This session flips the perspective.

In this GET /Ready, Miriam Greis shares what actually happens on the other side of the review process.

She answers what makes someone keep reading, what signals credibility, and where strong ideas quietly fall short.

If you’ve ever submitted a talk (or are thinking about it), this is a useful place to start.

More often, it’s:

A racing heart.
A dry mouth.
The quiet voice that says, “What if I’m not ready?”

For so many people, the hardest part of speaking isn’t writing the talk.

It’s standing backstage, waiting to hear your name.

In this GET /Ready session, we slowed that moment down.

Not to eliminate nerves.
But to understand them.

Because nerves don’t mean you shouldn’t be there.
They usually mean you care.

We talked about what actually helps.

Small, steady practices.
Preparation that creates calm.
Ways to anchor yourself before stepping forward.

Confidence, we realised, isn’t loud.

It’s quiet self-trust.

It’s knowing you’ve done the work.
It’s choosing to show up even when your voice shakes slightly at the start.

If you’ve ever felt capable in your work but unsure on a stage, then this conversation is for you.

Not to turn you into someone else.

But to help you feel more like yourself up there.

The full session is now available if you’d like to sit with it.

And if this topic feels close to home, you’re not alone in that. Most of us are building confidence in real time.

Subscribe now

—

Women in APIs
Practical Support, when you’re ready to be heard

In this next edition of GET /Ready, we turned our attention to a role that’s often underestimated:

Being a Master of Ceremonies.

Because hosting isn’t just about introducing speakers.

It’s about shaping the experience of the entire event.

For this session, we were joined by:

• Matt Feigal, Principal Partner Engineer at Google

• Imma Valls, Developer Advocate at Grafana Labs

Together, we explored what makes an MC effective, not performative.

We covered:

• How to think in terms of audience journey, not agenda items

• How to frame speakers in a way that elevates them

• How to manage energy and transitions

• What to prepare in advance (and what not to improvise)

• How to stay calm when things don’t go to plan

The core message?

Being an MC is leadership.

It’s presence.
It’s stewardship.
It’s creating space for others to shine.

If you’ve been asked to host an event (or you’re curious about stepping into that role) this session offers structure and clarity, not just encouragement.

🎥 The full conversation is now available here.

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—

Women in APIs
Practical Support, when you’re ready to be heard

You have the experience.

But turning that knowledge into a Call For Papers (CFP) that catches a reviewer’s eye?

That’s where many brilliant people hesitate.

In this GET /Ready session, we sat down with Marjukka Niinioja — seasoned speaker, author, and conference organiser — to unpack what really makes a submission stand out.

Not from theory.

From having reviewed hundreds of CFPs herself.

And here’s what became clear:

It’s rarely about being the “most advanced” speaker in the room.

It’s about clarity.

Relevance.

Intentional positioning.

🎥 The full conversation is now available here.

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—

Women in APIs
Practical Support, when you’re ready to be heard

Each session tackles a different part of the journey.
Each brings in a guest speaker to share real experience and practical advice.
Each focuses on solutions, not theory.

Because speaking confidence isn’t built all at once.
It’s built step by step.

This very first session focused on something many people don’t talk about:

The hardest part isn’t the talk.
It’s the ask.

You find the perfect conference.
You have a strong idea.
You’re ready to submit.

And then the questions begin:

Will my manager approve the time off?
Is there budget for travel?
How do I justify preparation time?

Without clear answers, it’s easy to close the tab and think, “Maybe next time.”

So we explored:

• How to position speaking as business value

• How to approach the employer conversation

• What being “ready” actually means

• Practical steps to move forward with confidence

Today, we’re making this first session publicly available for the first time. Substack will now become the home for our recorded GET /Ready conversations, so these ideas can travel further, while the community remains at the heart of it all.

If you’ve been hesitating at the “ask” stage, this is a gentle place to begin.

🎥 The session is now available here.

Subscribe now

—

Women in APIs
Practical Support, when you’re ready to be heard

What’s your background and how did you get involved in apidays?

Oriane: I have been working with apidays for several years, in Paris when I was working as extra staff for the event, which is the biggest one. In May 2025, I started working with APIs as speaker and community manager. My role is to manage all the speakers, the agenda and all the partners, as well as to build a strong community around the events.

What does that involve?

We have a call for papers so people submit their talk here. With Mehdi (Medjaoui, Founder & Chairman of apidays), we choose which talk is the best one for the story. We also have to fit them within the tracks: we have several themes with all our conferences and we choose few speakers. So my role is to contact them, explain what is going to happen during the event, give them all the logistics information and answer any questions. That’s a big part of my job!

When you receive a submission, what are the features that make you think “that is going to be a great talk”?

This is more Mehdi’s part, but as I said - it’s the story. If someone is coming and just sharing a narrative, that’s great - but we are also looking for innovation. And it’s a big help if the talk is well prepared. Sometimes we have someone who has really interesting things to say, but is not ready for a talk. So we are just trying to make things ready for the day of the event.

What support do you offer to people who you think are close but not quite ready?

We have a platform, apiMasters. This has some information for them to follow and help them improve on the technical side. There is also, of course, Women In APIs who have GET /Speaking to prepare them to speak in front of people. And we are trying to develop apiMasters to provide some education on how to prepare a strong presentation in the future. When they're ready they can submit again on the CFP and, hopefully, we choose them!

What impact is Women In APIs having on that pipeline of people who are coming forward to talk?

Women in APIs is really important, because just a few years ago at our events, the audience was almost entirely men. At that time, seeing women present was very rare. But with this initiative, we are now seeing the percentage of women who are putting themselves forward increasing a lot and we are trying to give more chances to these women. Sometimes women are just afraid to speak in front of people, but with Women In APIs we are giving them that opportunity.

