Tech Intersections

Call for Speakers

*** SUBMISSIONS CLOSED ***

Do you have insights to share with other technical women like yourself?

Tech Intersections is an annual conference for the technical women of color most underrepresented in the industry.  We come to connect and build community with each other, grow our technical skills and support our social justice and social impact efforts. Tech Intersections 2025 is on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at Northeastern University’s Oakland campus, home of Mills College. All presentations will be in person.

We regret that we are unable to pay speakers or cover their travel expenses, but accepted speakers will have their ticket cost waived.

Eligibility

Whether you’re an experienced speaker or just finding your voice, we want you, if you:

  • Are women, nonbinary, transgender, genderqueer, or gender fluid.
  • Work (or aspire to work) in tech, especially as an engineer, entrepreneur, activist, teacher, designer, or other leader, and
  • Belong to an ethnic group underrepresented in tech, including, but not limited to:
    • African-American/Black
    • American Indian/Native American/Indigenous
    • Latinx
    • Middle Eastern
    • Pacific Islander
    • Southeast Asian (not counting China and Japan)
    • Indians from scheduled castes

While we recognize that people of other genders and ethnicities face discrimination, Tech Intersections is a unique space for women of color from underrepresented ethnicities. 

If you have any questions about eligibility, email info@2025.techintersections.org.

Session Formats

We welcome the following types of submissions:

Length:

  • Short (25 minutes)
  • Medium (50 minutes)
  • Long (110 minutes)

Type:

  • Presentation
  • Workshop
  • Panel

Panels should include a moderator and up to 3 panelists. You may specify more than one format on a single submission.

You are encouraged to view the 2020 program, the 2022 program, and 2023 program and information below for examples of topics and descriptions.

Tracks

The tracks are:

  • Technical Skills, including new programming platforms, data analysis, and novel technologies
  • Tech Entrepreneurship and VC, including starting companies and non-profits and raising (or awarding) VC
  • Career Skills, including getting an education, finding a job, negotiating, and succeeding in the workplace
  • Self-Care, including preventing and recovering from burnout and healing from past trauma
  • Tech Community and Diversity, including making change from within organizations, creating networks, and expanding the pipeline, disability issues in the workplace
  • Social Justice and Social Impact, including ensuring that technology meets the needs of our communities and does not perpetuate bias

Proposal Requirements

You are encouraged to begin working on the proposal form as soon as possible. Proposals may be revised until the September 30 deadline.

There should be a single proposal for panels and workshops with multiple speakers. Proposals have the following parts:

  • Title
  • Track
  • Session Length and format
  • Description (40-200 words)
  • Speaker(s) Information 
    • Contact information
    • Optional title and affiliation
    • Optional links to social media sites (LinkedIn, Twitter)
    • Speaker Bio
    • Speaker Headshot (for inclusion in program if accepted)
    • Demographic information

Important Dates

  • August 5: Call for Proposals Opens
  • September 30: Call for Proposals Closes
  • November 4 – 15: Speaker Notification and Confirmation Acceptance
  • January 13: Speaker Slides Due
  • January 25: Tech Intersections 2025 Conference

Help for Speakers

Here are examples from previous years:

You can request help with your proposal, seek other participants to assemble a panel, or ask for feedback on a draft proposal from the community on our Slack server. To join, send a request to slack@2025.techintersections.org. Questions may be sent to info@2025.techintersections.org