Bo English-Wiczling is a Senior Director at Oracle leading the developer relations initiatives for Oracle Database. She has been a leader in technology for more than 27 years, created new products and teams from scratch, and tackled some of the most difficult challenges with creative solutions.
Motivation to Speak at the Conference
Are you excited to speak at the Women in Tech Global Conference and what motivated you to join our community of 100, 000 women in tech, minorities, and allies?
I am SUPER excited to speak at the Women in Tech Global Conference! As a female Tech leader and the Chair of Oracle’s Asian ERG, my passion is raising women and all minorities to leadership levels in Tech. Tech should be representative of our community and currently, it’s got a ways to go, and I want to do my part in my corner of the world. When I look around a Zoom call, a meeting, or a conference, I want to see others that look like me and can bring diversity of thought to solving challenges in our workplace.
Background and Inspiration
Share with us about your background, your journey in tech, and what inspired you to develop your career in this direction?
As a female immigrant from Korea, opportunities for me were almost nonexistent in Korea. My family emigrated to the US when I was 4 years old for the dream of a better life, and we struggled to climb out of poverty for many years. For women in Korea at that time, you could only overcome poverty through marriage, which meant becoming a stay-at-home mother, maid, cook, etc…but I had other dreams. I managed to learn English, attend college, and I started my journey as a developer, eventually moving into leadership roles. I was inspired to get into tech, because as a child I really enjoyed coding and tinkering with my first computer—a Commodore 64 (if that tells you how old I am)! As I advanced in my career, climbing the leadership ladder meant that I needed to take on larger scope and that required managing large teams, which is how I ended up where I am today.
Why is the topic “The Only Woman in the Room” important to you?
I want other female and aspiring female leaders to know that being the only woman in the room, while scary, can be a great first step to opening doors for yourself. Once you walk through that door, you crack that open for your fellow female warriors, and that is how you pay it forward.
Who would you advise to attend the Women in Tech Global Conference and why?
Everyone should attend, no matter your gender, race, ability, age, or experience. We should learn from each other, help one another, and support each other until we are all equal.