What are the things that hold people back from putting themselves up to speak?

This is hard, because I have only been here since May and I haven't had the chance to see all of these things. Women often have more doubts about their own legitimacy. Even though we are in the 21st Century and things have changed a lot, women are still not always able to speak up at work without prejudice. This doesn’t help build the confidence needed to stand up in front of an audience.

Do you have any ambitions for how you'd like to change the composition of the speakers who are stepping up, going forward?

We have more and more women coming forward to speak. And even though there are already around 10 Women In APIs events per year, I hope we can have more in different cities, to attract people from all around the world. I hope this lowers the barriers for people who can’t come because it’s too much to travel, and allows people who they think they're not able to do it to make that final step.

What is the most gratifying part of your work with apidays?

When I am at the event and just seeing all the speakers on the first day. They don't even recognize me because I send a lot of emails, but many of them have never seen my face! But after they just come to me and say “You’re Oriane! Thank you very much for this or that” - yeah, I feel very gratified by this part.

Are there any talks coming up at apidays London that you're especially interested in?

There is Liya Matthew (Senior Analyst at Goldman Sachs) who is going to speak and I think it's going to be really interesting - I'm really happy to have her. And also Samyu Ayyar (CTO – Business Architecture at Lloyds Banking Group). I think her talk will be really interesting too.

Can you give us a taster of what that’s going to be about?

Samyu’s going to be talking about API intelligence and transforming governance and design with AI because, of course, AI is a really big subject right now. And Liya’s is on “Painting Software Green” - all about sustainability.

Do you have any experience yourself in doing public speaking, or is this something you would like to do?

Not really, since high school! We have this “influencer soirée” just before each event where I make a short presentation of who I am, so that people can see me - for the first time sometimes. So I get these five minutes presenting myself. But yeah, why not one day?

You work remotely. Do you think that remote work is a leveller for women and minorities?

In my case, I don’t think it makes much of a difference. Remote work can remove some barriers, like commuting or balancing family schedules, but it doesn’t really address the deeper issues of visibility, recognition, and bias that women and minorities still face.

Where might people be able to find you at apidays London to ask you about speaking?

I will be running around everywhere to find people and speak to the speakers as much as possible, because this is the only time where I can see them for real! So I try to make contact with all the speakers because my goal is also to create a real community between all the speakers. I work fully remotely so it’s important to connect personally when I can. So if you see me during the event, I'll probably be talking to someone, but come and say hello! I’d be happy to discuss with you!

Seven other invitees around the table of 10 included faces familiar from similar events, or quickly positioned themselves as like-minded types. They were peers: local champions for women in tech at their organisations and role models for diversity and inclusion.

They were all smiles, warm chats, and laughs. The mood was one of warm introduction and camaraderie. There was a feeling of shared purpose and anticipation of a fun night ahead. It was another cog in the wheel of change to improve the gender balance in tech workplaces.

There was one man at our table, sitting next to a woman in a junior role from his team.

His tech leadership job title was impressive. He was the senior representative for the company sponsoring the table, and our host for the evening.

I’d met him in a work context before. He was the kind of person who was used to commanding a room; speaking with authority; trading sports banter and in-house jokes with his colleagues.

He could look equally comfortable in the board room, or down the pub after work.

That night, he looked distinctly uncomfortable.

He was quiet. He sat, hunched over, looking embarrassed to be there. He even seemed physically smaller than I remembered.

I imagined he’d been volun-told to attend: perhaps as part of his professional development feedback, or just by a colleague hoping it might smooth some of the rougher edges of his manner.

Was this a step towards changing his image of typical Boys' club to Inclusive Leader?

His companion appeared to be his chaperone for the night. Was she there to give him safety in numbers?

As the evening wore on, he made an effort to contribute more to the conversation. But noticeably made an excuse to leave soon after dessert.

He may have genuinely had personal reasons to need to leave early, or was he struggling to relax in a professional environment were he was very much the minority?

I couldn’t help myself thinking: “Now you know how it feels.”

There wasn’t a chance to explore later whether the evening had helped him see the world a little differently. Whether he might have gone home, or back to work the next day, and had any different thoughts or conversations about what inclusion can look like in the workplace.

Hopefully, the event did influence him in a positive way.

For the rest of our table, we were already converts to the cause. We made contacts that helped us move some of our other projects forward. We got to hear about others’ successes as motivation to keep going.

I can't remember anything about the awards themselves.

So when people ask if we'll do a WIAs awards, I think back to that evening.

And will reply with one or more of the many other reasons it has not been a priority to date; or may be one soon.

Reason 1 | We're volunteer-led.

Women in APIs relies on the incredible dedication of our volunteers. They give their time to help others in their speaking journeys, grow their own skills, and advance their own careers.

Behind every polished awards type of event are hours, days, and weeks of detailed event management – booking venues, issuing tickets, finding sponsors, and dealing with a thousand last-minute changes.

It’s a job for event management professionals.

To run an awards ceremony properly, we'd need to employ people or hire a third-party company, both of which would still consume valuable volunteer time we believe we can spend more usefully elsewhere.

Reason 2 | We prioritise our investments.

We rely on support from the team at APIdays, our sponsors, and resources from partner organisations to run our programs and events.

Rather than using our limited resources to recognise a few prominent individuals, we believe we can deliver value for all our members more efficiently through our existing programs.

Reason 3 | We face logistical challenges.

The WIAs community reflects APIs and the internet: we our truly global with members calling more than 60 countries their home.

We regularly hear from our members who already find it hard enough to get it to their nearest apidays conference (where we hold most of our WIAs meetups).

