

We delve into the complexities of organizational culture, offering insights on understanding its unique characteristics and initiating change, highlighting the need to begin crossing the chasm with practical exercises and an agile approach.

Do you feel like you work in a diverse workplace in terms of minority representation, but it still feels like “the same old story” when it comes to decision making and problem solving? It’s the same voices and power dynamics that influence the way you work and what you produce?

If this is your experience, let’s explore the “diversity” chasm between a company’s so called “reputational” diversity and the true inclusivity, the game changing ability that fuels innovation and business agility. We will follow the journey of an Agile Leader to cross the diversity chasm and examine challenges that often get in the way of realizing the full potential of a truly diverse and inclusive workforce.

Although this talk focuses on agile leadership, much of the content is applicable to all agile practitioners. Participants will learn the role they can play in creating a truly inclusive team environment regardless of their role. After all, everyone is a leader and has the power to influence how they work.

The transfer of know-how and experience from parenthood to management generates great servant leaders.

Flexibility and adaptability are common skills in both areas. Acting with respect to feelings and needs, straightens children as well as team members.

With funny examples and well proven learnings as well as simple how-tos, I will help you to think as a parent and to act as a servant leader.

Gergana is mentored by Gitte Klitgaard.

Dive into a practical exploration of Agile transformation and leadership that puts people at the heart of change.

Expect to leave with actionable insights and tools that will help you lead more authentically and effectively.

This presentation is an opportunity to see Agile leadership through a new lens and to gain the skills needed to lead your team with confidence and make a lasting impact.

Danique is mentored by Angie Doyle.

I believe finding balance in team composition is a key factor in instilling trust in each other’s abilities to learn and improve. This also makes team members more open to learning from each other.

A year ago, I joined my team as their first scrum master, and also their first woman teammate. After a few months of change, the team composition finally settled with 6 men and 4 women. We kicked off at a local pub with card games.

Back at the office, I started noticing changes: We started pacing ourselves better during meetings. We started asking for help more openly. A sense of light-heartedness was growing all over.

I knew I was observing these, but I wasn’t sure if I was simply speculating. I thought to myself: “Wow, we are the only product team at my company with this team composition, and I am curious if this is why we seem to trust each other easily, and are open to learning.”

I recently came across molecular biologist John Medina’s book, “Brain Rules for Work” (2021). His overview helped me make sense of my observations and group them into three points that I think are worth exploring with any team.

1. Stress is as ancient as the Serengeti.
2. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
3. The more women, the more collective intelligence.

We will thread these points together, so you can explore with your teams, as well.

Elcin is mentored by Faye Thompson.

WIA New Voices initiative is a unique opportunity to experience speaking in-person
in a large conference setting. The objective is to grow the confidence of the next generation
of contributors in the field of Agility.

Three New Voices prepared a 7 minute presentation and were mentored by an experienced mentor.

Join me in this talk as we explore the transformative power of inclusive leadership in agile environment. We’ll dive into the principles of leading with empathy, embracing diverse perspectives, and bringing teams together towards the common goals. Discover actionable strategies to create inclusive cultures where every voice is valued, and every individual feels empowered to contribute their best.
Let’s embark on a journey to unlock the full potential of inclusive leadership in driving agile success.

The high energy and engaging talk will highlight how AI technology can support personal development and empowerment, offering insights into leveraging AI for not just professional success, but for a balanced and fulfilling life.

This engaging talk will aim to inspire women to harness the potential of AI to meet their goals and thrive in all aspects of their lives, whether that’s a need to smash the glass ceiling, or achieve happiness in general.

Agile strengths—Lead, Embrace, Unite, Include—offer a powerful foundation for integrating sustainability into core business processes, from fostering stakeholder collaboration to embedding sustainability into strategy and daily operations.

In this presentation, I will discuss what we, as agile professionals, need to extend and learn in order to be ready for this critical task:

• Knowledge about global challenges
• Sustainability Awareness
• Sustainability Reporting
• Integrating Sustainability into Core Processes
• Inner Development
• Sustainable Action

We’ll explore practical examples, such as using non-user personas to highlight social impacts, and discuss initiatives that the Scrum Alliance is already championing. While progress is being made, there is much more to be done. I will provide practical, actionable steps to move forward in this vital transformation

During this workshop participants will get an introduction in LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method and will get a hands-on experience how to work towards a common challenge based on the Motto of the Women in Agile 2024; Lead, Embrace, Unite, Include.

