Introducing Women in Hardware Interview Series

Brought to you by Adafruit, Hackster, Microsoft, Autodesk + Qualcomm

Hackster Staff
7 years ago

Hackster’s recent survey of people from 104 countries discovered that under 6% of hardware developers are women — an amount that’s as distressing as it is surprising. Women are running companies, making cool projects, and designing hardware in ways that are both exciting and cutting-edge, but there’s still a divide between how the field is portrayed and all the impressive things women in hardware are doing.

To help bridge that gap, Adafruit and Hackster have collaborated on Women in Hardware: The Interview Series.

What Is Women in Hardware?

Women in Hardware (WiH) is a video interview series covering some of the most inspiring women pioneering the hardware industry. From groundbreaking entrepreneurs to engineers at the tops of their fields, we want to highlight the women who are inventing, innovating, and changing hardware for the better.

Rather than focusing on the lack of diversity and difficult experiences that these women have faced, we are calling attention to their amazing work with the hope of encouraging future generations to get involved.

This is what real women working in the hardware space want to talk about: design, business, prototyping, creating. Through this series we want to show how rewarding a career in hardware can be — for any person, of any gender.

Why Should You Care?

It’s proven that more diverse teams lead to better problem solving, critical thinking, and creative innovation. Every company in the tech industry wants to move forward — why wouldn’t you want the best team to get you there?

We want to motivate other industry players to act as change agents and take initiative in creating more equal opportunities for women in technology.

Join in the discussion. Listen in on our guest speakers, and educate yourselves on the topic so you can actively advocate for change in your own company, and more importantly, the world.

Episode 1: littleBits’ Ayah Bdeir and Adafruit’s Limor Fried

For the premiere episode of the series, littleBits founder & CEO Ayah Bdeir sits down with Adafruit founder & lead engineer Limor Fried in an engaging conversation with topics ranging from life in NYC, product development processes, open source hardware, and more. Hear the advice they would give to themselves looking back to when they started their careers and what they hope to see in the future.

Episode 2: Autodesk’s Heather Kerrick

For the second episode of the series, join Autodesk’s Heather Kerrick, Hackster’s Alex Glow and Adafruit’s Jessica Califano at Autodesk’s Pier 9 Workshop in San Francisco as they talk about Autodesk’s Applied Research Team, robotics, software, product design, and more. Hear their take on the intersection of engineering and design and what that means for the future of making things.

Episode 3: Qualcomm’s Tia Cassett

We’re back with episode three from Qualcomm’s headquarters in San Diego, where we talk with Tia Cassett, Senior Director of Product Management at Qualcomm Technologies, and Mary Jungman, Director of Manufacturing and Procurement at Adafruit, about supply chain management, embedded computing, and more.

Episode 4: Bantam Tools’ Danielle Applestone

We’re at the Adafruit factory in New York City with Bantam Tools CEO Danielle Applestone, Limor Fried, and our very own Alex Glow. Bantam Tools Desktop Milling Machines provide professional reliability and precision at an affordable price.

Episode 5: Anouk Wipprecht

What does fashion lack? “Microcontrollers” according to Anouk Wipprecht. In our fifth episode, we return to Adafruit’s factory in New York City to chat with the Dutch designer on her work in emerging field of “fashion tech.”

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