If we were to pick an apidays conference date for an award, most of our members would still be unable to attend. Unless we went virtual or hybrid, which becomes complex (see Reason 1).

Reason 4 | Time is the real currency.

It's not just about our costs.

Time is a precious commodity, and we want to ensure our members are spending it on things that they tell us moves the needle for them.

Nominating someone, attending, or being nominated for an award also costs time for our busy community members.

A successful nomination takes time to prepare, and those who are working hardest may simply lack the bandwidth to put themselves or their colleagues forward.

This can lead to a lack of credibility for the winner, or distrust that the event judges are truly independent.

Or there are so few nominations, there’s a perception of “everyone gets a prize for participation”, which can devalue the feeling the award is worth something.

Reason 5 | Award for what?

Our purpose remains unchanged: to help people be seen and heard in the public domain.

An awards process would certainly help some individuals gain visibility, but what would we award them for?

• Most generous volunteer?

• Fastest member to 10x their LinkedIn following?

• Most popular first-time speaker talk?

• Most helpful male ally?

At our core, we are about getting more people (and more voices)“ready to speak.”

We want to empower individuals so that when they're invited to speak at a large tech event, they respond with confidence: "It'll be a first…but I'm up for it!" We want to help them sleep easy, knowing they know their stuff and will come across confidently.

Is that award-worthy? Judge-able? Or just a vibe…?

Reason 6 | We want to focus on the real recognition.

We’re really about giving people the space that gets them the [public] recognition they seek and deserve: namely for the important API-related work that they (and their teams) are doing every day.

The recognition that leads to job satisfaction and sense of achievement; bonuses and pay rises; promotions and new job opportunities.

We stay faithful to ourselves, our members, and our sponsors/partners that we believe better visibility in the public domain will ultimately encourage more women and people from underrepresented minorities to join, and then to stay part of, the tech industry as a whole.

This means we can recognise people in other ways:

• Micro-amplifications (”micro-amps”): Compliment a colleague's work: make more deliberate appreciations during moments that matter to the person being complimented.

• LinkedIn shout-outs: Encourage satisfied customers or colleagues to give a shout-out on LinkedIn, or do the same for someone else.

• Stage presence: Speak at (or nominate a speaker for) an apidays conference about a project to be proud of, or an idea under development.

• Wider engagement: Influence or lead your company’s sponsorship programs to make a measurable difference in a relevant area for their business.

If someone you know is nominated for or wins an award, of course, be supportive! These moments can feel special, and it's crushing when others don't recognise their personal significance. But let's also use these opportunities to spark meaningful conversations about what can truly drive change.

That said, our door's always open to new ideas...

If you think that we could do more to recognise and reward people in and around our opportunity, I'd love to hear your ideas. Send us your thoughts to womeninapis@apidays.io.

We’ve all been there. Chatting to someone at a conference (maybe a GET /Connecting). You know you’ve met before, but their name went into the back of your mind and slipped out when it knew you weren’t looking. Or it’s just hiding behind some useless trivia.

Then an old friend or colleague (let’s call her Anna) comes up, expecting to you to introduce them. You can try to be evasive and get her to ask the name for you. Sometimes you have no choice but to say:

“Anna, this is… I’m so sorry, can you remind me of your name?”

It feels embarrassing and uncomfortable, but it could (and does) happen to anybody. The good news is that there are many ways to avoid this situation.

1. Active listening. Often we enter a conversation thinking about what we are going to say. Instead try to begin with an open mind, or just a few questions. If you “prime” yourself, you are more likely to hold on to a piece of information (this also works for reading!). Consciously decide that you will remember it, and you will.

2. Repetition. You’ve heard this one before. Try to repeat the name a couple of times in the conversation. Opportunities to do this include: as soon as you meet, while shaking hands (”Hi Benji, nice to meet you”); introducing an additional person to the conversation; and at the end. Of course using it in every other sentence would be effective, but would come across as eccentric - at best!

3. Spell it out. If someone has an unusual or unfamiliar name, it's reasonable to ask them how to spell it. Visualising writing down someone’s name, or (according to some experts) making micro-movements with your hand as though you were actually holding a pen helps fix the memory. Allegedly Franklin Roosevelt memorised the name of every member of staff by visualising it written on their forehead in Magic Marker!

4. Association. It is well known that the strength of a memories are built on the connections between them. There are a few strategies you can use to build these connections:

   • Wordplay. Any alliteration or rhyme can help, eg Jenny picked up a penny, missile Megan.

   • Mnemonics. Try breaking a name down and seeing what that makes you think of, maybe connecting it to something else you know about them. Grace Hopper from New York - could you imagine her hopping gracefully over the Empire State Building?

   • Fame. Find a famous person with the same name that they remind you of. Maybe John the project manager looks a bit like John Travolta. In your mind’s eye, dress him up like a member of the T-Birds.

5. Visualisation. Picturing something activates a different part of your memory from remembering or repeating words. Imagine Sophie hauling a sofa, or Isabelle as a bell. The more bizarre the image, the more memorable it will be!

6. Facial features. Choose a distinctive feature of their appearance and connect it to their name (Tall Paul). The first thing that jumps out to you is best - even if it isn’t flattering! Nobody else needs to know. Try not to base it on their clothes or hair - it’s unlikely to be the same next time you meet. You can pair this with visualisation or mnemonics: if Sophie is small, maybe it’s because she’s crushed under the weight of that sofa?

7. Forgetting. Meeting new people can be stressful and even with these techniques there is a chance you will simply forget. You can try to subtly ask a mutual friend, but it’s often best to be honest. They won't be offended and possibly relieved - they might have been trying to recall your name at the same time! Being comfortable with the prospect of forgetting can reduce the pressure and actually help prevent it happening.

