MomOps in DevOps

Editor's Notes

• #3: (smile) - Yeah, this is not a feminist talk. This is simply to share my experiences trying to bridge motherhood with technology!
• #4: Let me start by introducing myself
• #5: I would like to share my experiments with Dockeer. As you see, I have worked on projects that involved working with Docker for testing, for dev env setup, to run tools and services and also in production. For testing, I performed a POC that used shippable with docker for headless selenium tests for nightly builds. We tried to setup dev env inside docker, so that any developer could run the container and access his workspace with all the needed setups already done on it. We ran services like chef, ansible tower and other services as docker containers The best experience was in setting up a prod like env and trying to run our product as docker container. It was success, the product is not yet live its still in the development stage.
• #6: I am an ordinary woman, who is privileged to get a chance to talk at the docker con! I believe docker is the future of devops. And its really my pleasure that I have got a chance to talk here! I love technology, i am in love with devops, with docker. I also love my kids and  I love being a mother. And I wish to share my experiences of being a MomOps in the DevOps world!
• #8: A quick glance at the technology jobs in tech companies shows that women workforce is around 18%.
• #9: More specifically, at the silicon valley, the numbers are similar, but marginally better at 20% Technical jobs have a lesser contribution from women.
• #10: in devops the contribution of women firther drops  DevOps is a male dominated field. ​ As per the survey in 2015 by PuppetLabs and also by Devops.com only 4% of the survey respondents were women​ 13% women in DevOps teams as per the PuppetLabs survey​ As per the DevOps Salary Survey conducted by devops.com, Women get 26% salary less than their men counterparts​
• #11: Oh yeah, we can do it. But why so poor numbers? I think thats because most of the women get married, have kids and think thats it - Their primary purpose in life is just to run their house. So they tend to give up their jobs in technology, or they prefer to not work in a dynamic technology world of DevOps.
• #12: Here's why women prefer to stay away from devops. But look at the reasons closely - they are reason enough to fall in love with DevOps! Its not routine work - hence its always interesting! Learning curve - yes, but you get to learn. You are encouraged to learn and contribute to DevOps! No, there are no shifts - but there is a possibility to work 100% remotely in DevOps! So if you think working from home can help you balance your home & office, come, contribute to DevOps!
• #13: We are running short of DevOps engineers. Women make 50% of the population, and women can contribute! Women can bring in diverse ideas. Its been proved that women impact the eCommerce field largely and are the largest economic force in the world. Also bringing in more women to DevOps and Technology NOW can set an example for your daughters and sons as well, so that the little girls today can contribute more to STEM - science, technology, engineering and maths.
• #14: Mothers are mature women! And mothers in DevOps can help you grow and better perform as a company! Mothers can multitask - they get so trained in multitasking with kids around, that they can be a great asset for your office work too! Mothers can store lots of data - they have the ability to gather and work on more facts! Mothers have a faster memory recovery - they are much more attentive and can find out more bugs and issues with your setup! Mothers have a higher processing power - they can get more tasks done in less time! Mothers can be more concerned and reliable and yet they have learnt the odd way to be more emotionally strong!
• #15: Men and women's brains are differently wired. After being a mother, she knows and understands those differences much more than before. Women and especially mothers can compliment how men work.Together they can build a more beautiful solution! 
• #16: I am going to tell you a story. Its a story about my kids. We have created certain stereotypes. Well dont mean to, but roughly the ones shown in the slide are what the kids believe. I am sure, like me, none of you teach anything like above to the kids. But they learn from patterns that our society follows... So kids think, Barbie is for girls. And sports like soccer or cricket are for boys.
• #17: One day, My 6 year old son was playing with his friends. They decided they will watch TV. So his female friend, Gargi, switched on the TV and started her favorite program - Barbie! All the boys, including my son, were like - Oh barbie, we are not going to watch barbie! Only girls watch barbie! And they walked out to play something else! Now, same set of kids were playing cricket on the ground. Gargi too wanted to play, but they told her - hey boys play cricket! You wont be able to play! Gargi fought, cried, complained and finally she played cricket with them!
• #18: Thus, we can build a better future for our kids. If  you follow your passion for technology, your kids would know that the "stereotype" is - "one should follow his passion!" 
