Major California tech conference canceled just 2 weeks before start date

The Grace Hopper Celebration, a massive conference in Anaheim that promotes diversity and brings together thousands of women in tech each year, has been canceled just two weeks before the event due to lack of funding, organizers announced this week. The gathering, which is described on its website as one of the biggest tech conferences in the world, would have featured over 800 speakers Oct. 27-30 at the Anaheim Convention Center. 

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Founded in 1994 and hosted by AnitaB.org, GHC is named after Grace Hopper, one of the first women to earn a doctorate in mathematics who went on to help create the Mark I, an early iteration of the computer. According to GHC’s website, it attracts over 700 companies ranging from Fortune 500 companies to fledgling startups each year. 

“This is not a decision we made lightly; we understand it leaves many of our community disappointed,” a public statement on GHC’s website says. “It is a function of not having the funds required to move forward with the Celebration, unlike in years past. Unlike past events, this year, both individual registrations and sponsorship commitments came in significantly below our expectations and, ultimately, below the level needed to cover critical operating expenses.”

“We considered alternatives to a live in- person event, but concluded that cancelling the event, although difficult and painful, was the only viable option,” organizers wrote on LinkedIn. 

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Subsequently, attendees have been advised to cancel travel plans and hotel reservations, as well as reach out to event organizers for assistance. Following the announcement, several tech workers have taken to LinkedIn to express their disappointment, describing GHC as an invaluable opportunity to build a career in a male-dominated industry. 

“To our attendees, sponsors, speakers, volunteers, partners, and everyone who has invested in making Grace Hopper Celebration possible: we are profoundly grateful,” GHC’s statement reads, “and profoundly sorry.”