Everyone’s memory works differently. Try some of these strategies at your next conference and find a system that works for you. See if you can spot others doing the same!

Remember: there is no such thing as being bad with names. A name is a piece of information like any other and can be learnt with time. You wouldn’t expect to be instantly ready for to make a presentation on a new topic - you review and study it. At the end of a conference or networking event, try looking at a group photo and seeing who you remember.

When meeting someone for the first time online, it can be easy to neglect their name - it’s written just under their face! So it’s especially important to remember it. Include the personal details that might seem frivolous in your notes so that you can make an impression when you meet again.

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, it’s all about connection. Deliberately creating these mental associations (the more bizarre, the more memorable) is a good hack, but the key to remembering someone, and being memorable, is to build a rapport. Be curious about their life and work, find some common ground, and these connections will come naturally. Having an energising, interesting conversation is what counts. The next time you meet, you will remember each other - even if the name isn’t on the tip of your tongue.

"But I don't know if I can get company approval to speak in public."

We hear this a lot from members of our community. They want to speak in public… but feel held back by company policies and constraints. Or just don’t know if there is a process they need to follow, and if so, what it is.

All organisations are different.

Some encourage employees to speak openly and often in different forums: it may even be in the expectations of their job role! Others provide support from an internal PR / corporate affairs team. Others provide help and guidance with speaking up, or require “media training” to handle difficult questions. Others want to make sure branding and messages are consistent with other materials and content out in the public domain.

Navigating all that is before even starting work on the topic to talk about!

But it makes sense.

Let’s take a large, publicly listed company, for example. It may have thousands, or tens of thousands of employees and stakeholders; and millions of customers with a level of trust (and scrutiny) that goes with that. Leadership teams may be understandably cautious about sharing perspectives, directly or indirectly, about their business strategies and their implementation…which may well play out in how they design and manage their APIs.

It makes sense to want to be consistent with, say, investor briefings or market/product announcements or press releases.

Leaders may also want to ensure that stories and experiences shared in the public domain, are done so with the right context.

Think of the perspective you have of your organisation’s product plans, or business strategies as the view from a mountain. Clearly, the view changes as you climb higher. Those at the ‘base camp’ of an organisation, operating as part of API integration or implementing workflows, systems and solutions on a day-to-day basis might have a different perspective from someone at setting strategy and product plans with a view from the summit. They may have longer term plans and goals, from their view across many different teams and parts of the organisation. There may need to be nuance in how these different perspectives are communicated.

Someone reviewing your talk idea, or the draft of your presentation, may be looking to ensure this nuance is addressed in your content. They are effectively providing you with the opportunity to see the world from a wider perspective.

It may sound hard, but is often easier than it looks.

Organisations’ willingness to support their people speaking in public, can vary a lot with context.

The event and audience. The topic. The timing relative to other talks being given by your colleagues at other events etc.

If you look at it from the perspective of your employer sponsoring you to put your time in (and the time of others) to help you make sure you have a fantastic presentation that showcases you and the organisation you work for, then it’s reasonable to expect an understanding of the benefit from participation.

Your in-house branding or speaker support person will typically provide you with standard slides, looks and feels, templates, logos, use of branding. You may be asked to include some relatively generic content such as company key facts and figures; or legal content caveats.

Typically, you’ll need explain what the speaking event is, whether there would be media present, the typical audience profile, who the other speakers and what major themes for the conference are.

Some teams and companies have an allocation of conference monies and you might want to be considered as a recipient of cover for expenses or time - or you may need to take leave. There are many opportunities and avenues for people to be able to get out into the public domain and you need to make the case for why this would be something that would stand out and really make a difference.

Ways you can participate

Show up. Participation is a way to grow your network and access the latest knowledge and experience. Listen to talks, ask questions, contribute to round tables and get copies of slides to share afterwards. A great way for you to make an impact in your company community is to organise some follow-up brown bag lunches or input feedback on what you learned- what some of the themes were and insights that are going to be important.

Become a panel member. This may be easier as it has a different level of company support. You will need to have a set of pre-agreed questions or topics that will be covered on the panel. Some companies have a policy that questions and even answers are pre-curated and prepared. You may have to explain what you’re going to get out of this experience. At our API Economy Summit we have headliners who are the equivalent of panel members. They co-create the content but it is not from their company - it’s more from them as an individual.

Represent your organisation - or yourself. With the right approval you can speak as a representative of your company. For companies that are uncomfortable being visible next to your name and role this can be implied (eg: technology leader/enterprise architect at leading British/European/global business) and you may have the opportunity to speak as an individual. In that case, take care not to use any company branding and make clear that you are expressing personal opinions that are separate from views and insights of your employers. It is possible to use public research or papers with transparency, while respecting the full confidentiality of your job and what that means for your clients, customers and colleagues.

General reminders

Three things to have in mind when you’re speaking in public as a company employee:

• You are being an ambassador for your company: own it and be comfortable in the role.

• Stay positive and avoid stories or examples that directly or indirectly judge someone or another team in a negative way, when your audience lacks background and context.

• Stick with views/opinions/stories, case studies, or lessons learned that you’d be comfortable sharing on LinkedIn.

At apidays NYC recently—as has been the case for so many conferences on anything tech-related, an AI lens over the API space dominated many of the talks.

Women In APIs community ally and voracious v/blogger, Erik Wilde, was walking the floor and getting the lowdown from recognised API experts’ views on what AI means for APIs.

Check out Erik’s video here for the full details.

Meanwhile, key takeaways are:

• The general consensus is that AI is a good thing for the continued importance of APIs and there is growing interdependence on each other.

• To be AI-ready, have your API house in order.