By using the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method, everyone contributes to the entire process. This not only promotes consensus and creates one common language which is understood by a whole group, it also encourages participants to tell their story, inspire each other and thereby enhancing new insights. The method promotes participants’ creativity and makes challenges truly visible and tangible.

In Tech world the numbers might be even higher, yet there is not enough talked about what it means for the workforce and how can we fully include and embrace our neurodivergent colleagues.

In this interactive workshop, together we’ll be addressing the most common neurodiversity conditions (e.g., ADHD and autism) and see how we can support our colleagues.

At the end of the workshop, participants will walk away with some actionable ideas they can apply and try with their teams. Regardless of your level of familiarity with neurodiversity, this workshop welcomes all who are interested in fostering inclusivity and maximising team potential.

Maybe even as part of an official change initiative? But – you don’t really fancy the way this is heading? And the problem is, it is not advisable to say so aloud. No problem, there are many options how to kill a change with subtle methods.

Viola Ehrensperger gives you an introduction into those easy to apply actions (and relies on you to never use them 😉 )

People tend to prefer working in silos. Establishing a “team first” mindset, therefore, needs to accept this general human tendency. However, there is a sweet spot in each team dynamic where the practice of “team first” allows a maximum degree of “silo thinking” and vice versa.

Just like neurons that fire together, wire together (Hebb’s Law), the key is to create conditions (“Constraints” in Cynefin terms) for the sweet spot to emerge and make use of it to “fire together”.

In this workshop, we’ll dive into the ongoing “AI and the HYPO Oberösterreich” project, where 10+ departments across the bank collaborate to leverage AI effectively. This project exemplifies uniting a diverse group to achieve a common goal.

Join me in co-designing this journey as if given a second chance. Alongside this, I will guide you through our key learnings. Learning outcomes of this workshop include distinguishing between project types, exploring teamwork systems, and designing rules to enhance unity and cognitive diversity.

This session delves deeper, exploring how this experience can be a powerful tool for women in tech to “cross the chasm” towards increased leadership, influence, and career advancement. We’ll discuss the unique challenges and opportunities women face in navigating their careers, and how both seeking mentorship and becoming a mentor yourself can bridge that gap.

People are now working until an older age as they choose to delay retirement. This widens the age gap among employees. As a result, creating an inclusive culture for different generations in the workplace is a trending topic in the employment world today. Additionally, agile methodologies are being increasingly used by organizations which makes solving this challenge more complex. This shift can be challenging for older employees accustomed to traditional practices, while younger workers often adapt more easily due to their preference for flexibility and openness.
Agile teams, which are inherently interdisciplinary, bring together different generations and experience levels, creating potential conflicts due to varying value systems, experiences, and priorities. To foster a cohesive team environment, it’s crucial to understand and address the diverse motivating factors of team members, as emphasized by the fifth principle of the Agile Manifesto, which advocates for building projects around motivated individuals.
Agile coaches play a key role in encouraging effective collaboration by understanding these differences and fostering a culture that supports teamwork. This session explores strategies for coaching agile teams to bridge generational gaps, highlighting the importance of understanding motivational factors, collaboration trends, and working styles across different age groups to build an inclusive and successful team culture.

Over the years Scrum meetings and practices become “ceremonies”. Teams are implementing Scrum in a fixed manner which is exactly the opposite of being Agile. Embracing Agile and Scrum as a fixed practice prevents growth mindset that is necessary to embrace while working in a complex environment.

In my talk I will share my insights about fixed Agile and Scrum behaviors and suggest creative ways to achieve the true purpose of Agility within the organization.

Whether you menstruate or not, we welcome you to join us in the session to challenge the stigma and expand your knowledge. But don’t panic! We’ll be tackling this topic with sensitivity and dashes of humour to support everyone on this journey.

During this interactive talk, we’ll be normalising the conversation around how menstruation and menopause impact our work lives and discussing how we, in our various roles across the Agile space, can create more inclusive environments where everyone can thrive. We’ll delve into the current issues surrounding menstruation and menopause in the workplace and the science behind the surface. Bringing this to life, we’ll weave in our research, personal anecdotes and end with actionable takeaways. Leave with the education you should have gotten in school and the resources you’ll need to start ending the pain of periods in your Agile teams.