Photo by Shamim Nakhai on Unsplash

By LAURA LOREK
Publisher of Silicon Hills News

International Women’s Day is the perfect time to highlight some of the fascinating events happening at South by Southwest focused on women, women’s rights, equality, inclusion, advancement and leadership.

It’s the era of the #MeeToo movement and #TimesUp. The hashtags for Women’s International Day are #PressforProgress and #IWD2018.

For International Women’s Day, Oksana Malysheva, co-founder of Sputnik ATX and two of the women founders in the Sputnik ATX accelerator program will be doing an Ask Me Anything or AMA on Reddit today at 2 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

On Friday, there’s an event: Against All Odds: Chartering Your Path as a Woman that sounds fascinating. It features Emily Chang of Bloomberg and Kirsten Green, founder, managing director and partner at Forerunner Ventures. They’ll talk about strategies women can take to succeed in Silicon Valley. It takes place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the Hilton Austin downtown in Salon H. And it looks like the room will be at capacity and overflowing from the number of people who have already favorited it.

The media is another area where women are often underrepresented especially in leadership positions. Where are the Women How to Diversify Journalism is a panel on Saturday made up of four female print and multimedia journalists who will talk about the gender imbalance in journalism and their experiences. The discussion takes place at the JW Marriott, Salon H from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Also on Saturday, Dell Technologies is hosting: Supporting Women in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem through Public Policy from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Dell Experience at the Sunset Room at 310 East 3rd Street. Featured speakers: Hilary Rosen, Partner, SKDKnickerbocker; Meghan Buck, Co-founder, VEDA Data; Rep. Yvette Clarke; Rep. Will Hurd; Angela Roseboro, Head of Global Diversity, Inclusion & Equity, Dropbox; Julie Stitzel, Managing Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Chamber Technology Engagement Center (C_TEC); Linda Moore, President and CEO, TechNet.

At SXSW this year, the first ever Pitch Black 2018: The Future is Female competition will take place on Sunday at the JW Marriott, Salon 4 from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The event showcases four black female founders and co-founders who will compete for a chance to win a $10,000 investment from Silicon Valley-based VC firm Backstage Capital, an African-American female-led venture capital fund that invests in new companies led by women, people of color and LGBTQ founders.

And how can someone pass up a discussion with a title: Women Rule?

On Monday, at the Fairmount in the Wisteria Room, Politico’s Anna Palmer will do a live taping of her Women Rule Podcast with Milk Bar CEO and Founder Christina Tosi and Wendy Davis, former Texas State Senator and founder of Deeds Not Words. They will talk about their accomplishments and advice for other women looking to lead.

There’s a big focus on VC and capital and getting it into the hands of female founders this year.

On Tuesday, Ingrid Vanderveldt will present a session on Empowering a Billion Women with $1 Billion by 2020 at the Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon H. The event takes place from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Also on Tuesday, catch Women + the Power of Community with Audrey Gelman. She co-founded The Wing, a New York City-based co-working and community space for women. She’ll be interviewed by Alyssa Mastromonaco, former Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations under President Obama.

On Wednesday, Movement Building, Women are Changing the World panel addresses the #MeToo movement and other recent pushes for equality. The event takes place at the Westin Austin downtown, Continental 1 & 2, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.