• Higher quality APIs = a good quality AI outcome, relying on robust API governance.

• API design is no longer just for developers; but also for ‘the machine’ or AI agents, thinking about semantics and bots.

• AI agents can get prototypes and innovation happening faster and more cheaply.

• APIs need to be discoverable to AI agents.

• AI has brought visibility to APIs and API design: both good and bad.

• API standards and discipline are even more important than they have been.

Our memories of loved ones are often for their quirks. The things they held strongly that we didn't care as much about.

My grandmother obsessed about slouching. "Head up! Shoulders down!" she'd say if she caught you hunched over a book, or looking just a bit too relaxed at the dining table.

In the era of professional video calls or participating at virtual events, your online appearance does matter.

Including how you hold yourself.

While we're going "off road" from APIs this week, conference season for 2025 is well under way.

So it's time to share some tips that will help you present yourself in the best light. For participating in a virtual conference. Or just attending your next virtual meeting.

You may well use many of these every day. Even so, a quick reminder is always worthwhile.

1. Use Light to your Advantage

Good lighting can do wonders for your appearance on camera.

A ring light is an excellent investment, but if you don’t have one, natural light is your next best option.

Sit facing a window so the light falls evenly on your face. If direct sunlight is too harsh, diffuse it with a sheer fabric or light curtain to avoid squinting or harsh shadows.

Always ensure your primary light source is in front of you, not behind, to avoid looking like a silhouette.

To learn more about lighting, explore the techniques photographers use to show people at their best.

2. Choose a Professional Background

Your background sets the tone for how you’re perceived.

Even if you’re working from home, a tidy and neutral background is essential. No one wants to see last night’s dishes or a pile of laundry.

If possible, blur your background or use a virtual backdrop. Opt for simple or nature-inspired designs, saving bright and quirky backgrounds for casual chats with friends.

3. Align Your Camera Angle

Set your camera at eye level to create a better connection.

You may need to prop up your device to achieve this.

Avoid angles where the camera points up at your nostrils or down at your forehead. Position yourself within the frame so your head, shoulders, and upper torso are visible.

Make sure you’re centred in the screen for a polished and professional look.

Practice looking at the camera itself as you speak. And it does take practice!

4. Dress the Part

While pyjama bottoms might be acceptable for virtual calls, your top half should always look professional.

Dress as though you were meeting in person—you don’t want to look like you just rushed in from gardening or a jog.

5. Use the Correct Display Name

Ensure your name is displayed correctly on the video call.

If you’re using someone else’s device, update the name in the settings. A professional display name avoids confusion and adds credibility. After all, no one wants to address “James’s iPhone” when talking to Sally.

6. Test Your Equipment

Always check your video and microphone settings before joining a call. A quick test ensures you’ll avoid technical hiccups and start the call smoothly.

By following these simple tips, you’ll ensure you show up online in the best possible light—literally and figuratively!

7. Sit up straight

It's the virtual version of the "power pose" from Amy Cuddy and others. It projects confidence and makes you feel more confident.

If you use a standing desk, then it's even easier...

“You overestimate what you can do in a year. And underestimate what you can do in five to ten.”

A version of this quote—and its many variants on the internet—is originally attributed to Bill Gates.

It could be a great mantra for Women In APIs.

And as we move on from March 2025, we can also reflect on some history of International Women’s Day (IWD).

Its origins go back to 1908. That’s 136 years ago.

For many, celebrating IWD for the full month of March is the annual reminder of how much there is still to do. To reduce gender pay inequality. To keep people safe. To create better balanced teams.

Teams that have more nuanced conversations and take better decisions around the hard stuff.

Balanced teams are important for creating, designing and deploying APIs.

If APIs are the connective tissue powering the internet, then their use cases are as broad as the potential uses of the internet. Given APIs enable digital products to reach into and beyond current ecosystems… then different voices offer input and experiences from those other industries, technologies, data schemas and organisational cultures.

For Women In APIs (WIAs), March is a significant milestone.

And March 2020 specifically.

At WIAs, seedlings of the community had been pushing out from the earth during 2019. Groups were getting together at occasional apidays conferences for informal meet-ups as a group of “Women In APIs”. Our membership consisted of some 30 names on a spreadsheet.

There was clearly a high demand for getting together, but to what end?

We needed a purpose.

Something that connected with our origins : getting more women and people from underrepresented minorities speaking at apidays events and tech conferences more widely.

Something that addressed a problem other women-in-tech communities and initiatives hadn’t explicitly picked out to work on as their main game. Something easy to remember.

We settled on:

Helping people be seen and heard in the public domain.

It hasn’t changed. And still works for us.

Then in March 2020, the pandemic hit.

A small group of us with a shared interest in making APIs work—as engineers, technical writers, strategists, and product managers—had met or heard of each other before The World Changed.

Feeling a desire for connection, we started getting together remotely through those first strange weeks. Weeks that turned into months. And years.

We designed and rolled out a 4-step program to help people build skills and confidence with speaking in public.

The format and content of GET /Speaking has been been iterated and improved on since. But the content—in a format of “structured, unstructured conversation”—would look familiar to any of those people who signed up with us in those weird times.

Needing a nudge to take the next speaking step. Seeking connection with like-minded peers.

Getting ready to speak.

Since then, more than 350 people have been through our GET /Speaking events. In the last 18 months, we've been able to hold them in person at Google offices in London, Melbourne, Amsterdam, Paris and San Francisco. WIAs members at Atlassian in Sydney and Code Sherpas in Barcelona have arranged to provide us with venues and catering at their offices.

Thanks to our generous sponsors and dedicated volunteers, our public programs continue to be able to be offered free to attendees.

