CODES OF PRACTICE
At a workshop led by Decoded’s Kathryn Parsons and Chris Monk, Vogue treated women creatives and entrepreneurs to a day of “digital enlightenment”.
Vogue treated women creatives and entrepreneurs to a day of “digital enlightenment”.
Coding is like a language I don’t speak but would like to stumble through,” said set designer Alice Babidge ahead of the workshop, which covered the history of the internet and programming, including female pioneers (look up Ada Lovelace), mock building of interactive native apps using HTML, Javascript and CSS, and practice pitches. Babidge, who works with Opera Australia, Sydney Theatre Company and Vogue, noted the influence of technology on her career: “Even basic things like shopping the costumes … the hunt was physical and time-consuming, and while you never want to lose this aspect, technology allows us to source items the world over more efficiently and, sometimes, with more success.”
Alyce Tran, of accessories and lifestyle brand The Daily Edited, and Myra Perez, owner/florist of My Violet, marvelled at being able to provide brand exposure and engagement with customers. “I loved seeing the layers of programming languages in the app building part and seeing how they all fit together. I’ve heard the terms and never really knew what they were!” said Tran.
Participant experience varied; Jo Burston’s career in technology business as a serial entrepreneur meant the terminology was familiar, but she lacked the knowledge on the history and glossary, while the experience of Jenny Abood, a wealth management client advisor, probably reflects most of us: “If something goes wrong [at work] there is somebody there to fix it. I have never even given thought to how to clear a paper jam in the printer. My technology knowledge is extremely limited.” The fact is that the digital landscape evolves quickly (“sometimes too quickly!” as noted by Georgie Abay, founder of lifestyle website The Grace Tales and childrenswear label Atelier/Child) and there’s a difficulty in keeping up, which underscores the importance of having a basic knowledge of coding languages.
The eye-opening experience sought to change the perspectives of its participants. “It was apparent how much technology comes from the point of view of men and the specific issues that might be unique to women, or the unique way women have to approaching challenges, are overlooked. I realised just how often these frustrations happen to me and find myself asking why it was built this way, but now I know it’s because the person creating the technology has come from a different mindset,” revealed Lilith Hardie Lupica, Vogue’s online producer.
“I left so excited and shared everything I learnt with all my friends; I became a technology nerd in five hours,” said Danielle Alvarez, a Chez Panisse-trained head chef of the soon-to-open restaurant Fred’s. “For me, until I understand how something works I can’t imagine its potential. I think when you lift the curtain on all of these things and realise it’s not magic, there are actual nuts, bolts and cables connecting everything if you learn to speak the language, the possibilities are endless.” Says Alvarez of how she’ll use this experience: “And who knows? Maybe I’ll create a food-related app one day!”