Finding Balance – Juggling Obligations, Working Domains, Work & Life
Tackling ambitious projects, dealing with administrative responsibilities, supervising staff or students, moving across countries or even continents. . . and all this while maybe also starting a family and somehow finding time for a life outside work. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? Hence, the fifth Workshop on Women* in Computing was dedicated to the topic of balance and its many meanings when shaping a career in computing. A group of almost forty participants, speakers, and organizers gathered at the TU Berlin to reflect on what finding balance means for them and their careers in inspiring talks and open discussions.
As became apparent during a round of flash introductions, the group of workshop attendees was once again highly diverse and interdisciplinary. This highlighted the relevance of the topic across different disciplines and career stages and brought many fresh perspectives to the discussion rounds.
Four talks about balance — one topic, many different perspectives
Neha Kumar: On Balance, Community, and Care
In their talks, the invited speakers gave some unique and personal insights into their careers and research domains. Neha Kumar, associate professor at Georgia Tech and SIGCHI president, tackled the topic of balance in terms of figuring out our priorities and building communities that help us maintain them. Under the motto “living fuller lives with fuller jars,” she created a powerful metaphor for keeping our balance despite having many responsibilities and aspirations.
Giulia Barbareschi: The Wisdom I Did (Not) Learn About Managing My Life in Academia
Focus of the talk by Giulia Barbareschi, who is a professor at the University of Duisburg Essen, were the challenges of an international academic career. In addition to sketching her own path, which has led her from Italy to Ireland, England, and Japan before taking a professorship in Germany, she shared her own strategies for dealing with impostor syndrome, being more strategic about one’s research, and managing time and progress.
Carla De Angelis: Finding Your Balance: Evolving Priorities in Work, Life, and Motherhood
Making plans, adapting to changes, dealing with judgement and being gentle with ourselves were some of the topics Carla De Angelis (Ecolab) touched upon in her talk. Having two decades of experience in technology and digital transformation across global organizations, she was able to share many personal experiences of juggling conflicting expectations and not losing sight of what it is that we want for ourselves.
Ghada Helal: Coding a Home: Finding Equilibrium in the 50/50 Luck Algorithm
“I gave myself the grace to be imperfect, knowing I was building a different kind of success,“ Ghada Helal, software test engineer at Dematic GmbH, reflected on her own career. In her talk, she shared her personal story of building a life and a career in a different country and different culture and illustrated how she turned her own expat struggles into a community strength by co-founding a network for Egyptian women in Germany.
Networking and Perspectives for Future Workshops on Women* in Computing
In the open discussion and networking rounds which followed the talks, participants had a chance to tackle the topics raised during the workshop in more depth and to form new connections. Once again the workshop format proved to be a valuable platform for exchanging ideas and tips and further strengthening a network of women in computing. “The event was organized really well, the talks were great, and with the after-workshop activities the time really flew by,” was the feedback one of the attendees gave on the event.
“The event was organized really well, the talks were great, and with the after-workshop activities the time really flew by.”
Women* in Computing workshop attendee
After five successful editions of Women* in Computing, thoughts also already turned to the future of the workshop series and possible topics. The high level of enthusiasm for the topic both speakers and participants showed throughout the entire day suggests that a sixth event, which is planned for spring 2027, would be very well received.
Women* in Computing 2026 Speakers
Neha Kumar is an Associate Professor at the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech. She works on responsible and sustainable human-centered computing, investigating infrastructures of care, to inform the design and maintenance of such infrastructures leveraging emerging technologies. She has served as President of ACM SIGCHI since 2021 and Chair of the ACM SIG Governing Board since 2024.
Giulia Barbareschi is a Professor at the University of Duisburg Essen (Germany) and the Research Center Trustworthy Data Science and Security where she leads the Inclusive Technology and Collective Engagement group. Her research focuses on exploring how we can leverage, adapt, and develop existing and new technologies to promote more equitable societies through direct collaboration with marginalized individuals.
Carla De Angelis is a Director of Digital solutions for Ecolab, a US Multinational, based in Vienna. Born and raised in Venezuela, half Italian by birth, having lived in five countries and being fluent in Spanish, English, and Danish (with working German), she describes herself as a “citizen of the world”. She has two decades of experience in technology and digital transformation across global organizations, built an international life and career spanning Europe, the United States, and Latin America, and is mother to a 2-year old.
Ghada Helal is a Senior Software Test Engineer at Dematic GmbH, a leading multinational in the supply chain industry. With a foundational degree in Electronics Engineering from Cairo University and an IT degree from THM Gießen, she has built a career defined by logic and precision. Her life is a unique blend of “Egyptian warmth” and “German punctuality”—a combination that defines her personality as a quality observer in both code and life.
The 5th Women* in Computing Workshop was supported by the SFB-TRR 161 Quantitative Methods for Visual Computing, DFG Research Unit 5336 “Learning To Sense” and the Humane AI net, and hosted at TU Berlin. Since 2022, the workshop series has been raising topics that greatly impact women’s careers in computing and provides a valuable platform to exchange ideas and connect with each other. More info: https://www.sfbtrr161.de/events_sfbtrr161/women-in-computing-workshop/
