SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Documentary filmmakers of “CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap,” today announced GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving, a long-standing advocate for women in technology, was part of its Executive Producer team. The CODE documentary is a timely feature-length film which explores why more American women and minorities are not pursuing careers in computer science, despite high demand and lucrative job opportunities. The film is set to premiere at the world-famous Tribeca Film Festival April 19 in New York City.
“Blake was an excellent addition to our CODE documentary team because he’s a highly-respected technologist passionate about promoting women in technology. His deep understanding of the challenges women face in tech is crucial to bridging the technology gender gap,” said Robin Hauser Reynolds, Director and Producer of the CODE documentary. “In his two-plus years as CEO, Blake's devotion to supporting women in tech has led to a complete turnaround at GoDaddy – he’s helped create a women’s technology organization inside GoDaddy and committed to hiring more women in the tech ranks. We applaud Blake's efforts to make GoDaddy a safe and inviting workplace for women. Hopefully, Blake’s actions will set a trend in the tech industry.”
Irving has made it his personal mission to champion women in technology over many years, even before it was a popular topic. Early on in his near 30-year career he worked with the Society of Women Engineers. Shortly after joining GoDaddy in 2013, he hired the company’s first woman Chief Technology Officer, Elissa Murphy, and together they created the GoDaddy Women in Technology network, which supports professional development and networking.
GoDaddy is the world’s largest technology provider dedicated to small businesses. Right now, more than 18 percent of GoDaddy’s technical workforce is made up of women, which is slightly more than many of the big name tech companies in the Bay Area of California, but below the levels advocates, including GoDaddy, aspire to employ. As part of its commitment to promote women in technology, GoDaddy is recruiting women with an eye on both new hires and its engineering internship program, and will also provide employees with "unconscious bias training" from the acclaimed Clayman Institute this year.
As executive producer, Irving is an advocate and ambassador for the documentary. “Helping the CODE film project is one of the many investments we are making toward improving the gender balance throughout computer science and technology,” said GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving. “Diversity matters because it drives innovation, richer thinking and more real-world solutions. As an industry, we all need to do better. We know about half the people using our technology are women – doesn’t it make sense for more women to contribute to the development of tech products? The more women we attract to our industry, the better our industry, and our products, will be.”
Irving’s advocacy for women technologists has been further supported by GoDaddy’s partnership with the Anita Borg Institute, a non-profit focused on the advancement of women in the technology industry. The partnership exemplifies GoDaddy’s belief that women are crucial to innovation, richer thinking and a better customer experience. Most recently, GoDaddy invested in the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, the world’s largest gathering of women in technology.
A promotional teaser of the CODE documentary is available for preview at CodeDocumentary.com.
Following the April 19 premiere at Tribeca, the film’s director and producer Robin Hauser Reynolds will lead a panel discussion about women in technology. Serving on the panel for GoDaddy and taking questions from the audience will be GoDaddy Chief People Officer Auguste Goldman who, along with Chief Technology Officer Elissa Murphy, is on point for hiring more tech women at the company.
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About CODE documentary
The deficit of female and minority computer science engineers in America is a mounting gender, racial and economic issue. Tech jobs are growing three times faster than our colleges are producing computer science graduates; by 2020, there will be one million unfilled software engineering jobs in the USA. CODE documentary examines the reasons why more girls and people of color are not seeking out educational opportunities in computer science, and explains how cultural mindsets, stereotypes, educational hurdles, and sexism play a role in this national crisis. Expert voices from the worlds of tech, psychology, science, and education are intercut with inspiring stories of women from various backgrounds who are engaged in the fight to challenge complacency in the tech industry and have their voices heard. CODE aims to inspire girls, women and people of color to consider computer science as a viable career choice. More information is available at www.codedoc.co.
About GoDaddy
GoDaddy's mission is to radically shift the global economy toward small businesses by empowering people to easily start, confidently grow and successfully run their own ventures. With more than 13 million customers worldwide and more than 59 million domain names under management, GoDaddy gives small business owners the tools to name their idea, build a beautiful online presence, attract customers and manage their business. To learn more about the company, visit www.GoDaddy.com.
