Microsoft Codess 2019: A letter of gratitude to everyone who has made  Codess happen.

Microsoft Codess 2019: A letter of gratitude to everyone who has made Codess happen.

A few days ago, Codess Singapore 2019 was held and we finally got to see the event where we turned our sweat, blood, and tears into fruition. An event that aims to inspire more women to continue or pursue tech, Codess is held for the second time in Singapore with the theme of “Tech for Good”. This time, we are proud to have leaders and entrepreneurs across different companies, within and outside of Microsoft, who are in the early, mid, and senior stages of their careers. We also had a diverse group of a hundred undergrads and postgraduates from both STEM and non-STEM fields, females and males, who were selected out of 200+ registrants based on their passion for technology and diversity.

Just like what Andrea said before her keynote speech, it takes a village to make an event come to a realization. This post is dedicated to everyone who has contributed to the success of Codess last Saturday.

To Andrea, Yen yen, Fiona, Pratima, and Sindhura

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Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule on a Saturday to support the event and the cause of empowering more women to pursue tech. I am still amazed and touched by the amount of support and willingness that was given by seniors leaders like you to support Codess. I still recall Andrea who had to adjust her schedule because it clashed with Codess, Sindhura who immediately blocked her calendar the first time I met and asked her to moderate the panel, Fiona who would actively lend us a helping hand and reply to me promptly at Teams, and Pratima who immediately agreed to join Codess when we reached out to her. It is very reassuring to know that -as daunting as it is to make a decision to be in an industry that is predominantly male- there are grounded senior leaders like you who are willingly and proactively paving the way for us to grow.

Across Andrea's soul-stirring and insightful keynote speech and the rich discussion during the panel session, there was one common message that stood out: that we should always be our most authentic selves. It means a lot coming from senior leaders like you when you encourage us to be our most authentic selves and use that as a means to thrive. Most importantly, you tell us that it is possible to do so. This breaks the notion that most of us have internalized subconsciously, that we have to be of a certain trait (often traits related to masculinity) in order to succeed. Thank you for telling us that we can be ourselves in a world that has always told us otherwise.

To the aspiring tech leaders:

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It was equally heartwarming to see all of these aspiring tech leaders across different companies coming down to support the cause. During the event, we broke down participants to groups of 10 and assigned two leaders in each group to have a more intimate discussion with the participants on the reality of tech industry and the sound pieces of advice they could use to succeed. Thank you to all the aspiring tech leaders for agreeing to come down on a Saturday to support Codess. You have no idea how many lives you have affected in just those hours that you’ve given. It means the world to us.

To Keren, William, and Jessie:

The second part of the day was spent learning, envisioning, and getting hands-on on how tech could be used for good. For that, we ran an ideation lab and hands-on lab that were run concurrently and then followed by Keren's speech on how tech could be used for good.

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For our ideation lab, We had William and Jessie, who have the experience and rich knowledge in entrepreneurship to act as judges for the ideas that our participants came up with during the lab. Thank you, William and Jessie, for coming down and sharing your knowledge despite our almost last minute request. Thank you, William, for opening the ideation lab with your beautifully raw and insightful speech on the importance and value of vulnerability.

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The event ended with Keren's eye-opening speech on how tech could be used to aid humans in the healthcare industry. Thank you, Keren, for showing us the multifarious use-cases that Microsoft and your team have done to aid humans in healthcare. It is heartening to know that Microsoft is contributing a lot in ground-breaking research that will help so many people. More importantly, thank you for being so humble and grounded in answering our questions and coming down to support us the whole day. It meant a lot to us.

To Microsoft, the University Recruiting team, and the Global Talent Acquisition team :

Thank you Microsoft and the University Recruiting team for trusting and giving the interns opportunity to organize such a meaningful event. You guys walk the talk when you say that in Microsoft, we "come as we are, and we do what we love". Big shout out to Anna who has been a great pillar of moral support and Hui Lin who has always gone the extra miles to help us (you really are one of a kind). Thank you to Priyanka, Shaff, and Carine as well who are always there to guide us throughout our whole planning phase. We would have been so lost without your guidance.

Not forgetting the Global Talent Acquisition team who has helped us reach out to the aspiring tech leaders outside of Microsoft and provided us with the extra budget we needed to increase the quality for Codess. Thank you so much Yoonah and team for all your help. You guys made a huge contribution to Codess and it would not have been the same without your help.

Finally, to the amazing Organizing Committee team and Facilitators:

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To my beloved Codess family, we did it! We really have stretched ourselves setting the bar up high this year and trying to make everything work on top of our already hectic main project. Before I thank everyone, a huge shout out to the core team: Yong Keat, Mao ren, and Alex, for working tirelessly above and beyond what we have to. All the constant late-night hours spent thinking, planning, and executing our plans to ensure everything works and keeping each other accountable. I could not have done this without you guys. You guys inspire me with your tenacity and passion, really.

Just as important are the rest of the crazy bright team members of Codess. A huge thank you to Katya for engaging with the senior leaders and always being on-the-go in executing things, Zhi Wei for handling the logistics impeccably, Kamini for handling the tech leaders even when she no longer have access to her email, Maansi for helping with Comms and MCing, Yan Li for helping us in events planning, Arjun for helping us reach out to the participants, and Noah for helping with the hands-on lab. Codess would not have been possible without each and every one of you.

Last but not least, thank you to Ming Yi and Alice who volunteered to help us till 2 AM the day before the event, and the rest of the facilitators, Charmaine and Schitij for helping us on the day. It meant so much for the team and everyone. So much love for you guys.

My final thoughts on the importance of events like Codess and my last gratitude to everyone who contributed and attended Codess, for empowering me.

While events like Codess might not change the gender ratio of the predominantly male tech industry overnight, I believe it acts as an imperative contribution to organically change the status quo. I think the unique contribution that events like Codess have to the cause of empowering female in tech, aside from raising awareness, is giving the visibility and sense of solidarity that we are all in this journey together. By being in the same space with female senior leaders we rarely see growing up, groups of female participants who are striving for the same cause, and male leaders and participants that are supporting the cause, it sends a strong signal subconsciously and consciously that things are changing and there is room for females to thrive. I hope as much as it has empowered me and helped me alleviate the inherent impostor syndrome I used to have, it does the same for everyone who was a part of Codess last Saturday. Thank you for being a part of my change.

Kamini Singh

Founder | Sales & Strategy | Customer Success

4y

Nicely written Nydia, well captured all points. The CODESS team is really grateful to everyone who joined us and made this event a success. 👏

Anna McMahon nee Fourie

Career Coach | Career Management | Ex Microsoft | Director South East Asian Association of Graduate Employers

4y

Beautifully said Nydia. You and the Codess team truly made this such a special event and one we plan to replicate in Sydney and Seoul later in the year. Thank you!!

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