March 8th is International Women’s Day.
The tradition of IWD began more than a century ago in 1911 and continues in 2024 as a “global movement focused on women’s advancement.”
In support of the annual affair, local upstart Virtual Gurus intends to host an exclusive event at the organization’s headquarters in Calgary on March 5th.
The IWD event, “Count Her In: Investing in Women, Accelerating Progress,” will be co-hosted by Diversified, a global technology solutions provider founded in 1993.
“Count Her In” aims to underscore “the critical importance of inclusivity and the advancement of women in tech,” according to event organizers.
Moderated by the chief people officer of Diversified, Debbie Fulton, the event will feature three speakers. Among them is Bobbie Racette, founder of Virtual Gurus.
Racette “never expected to become an entrepreneur,” she confessed to Calgary.tech in November. But after losing her oil and gas job in 2015, Racette pivoted and marketed herself as a virtual assistant in a bid to change the way online assistants were supplied.
In 2016, Virtual Gurus was launched, and today is valued in the tens of millions of dollars, ranking among Canada’s fastest-growing companies.
“This event aligns with our mission to foster a more inclusive and progressive tech industry, where women’s achievements are celebrated and their potential fully realized,” believes Racette, who was named Indigenous Entrepreneur of the Year in 2022 and Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023.
Fulton will moderate Racette as well as Benevity CEO Kelly Schmitt and Cristine Gollayan, who functions as Senior Manager of Global Information Security for Sony.
“In today’s fast-evolving tech landscape, the empowerment of women serves as a catalyst for innovation,” said Fulton. “By valuing diversity of thought, we pave the way for accelerated progress in addressing the critical challenges facing our world.”
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