We also get approaches to run the program for companies in-house. This comes as a paid service to help fund the cost of administering our other WIAs activities. If this is something your organisation could be interested in, get in touch via email at womeninapis@apidays.io.

Connecting with others in a disconnected world.

Another initiative that has its roots from the pandemic era is our program of GET /Connecting meetups. They started in a virtual format—who remembers the fun of the online party platform Spatial Chat?!—until apidays pivoted back to in-person from the end of 2022. Since then, our WIAs breakfasts have become a popular fixture at apidays conferences.

And up to 50% of the people who attend are male allies.

This is a statistic to be particularly proud of, given the gender agenda really is and should be an everybody conversation.

As we kick off the 2025 conference season with apidays Singapore less than two weeks away, it does feel like we underestimated what we could achieve when we started this five years ago.

We are fast approaching our 1000th Women In APIs member. Our members come from 45 countries. Local community champions are picking up and running with their own chapters and activities.

Closer to home, if we overestimate what we plan to do before the end of 2025, I’m not worried. The "to do" list is long, the ambitions bold, and we have growing numbers of awesome people putting in time to help. And generous sponsors continuing to support us.

Last week we were in Barcelona for the second session in our first in-person GET /Speaking program in Spain. It's our flagship program to help people build skills and confidence with speaking in front of large(r) audiences.

And it came up again.

The fear of speaking to an audience in English when it’s not your first language.

There are an estimated 380 million people who speak English as a first language. Less than 5% of the world’s population.

Yet English is estimated as the first or second language for more than 1.5 billion people; the highest figure for any language.

This is reflected in the global tech conference industry, which is dominated by English-speaking events and programs.

Events and programs our community wants to speak at.

Yet to speak at any conference, there are multiple hurdles to get through.

Hurdles that are all harder in your second or third language, such as:

1️⃣ A submission process where you may need to fall back on a favourite Gen AI checker and/or translation tool.

2️⃣ A well crafted script and content that will probably take you much longer to prepare and rehearse than if you were doing it in your native language.

3️⃣ A supportive environment and moderator who helps you relax and manage audience expectations around your talk.

And then there are the fears people tell us they have:

❓How can I inject my personality and some humour into the talk without accidentally offending someone?

❓What will I do if someone asks a question that I can’t hear properly, or don’t understand?

❓What if I can’t answer the question well, because I’ll be nervous?

Our advice for all this is to reframe.

Turn being a non-native English speaker into an unfair advantage.

Here are three reasons why:

1. You’re more likely to use simple language

Speaking on tech topics often calls for explanations. New concepts to explore. New content to share. New code to demo.

When explained in simple language, in direct and active language, the easier for the audience to understand. Easier for them to learn from you. To be influenced by your ideas and opinions.

2. Your audience will allow for your use of the language

If there are native English speakers in your audience, expect them to be used to hearing non-native speakers. They’ll be happy filling in missing words, accommodating for different accents and word orders, allowing for grammar mistakes etc.

They may not be so forgiving of a native English speaker.

They’ll expect nuance and elegance in the delivery. Perhaps more wit and humour.

3. It’s easier to speak more slowly

When we’re nervous, our talking can speed up. Speed-talking can be harder for people to follow us. To absorb the messages we’re trying to get across.

If speaking in a different language, we can (intentionally) slow down our delivery. To make sure each word is spoken clearly.

That's being kind to the audience.

And being kind to ourselves. Slowing our speaking pace tends to mean our breathing slows. The more oxygen in our system, the more relaxed we can feel.

In October last year, I got to speak at Nordic APIs on the importance of having different perspectives and inputs as part of the creative API process.

In preparing for the talk, I wanted to make sure the audience took away the message that diverse teams are part of identifying and building good APIs.

Teams who need to perform the mental gymnastics required to connect deeply with engineers as customers.

Teams who need to collaborate with people at partner organisations in new and imaginative ways. To come up with creative ways to solve problems for those partners and their customers.

Teams who need to manage shifts in thinking and behaviour to adopt an “API-first” mindset.

More perspectives, easier navigation.

It's easier to get fresh perspectives with a team of people who represent different technical or business disciplines.

Who have experience with, and understand the terminology in, other industries and ecosystems.

Who may be different ages, cultural backgrounds, or genders.

But it can take longer.

A less diverse small, tight group of people who look and think the same way can have the advantage of being quick to get on the same page. To reach consensus. To make decisions.

It’s just worth asking if they are making the best decision?

In my experience, different voices in the room provides fresh perspectives. Better, earlier understanding of risks. Simpler and more elegant ways of solving problems.

Strategising, designing, building, testing, deploying, governing, and/or monitoring APIs all call for diverse views. As with any tech. And AI.

And never more so in the world we find ourselves in today.

Yet there’s still work to do.

The work of helping people be seen and heard in the public domain is still needed.

As shown by the demand for our programs which continues to grow.

We got to kick off GET /Speaking in Barcelona last week. It was great to hear how many of the group are committing to submit talks for apidays conferences, local meetups, or internal company presentations.

These are the practical ways people are showcasing their knowledge and talents, and those of the teams they work with.

Giving opinions. Growing confidence. Getting recognised.

Inching towards better balance in the tech industry at large.

While recognising things are changing.

It’s almost impossible to ignore the news headlines and stories, and to think of so many people and teams—and their families and communities—being impacted right now (directly or indirectly) by changed plans and priorities.

In last October’s talk, I referred to what I term the “DEI backlash” and some of the questions it was raising for me personally. Even challenging some of my own views that I'd been building over 15 years or so.

But for now, I’m not changing my underlying message. That different perspectives makes sense.

Commercially. Practically. Ethically.

And everyone continues to be welcome as part of that conversation. No matter their gender.