• #19: So what is stopping us women, in contributing to DevOps? External factors include society, culture, norms and strereotypes (which we women are born to break!) But the internal factors are in our hands. I believe your attitude can take you to your dream destination! In the next few slides I would like to share those internal factors which help me manage motherhood with DevOps...
• #21: Introducing Laxmi. Yeah - She makes cane baskets and sells them for a living. She makes just about 1.5 dollars a day. She has 4 kids. She has a lazy and troublesome husband. Yet she is an entrepreneur - a working mother! One thing we need to learn from her is - Lean In! Give in your best. Beat the odds. If you love DevOps, then come take a deep dive in. Life is quite a bit of a juggle for us moms. Yes its difficult. But have you tried to give in your best? Looking after kids, groceries, school, homework, tantrums and then "lean in" at office?! Well in a way, when I go to office, I get my personal peaceful time as well!  So I prefer going to office and interacting with colleagues. There are many companies that offer work from home, you can opt for that. But as Sheryl Sandberg said - lean in. And lean in - not just in office, but lean in and juggle efficiently between office and home.
• #22: You have worked with multi threaded models in DevOps. You need to apply it to your personal life. Lets talk of a situation which we all face many times... So you have all this happening at the same - You have a very important release in office. Your kid is ill and you need to take him to the doctor. You havent found time to do groceries so you have trouble figuring out what to cook. Your mother calls you up and she needs your help. You friend wants you to run an errand for him. And gradually things start to pile up and it all gets only worse. What do you choose to do first?  Prioritize! You need to figure out what means the most to you? That would solve half of your problems. Sometimes its ok to compromise on what you want to do for your kids. You need to let go. Sometimes you need to make work wait for you.
• #23: Notice that the girl trying to climb up is taking help of the ropes and the crevices in the rocks. To move up you need to take help. To give in your best at work , and yet not compromise on bringing up your kids - you need to take help. Whom to lean on? Your family and friends are the best bet. I come from a culture where its ok to stay with in laws. I am lucky that my inlaws are very supportive and encouraging. You too can count on your extended family for help. Make good friends - they say - God gave us relatives, thank God we can choose friends! You can form a good friend circle and take turns in helping each other with house and kids related work. Above all, the most important pillar whom you can rely on is your husband. We do not have a talk on DadOps in DevOps. But I am sure there are many men out there who support and encourage their wives to follow their passion for technology.
• #24: This is An automated conveyor system keeps inventory flowing to the loading docks at Dollar Tree's southeast distribution center in Savannah Georgia. Automation is the DevOps mantra too. The software industry has matured and now we need to automate Ops. As a mother, your life too has matured into a complex juggle. You need to automate your routine tasks too! What are the standard daily tasks a mother does? Wake up the kids, get them ready, breakfast, send them to school, go to office and write automation scripts for dev-ops, cook dinner, spend quality time with kids, get the kids to bed. Some of these tasks can be automated. Send them to school by bus if you can. Teach them to get up and get ready quickly by themselves. Take help from friends and family for cooking. Some tasks should better remain manual - like spending quality time with kids!
• #25: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/the-networking-gender-gap-and-how-to-bridge-it/article4183138/ http://smallbusinessbc.ca/blog/how-women-network-differently-men/  You need to network. I feel the way men and women network is very different. Men tend to talk more about office and technology when they meet. If they have a question, they come straight to the point. Women typically network and talk about what problems they face in their day to day life while they try to balance office and home. They like to hear stories of "how do you manage".  Well, since we women are born to break stereotype (just like what i mentioned above)... we can work to network better. We can talk about the woes of handling kids. And we can also talk about technology. Networking in DevOps today is especially important. There are many innovative tools and creative ways to tackle every problem here. So you need to network, talk, discuss and keep yourself updated.
• #26: Most women lack self confidence. Women are taught to be modest and this kind of interferes in their confidence. After being a mother I feel I have become more confident. I dont care much about what others will say? At the end of the day when I see those 2 pairs of happy eyes, the world seems like a beautiful place! Being a mother has taught me that its ok to advertise and market yourself at times.
• #27: While you are treading this path and rapidly progressing, you need to slow down once in a while and evaluate if you are doing it right - are you happy doing what you want? Do you need to make any changes to your life's project plan? Follow the agile methodology and keep connecting with yourself by giving yourself timely feedbacks! Appraise your progress. Invest in continuous improvement! You need to ensure you are continuously improving the quality of your life, improving the quality time your spend with your kids and improving on the efforts you put at work!