Kathy Keating Fosters Gender Diversity From a Leadership Position

A successful software engineering executive, Kathy Keating is recognized as a leader and innovator in the world of technology. Over the course of her career, she’s helped to build four successful startups, founded her own consulting business, guided product strategy for a number of companies, and implemented numerous highly complex software applications. From these leadership positions, she’s also worked hard to level the playing field when it comes to the inherent gender bias that exists in the industry.

Kathy began her odyssey with technology back in the 1980s, an archaic time for computing when code had to be saved on cards and cassette tapes. Instantly enamored of the craft, she became more involved with programming when she was invited to participate in the University of Arizona’s “Women and Minorities in Engineering” program for two summers in a row. She also competed for and won, a place on the NRECA Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington D.C. Those experiences opened her eyes to the possibilities that an engineering career could provide.

Upon earning a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Arizona, Kathy entered the technology industry, working first as a software engineer, and then later as a principal software consultant. As she excelled in her career she was given more responsibility, and soon she was tasked with coordinating groups of programmers on increasingly complex projects. There she found her calling, with her inherent talent for building effective teams and helping them to coordinate their efforts becoming readily apparent.

As she rose through the ranks and began to take on greater leadership roles, Kathy worked to improve gender parity. Being an executive in a position of power, she was able to influence hiring decisions in order to increase the opportunities available for females to succeed in technology roles. To provide a fair and equal review, Kathy has learned how to use hiring techniques like scorecards and tests that level the playing field. She’s even been known to remove names from all resumes during the initial review. She found that more diverse teams were more effective, dynamic, and able to make sounder and more sustainable decisions.

Outside of her professional efforts, Kathy also volunteers her personal time towards working to reduce gender bias in the industry. Kathy is heavily involved in mentoring Go Code Colorado teams, the state-sponsored open data initiative that challenges teams in a hackathon format to build apps (and companies). She has mentored a number of young people who were interested in software engineering careers and is involved in coaching less experienced women at Women Who Code and other meetup events. While she is happy with the success that she has had so far, she is still trying to do more. Her dream is to eventually be involved in a B Corp company focused on social consumer applications where she will be able to give back to the world on a daily basis.