Republica 2012, Photo by Anna Handschuh
Hinter mir liegt der Besuch der diesjährigen re:publica und des Vision Summit. Mein Fazit: Ich bin mehr denn je davon überzeugt, dass es zwei zentrale Hebel zu sozialer Innovation gibt, deren Potenzial – zumindest in Europa – noch weitgehend ungenutzt ist.
Erstens: Technologie. Zweitens: Diversity und damit meine ich nicht nur kulturelle Diversität, sondern auch ganz einfach “mehr Frauen in Führung.”
Dabei sind beide wesentliche Treiber für gesellschaftliche Veränderung.
“Women in Tech” ist aus diesem Grund eines der Themen, die ich auf meinem Blog - im großen Zielbild sozialer Innovation gedacht – aufgreife.
Es heißt, “Frauen ziehen Frauen nach.” Die schlechte Nachricht ist: Diese Hypothese lässt sich schwer verifzieren, denn es fehlt uns noch immer die kritische Masse weiblicher Führungskräfte als “Erhebungsbasis”.
Die gute Nachricht: Die kritische Masse ist in Sicht. Meine Generation ist voll mit exzellent ausgebildeten, jungen, klugen Frauen, die hervorragende Netzwerkerinnen sind, blitzschnell lernen und – um mit Sheryl Sandbergs Worten zu sprechen – “nicht vom Gas-Pedal gehen.”
Und damit übergebe ich an meine Generation. Eine davon ist: Jeannette Gusko. Jeannettes home turf ist die (Berliner) Tech-Start-up-Szene und was lag daher für sie näher, als ein noch junges, aber sich schon jetzt großer Nachfrage erfreuendes, Berliner “Women in Tech” Netzwerk zu gründen: Die Berlin Gekettes. Ein spannendes Netzwerk, das bereits jetzt in Berlin von sich Reden macht.
Jeannette Gusko has been working as a PR and communication management consultant in Berlin, New York and France. Currently she is working on her PHD project that analyzes the role of strategic communication in startups. Jeannette’s primary focus is value creation through communication, especially organizational transformation and investor relations. She established strong bonds in the Berlin startup scene and is enthusiastic Berlin Geekette of the first hour. Contact her: tw.: @JeanneRaffut XING: Jeannette Gusko.

Jeannette Gusko
A lot was different this year at re:publica. Germany’s important conference for digital culture, net politics and blogging moved up spaces to host the digital crowd at Berlin’s Station, a former transshipment center for postal services. Sponsors had a much more visible presence in the opening hall and session plan. The conference is growing up, you could hear attendants say.
The most prominent change though was not a question of structures, but rather a structural one. In sessions, workshops, parties – wherever you went, women were presenting, discussing, tweeting, exchanging ideas and networking. Even though Germanys most prominent woman, Chancellor Angela Merkel sent her government spokesman Steffen Seibert, many other high-profile keynotes and sessions were given by female influencers such as Britta Riley, Kathrin Passig, Julia Schramm or Mercedes Bunz.
Britta Riley at Republica 2012, Photo by Anna Handschuh
Produce relevance
Re:publica is a good example how women in tech and digital media not just get to produce more relevance, but also be more visible with their work and passions. Back in 2009 things weren’t looking that promising towards a gender balance. Air time and topics were male-dominated although the usage of blogs has been equal among men and women for quite a time. One session was called “When women blog” . It covered very classical topics like cooking, babies, fashion and again, babies. Even worse, all relevant female bloggers and what they had to share was condensed into one single time slot, curated by gender affiliation only. All the while male speakers were given individual slots for different topics.
Be visible
This nuisance inspired blogger collective Mädchenmannschaft to found the Girls on Web Society, a now well connected blogging community of women. They aim to cover a wide range of female blogs and to be thematically diverse. A year later the Digital Media Women formed in Hamburg to bring more women into the spotlight of the digital industry. At re:publica 2012 advertising guru Cindy Gallop presented a draft how she plans to disrupt the porn industry . The head of PR and communications at Wooga, Sina Kaufmann, gave an insightful talk on identity building in social games. So much for female topics being soft.
Connect, share, empower the community
Women in the tech community are getting better organized and networked. Over a dinner in the beginning of this year eight Berlin-based women decided to grow a grassroots hub to support, enable and mentor each other. Shortly after, the Berlin Geekettes were found to empower women in the growing tech sector of the capital. The reasons for this initiative have been crystal clear for a while: On one hand the tech industry has been dominated by male founders and substructures that have been described as broshow or frat house swagger. On the other hand women matter – in tech companies and the economy in general. Only more diverse skill sets and leadership approaches match future exigencies in user experience, innovation and resilient business models. Not to forget the substantial increase in ROI when women are member of the executive board.
Berlin Gekettes Meeting at Republica 2012, Photo by Anna Handschuh
Create role models
Thus instead of complaining or lamenting about gender imbalance, it’s about time for women to step up and do something. So build strong bonds. In order to leave a mark in the startup scene the Berlin Geekettes organize monthly meet-ups, networking events and tell their truly inspiring stories.

Caroline Drucker, Partner Marketing Manager, Soundcloud
“I was recently told”, says Caroline Drucker, Partner Marketing Manager at successful start-up Soundcloud and Berlin Geekette, “that it was ‘no wonder that I was successful because I was a woman, I was nice to look at and I opened my mouth.’ Were it only so easy, and no, I was not trapped in a time machine that got zapped back to 1962.” So create role models. “Female role models demonstrate that success is not dependent on gender”, Ms Drucker emphasizes. “Watching role models smash the glass ceiling with wit and grace gives you the courage and endurance to dismantle any opposition you may face, regardless of what others try to tell you.“ Who knows, the next Marissa Mayer or Sheryl Sandberg might be coming from Berlin?
Dream big
The international Berlin Geekettes community is open to female entrepreneurs, investors, software engineers and communicators who dream big. They are committed to what they do, willing to share their insights and most of all, strive to give their respective industries a good shake-up. There has never been a better time for women to make a difference. In Berlin this has been understood.