​Claire Barrett​

(Co-lead, Women in APIs)

...I take the microphone in my hands. My presentation is on the screen. More than 40 people are looking at me. My heart is beating faster in anticipation of the bright moment...

Just a few months ago, this would have been unimaginable.

I'd been looking for an opportunity to speak in front of a large and experienced audience for three years. I'd practised a lot giving talks online with smaller audiences. And organising events for women to help them excel in the tech industry.

But nothing larger was coming my way. I was getting ghosted by conference organisers. No feedback. Or a simple, courteous "Thank you. Maybe next time".

Then last year, something shifted.

I met some incredible leaders from the Women In APIs community.

Their unwavering support lit a spark within me. They believed in me when I doubted myself and gave me a chance to speak at one of the bigger tech conferences in London, apidays London 2024.

People gave me really positive feedback on my talk on "Microservices Paradise". I got plenty of thoughtful questions and they happily connected to learn more and collaborate in future.

A springboard for greater API impact.

Looking ahead, I'll continue to advocate at every opportunity for greater diversity and inclusion in the API space. I want to use my platform to inspire others to pursue careers in tech and become leaders in their fields. I'm planning more workshops and training porgrams focused on software development and best practices. Courses such as Design Patterns making key technical skills more accessible to wider audiences.

More public speaking opportunities will help me amplify this impact.

What have I learnt?

If you're looking to take the next step in your speaking journey, my advice is simple: Just start!

Tips that have helped me include:

• Find your niche—Focus on a topic that deeply interests you and that you know well. It makes it easier, and your enthusiasm for the subject is natural and more engaging.

• Practice, practice, practice—Rehearse your presentation, ideally in front of a small audience. You can find improvements and improve your confidence.

• Get feedback—Ask trusted colleagues or mentors to give you helpful ways you can improve your presentation content or delivery.

• Join a community—Organistions like Women In APIs offer a safe and encouraging space to practice your speaking skills and get valuable feedback.

• Don't be afraid to be yourself—Authenticity is key. Let your personality shine through and connect with your audience on a personal level.

The API world is full of opportunities. I encourage everyone to embrace them. By connecting, supporting each other, and sharing our knowledge, we can create a more inclusive and vibrant API ecosystem for everyone.

Join WIAs to start your own incredible journey!

Irina Kamalova

London, UK

Confession time.

I can be a serial procrastinator.

One of the things I consistently find excuses to not do… is writing consistently. At least, writing in the public domain.

That means I can miss commitments. Such as making sure this newsletter gets into your inbox every week.

But this month I may have been given the nudge I needed.

Georgina (van Hasselt) who’s been doing an amazing job with ensuring we always get some kind of communication out to you on a regular basis, has needed to focus on her family and other work commitments.

So, for now, it’s on me.

And you! It's thanks you and our amazing global team of volunteers, sponsors and community members who keep us motivated to show up.

Your unprompted DMs on LinkedIn, cheering on Slack channels, and messages on WhatsApp, that tell us what's going on in your lives. The talk you gave. The book you've published. The new job you've got.

And often you thank us for the nudge you got.

From one of our programs. From one of our mentors. From one of our events.

Consistent feedback we get from our ever-popular GET /Speaking program is that it meets the goals—of helping people grow their skills and confidence with speaking in public.

And that it does so in a highly practical way.

It gives them the nudge they need.

• To submit that call for papers (CFP) to the tech conference they always wanted to speak at.

• To go back to their old school or university and share their career story with the next generation of technical talent.

• To start that blog post, or YouTube channel, or upgrade that tired LinkedIn profile.

Nudging through training.

This Wednesday, we’ll be rounding out the first of our US-based GET /Speaking programs, led by Div Manickam and Katie Miller (both in San Francisco).

In the same week, we’ll be kicking off GET /Speaking in Barcelona—our first program in Spain / Catalonia.

It's where you get to build skills and confidence with speaking in public.

We could as well have called it GET /Nudged !

So give yourself a nudge.

Or nudge someone else.

To take that next step in your/their speaking or writing career.

Thank you and stay in touch.

Particularly if you'd like to nudge me along...or write something for this newsletter yourself!

Take care and all the best,

Claire

🎤 The Speaker

Speaking in public is a great way to share your stories and insights; show others you are confident about your expertise and opinions; and start to get known as an authority in your field.

While building their speaking muscles, people tell us they are afraid they’ll get asked a question by someone in their audience that they either don’t understand, or that they can’t answer.

So how to conquer this fear?

1. Know the format and expectations. Will there be a dedicated time for questions, or can people ask during your talk?

2. Speak with your MC or moderator ahead of your talk. How will they help you during Q&A?

3. Give people space to ask the questions, take time to ponder the question…

4. If you’re running out of time, invite them to speak to you later—or even contact you via social channels or your website to follow up later.

5. If you don’t know the answer to the question, say so. Or ask if someone else in the audience knows the answer.

Lastly, if someone looks nervous about coming forward to speak to you but clearly wants to ask you something, help them break the ice with a question such as “How did you find the talk?”.

👤The participant.

Inspired by a speaker whose talk you’ve just heard?

Take time to acknowledge the impact their talk has had on you. Ask a question that shows that you have really listened.

Some conferences will allow for 5 minutes of questions at the end, have a panel with several speakers or the speaker will hang around after the conference to interact with participants.

Here are ways you can connect with a speaker

At a conference:

• During question time - this is often moderated and there is a set time for questions.

• At the end of the talk - some speakers will make themselves available to speak to participants once their talk is over.

• Speakers will usually be around at coffee breaks, this is also a good time to approach a speaker.

Virtually:

1. Connect with them via LinkedIn

2. DM them, let them know when you heard them speak, what you thought, any questions their talk provoked.

However you connect with a speaker, remember to always be respectful.

