What I Took Away from the LWT: Tech Futures Summit

I spent last week at the LWT TechFutures Summit, and honestly, it left me thinking about how much this event has evolved and how much the tech world needs to catch up.

When I first heard about Lesbians Who Tech years ago, it was very much positioned as a community for queer women in tech - coders, engineers, designers, the people building the backbone of our digital world. It still is that, but now it’s become so much more. It’s grown into something bigger than just a networking space or a “diversity” event. It’s become an anchor for anyone who actually wants to see where the future of technology is heading - through the lens of people who have historically been shut out of those conversations.

And that’s what really hit me this week.

I’ve been to a lot of events lately and there’s something different about this one. You can actually feel that technology, when discussed through women’s experiences, has an entirely different rhythm to it. It’s not theory. It’s not posturing. It’s lived reality.

Everywhere I turned, the conversations around AI were front and center, no surprise there, but they didn’t sound like what you usually hear in the media or on those typical panels full of buzzwords. These were real discussions, grounded in people’s day-to-day work. Women sharing what’s working, what’s failing, and what scares them about where it’s all going.

I loved that no one was trying to sound like a walking press release. Every view was independent, shaped by real experience. People weren’t just repeating what’s already trending on LinkedIn or what would get them “views”. They were speaking from their own data, their own teams, their own careers. And that freshness, that honesty, is something I rarely see at other industry events.

Another thing that stood out was the representation on stage. So many diverse women, queer women, and women of color leading sessions and keynotes, and not just on “diversity” topics. They were leading conversations on AI, cybersecurity, data science, machine learning, and innovation strategy.

And you know what? It made me realize how few of them I see at other major tech or retail innovation events. It’s almost embarrassing how absent these voices are elsewhere. But here, they weren’t the exception, they were the standard.

It wasn’t performative. It wasn’t tokenism. It was real expertise. These were people with serious credentials, thought leadership, and deep technical understanding, not to tick a box, but because they’re doing the work.

I found myself thinking back to the last few big retail tech events I’ve been to and wondering: why haven’t I heard these women before? Why aren’t they being invited to those stages? The conversations here were sharper, more human, and often more forward-looking.

There’s something incredibly powerful about watching women talking about the future of technology with confidence, precision, and passion. It was emotional, honestly. And I don’t say that lightly.

One of the biggest differences from traditional conferences was how accessible everyone was. After the talks, speakers stayed around. They didn’t vanish backstage or slip off to the airport. They actually hung out, answered questions, and talked to people one-on-one. Some of those conversations outside the sessions were the most valuable parts of the week. There was no ego in the air. People weren’t there to be admired from a distance -they were there to connect. And that’s rare. I’ve been to too many events where the speakers are whisked away the second they’re done, or where networking feels like a transaction... everyone trying to sell something or collect as many badges as possible.

Here, it was different. It felt like community. People wanted to be there.

The job fair and tech crawl in the evenings were another highlight. Recruiters from Mastercard , Deloitte , Morgan Stanley , Pinterest , Cisco , all actually present, actually listening. Every recruiter I spoke to made time to understand people’s backgrounds and goals. No one was brushing anyone off or hiding behind “apply online.”

I had a few really genuine conversations with recruiters who were clearly invested in making real connections - this is fantastic for the younger generations. They were open about roles, about challenges, about how to navigate their companies. And that’s the thing, everyone I met there, from the speakers to the recruiters, brought empathy to the table.

Even straight folks who attended seemed surprised, in a good way, by how welcoming, collaborative, and generous the energy was. You could feel people realizing, “Oh, this is what inclusive really feels like.”

And maybe that’s what makes this conference so different. The energy isn’t competitive. It’s curious.

At most tech events, everyone’s guarding their time, flipping their badge around so no one can see who they are, acting too busy to talk. Here, it felt open, like people actually wanted to connect.

Yes, there were lots of discussions about AI and the future of work, but what stuck with me wasn’t the tech itself, it was the humanity in how people were talking about it. No one was pretending that tech alone will fix everything. There was a shared understanding that empathy, accountability, and connection are things no algorithm can replace.

The community that the LWT team has built over the years is no small feat. The chapters, the squads, the mentorship programs, you can tell they’ve worked hard to create a sense of belonging that doesn’t end when the conference does. There’s structure, but there’s also a real spirit of “we’re in this together.”

Of course, it’s not perfect. Nothing that scales ever is. But it’s evolving in the right way. You can feel that.

As much as I loved it, I left thinking about a couple of things we still need to work on.

First, visibility beyond this community. The same brilliant women who spoke here deserve to be on the main stages at mainstream tech summits, in boardrooms, and in media conversations. They shouldn’t have to wait for an invite, the industry should already know who they are.

Second, keeping the momentum. It’s easy to come back from a conference full of energy, ideas, and inspiration. The harder part is integrating that energy into our daily work, into hiring practices, leadership culture, partnerships, and the products we build.

I’ve been around tech long enough to know that real change doesn’t happen from hashtags and panels. It happens when people carry that energy home, when we make space for others in rooms where we have influence, when we ask better questions in meetings, when we mentor, and when we refuse to settle for being the “only” in the room.

I left the Summit feeling both grounded and charged up. Proud of how far this community has come, and hungry for what’s next.

For me, it’s a reminder that the future of tech isn’t going to be built by a handful of people in Silicon Valley. It’s being built by communities like this one -> diverse, passionate, curious people who don’t just want to create new products, but a better ecosystem altogether.

And if you’ve ever wondered whether you belong in those rooms, or whether there’s space for your voice in tech, I’ll tell you what I took away from this week: you absolutely do. Not just to belong, but to shape where it’s all going.

Because the future of tech isn’t just about the technology. It’s about who’s in the room, whose ideas get heard, and who we choose to build with.