(NewsNation) — Attendees at a women and non-binary tech conference took to social media with complaints after they said the conference was invaded by men.
The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing took place over the weekend in Orlando, Florida. The event, where tickets can cost upwards of $1,000, features panel discussions, networking events and a job fair. The conference is intended for those who identify as female or non-binary.
Attendees took to TikTok to share stories about men who crashed the conference. Videos showed crowds of men in lines for company booths and recruiters at the job fair as women questioned why they were at the conference.
Attendees reported seeing men pushing and shoving their way to the front of lines, harassing women and taking pictures of women’s lower bodies. At least one attendee noted that none of the men, who did not appear to identify as non-binary, attended any of the panel discussions or other events and only showed up for the job fair portion of the conference.
Some attendees reported leaving the conference because the environment felt unsafe.
It’s not clear how the men registered for the event. Some speculated that men chose the non-binary option, despite giving no outward indication that they usually identified as such, or used a ‘decline to state’ option for gender identity during registration.
Bo Young Lee, advisory president of the AnitaB organization, which puts on the conference, posted a video to Facebook saying the intent of organizers was to create a safe space for people often underrepresented in tech and apologizing for what happened.
Amanda Hill-Attkisson, vice president of programs for AnitaB, also posted on Facebook apologizing to those who experienced racism, sexism and harassment at the event and promising attendees their concerns would be heard.
“GHC is over, but this conversation is not. Our first step toward creating a plan for change is to listen, and we are in the process of developing a collaborative avenue for GHC attendees to share more so we can do just that,” Hill-Attkisson wrote.
NewsNation reached out to AnitaB for comment.