2024 has definitely been a year of growth. And not just for our membership. The numbers keep growing: to nearly 800 at the current count. But we’re far more proud of the growth from own members’ confidence and success with being seen and heard in the public domain. Success that echoes around the globe through our membership presence in more than 45 countries.

Throughout the year we have hosted a variety of programs.

Some tried and tested.

Some new.

Some refreshed and relaunched.

Our ever-popular GET /Connecting meet-ups continue to grow in numbers. In 2024, more than 350 people attended a GET /Connecting.

Earlier this month we held our sixth and final GET /Connecting for the year, at apidays Paris. It was a sellout event: over 100 people met, connected and explored important questions facing women in the workplace. It was great to see how many male allies contribute to, and get value, from our GET /Connecting events: a signal to the wider API and tech communities that better balance is important to everyone.

Anna Klara Kneller described her experience:.

“The engaging discussions and connections I made were absolutely invaluable. I was deeply moved by the discussions and the attention given to the issue of gender imbalance in IT. It’s an important topic that requires collectives effort, and seeing it addressed so thoughtfully gives me hope for more inclusive future in tech.”

We are most grateful to Marilena Müller, Michelle Ng and the team at Boomi for partnering with us on this.

Our flagship GET /Speaking program continues to gain momentum. In 2024, we ran programs in Paris, Amsterdam, Melbourne and Sydney. In 2025, we plan to roll out to further locations.

Firstly jointly across Denver and San Fransisco, with limited places for remote participants based in the US. Barcelona is in the planning, and we expect to return to locations where our regional community leaders are championing for change and impact in their own areas.

Keep reading our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn to stay in touch with event updates.

Recent feedback from Laura :

“I attended GET /Speaking in Melbourne. It was:

☑️ energizing, not draining

☑️ expertly facilitated

☑️ a great reminder that we all have something to share, or a story to tell, in our own unique way of speaking.”

Our program couldn’t happen without the continued and valued contribution from our growing network of volunteers, our partnership with Google Cloud Apigee, and other local hosts including Atlassian in Sydney.

Last but not least, 2024 saw launch of our pilot GET /LinkingIn series. This was a virtual event expertly facilitated by Laura La Manna and Bailey DeCamillis. Watch this space to see whether it will return to the Women In APIs agenda in 2025. These sessions were invaluable in helping people highlight their skills in a non-bragging but factual way. The program goes hand in hand in with GET /Speaking helping participants to back up their skills and experience and let LinkedIn do the leg work for them.

One of our participants had this to say about the program:

As an introvert, I’ve always found it challenging to showcase my achievements. But after the GET /LinkingIn session, I learned just how important each section on a LinkedIn profile is. I now realize how making minor adjustments can make a big difference in enhancing the visibility and attractiveness of my profile.” - Remya Praveen

Thank you to Bailey and the team at Ambassador for making this program possible.

We are looking forward to seeing what 2025 is going to bring. Let us know if you have taken part in any of our programs. We’d love to hear your feedback on our LinkedIn page or via email.

Want to level up your LinkedIn game without bragging? Here are 5 subtle yet powerful ways to showcase your professional savvy:

1. Create a Custom URL Professional branding starts with a clean, memorable LinkedIn URL. Ditch those random numbers for a sleek, personalised link that’s easy to share.

2. Skip the Hashtag Game Here’s an insider secret: LinkedIn’s algorithm has evolved. Focus on naturally incorporating industry-specific keywords in your content instead of hashtags. The platform now prioritises genuine search intent over hashtag clustering.

3. Strategic Link Placement Want better post reach? Move your external links to the first comment. LinkedIn’s algorithm favours native content, and this simple trick can boost your visibility significantly.

4. Master the @Mention Technique Keep your mentions clean and professional by using first names only when tagging connections. It maintains readability while still engaging your network effectively.

5. Craft Irresistible Opening Lines Your first line is your handshake. Make it count with hooks that create intrigue and drive engagement.

💡 Test these proven hook formats:

• “I tested [common belief] and discovered something unexpected…”

• “The counterintuitive way to [achieve desired outcome]…”

• “3 things nobody tells you about [industry topic]…”

• “I helped my client [achieve result] in [timeframe]. Here’s how…”

🔑 Remember: True LinkedIn success isn’t about showing off—it’s about adding value while showcasing your expertise naturally

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When you hear the word community what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it people who live in your area, is it your colleagues or perhaps it is something else?

A community is a group of people united by a common theme. Unity in community is where the magic happens. It is how change takes place.

Community is at the heart of what we do at Women In APIs. We are all in this community united by a common purpose: helping people be seen and heard in the public domain.

By focusing on people who work in and around APIs (which are everywhere in tech!), we seek to have a small, but meaningful, impact towards better balance in the tech industry at large. Better balance for more innovative, more ethical and more sustainable applications for tech. The tech that impacts our societies.

Our community is growing. Membership is up 50% in the last year. And you have driven that growth!

We thank you and encourage you to continue to include friends and colleagues who you feel will benefit from being part of our community.

We continue to build and grow our global reach.

Thanks to local champions in places like Amsterdam, Sydney, San Francisco, Denver, Barcelona and beyond, we’re holding (or planning to hold) in-person events beyond “just” our apidays conference involvement.

Every one of you that joins our community, attends a workshop or event, and/or offers your precious time to facilitate or mentor helps us getting more people ready to speak and write, while growing their professional network. Thank you!

Last week we kicked off GET /Speaking in Sydney in partnership with Google Cloud and Atlassian.

Here we are on the 27th floor of Atlassian’s offices set against the beautiful backdrop of the Sydney skyline.