Women in Tech highlights STEM pioneers on Galentine’s Day

Galentine’s Day is a special time at Kalderos - especially since the celebration of women everywhere means a chance to bring attention to some pivotal women who paved the way for other ladies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). 

The Kalderos Women in Tech group celebrated Feb. 15 with their signature annual Galentine’s Day event; this time, in an all-virtual format. The event, which was open to everyone at Kalderos, opened with an announcement of the group’s goals for the year, and featured a game of “whodunnit?” in which women at Kalderos shared facts about famous women in STEM, inviting the audience to guess their identities. These trailblazing women included figures such as Rosalind Franklin, Emily Blackwell and Grace Hopper.

“At Kalderos, our solutions are rooted in technology,” said Allison Vides, business operations analyst and co-chair of the Women in Tech group. “That’s why we wanted the chance to talk about the women who led the way in different STEM fields. We were excited to share more about these women who have impacted the fields we’ve chosen to work in, including healthcare and technology.”

Anjelica Towner, associate engineer, selected a trailblazer in coding as her woman in STEM icon. “I chose Grace Hopper because she was a programming pioneer,” said Towner. “Her success in the male-dominated fields of technology and the Navy is incredible and inspiring.”

The Women in Tech group ended the event by announcing a donation to the Women in Entrepreneurship Institute at DePaul University in Chicago, supporting local scholarships for women pursuing entrepreneurship. 

The Kalderos Women in Tech group aims to build an inclusive environment for women at Kalderos, including through recruiting efforts, external partnerships and internal engagement activities. In collaboration with human resources and talent acquisition, the Women in Tech group also works to recruit outstanding women in tech to key roles at Kalderos. 

“One of the many things that I appreciate about Kalderos is that my fellow employees value my opinions,” said Linsey Hardwick, senior software engineer. “I didn’t feel like ‘just’ a diversity hire, and appreciate that the company is so focused on inclusion.”

“With so many women breaking glass ceilings in the last few months, from a female Nobel Prize winner in physics to the swearing in of the first female vice president of the U.S., we wanted to use this opportunity to pay homage to those before us and to inspire others to grow,” said Vides. “Especially now that we are all virtual, women are forced to reexamine gender equity and work-life balance. It’s a more important time than ever to take this work on.”