Grace Hopper Celebration, the largest conference for women in computing, has been canceled just two weeks before it was set to begin in Anaheim.
AnitaB.org, the nonprofit that runs GHC, says individual registrations and sponsorship commitments came in well below expectations, leaving the event short of the cash needed to cover operating costs. The Oct. 27-30 gathering had lined up speakers including Kara Swisher, Michelle Zatlyn, and Sinead Bovell, plus a career fair drawing more than 700 participating organizations. Attendees are stuck canceling their own travel and lodging, and AnitaB.org says it can't address refunds until it has a clearer picture of its own finances. It plans to contact registrants about fees by Oct. 26.
This isn't a one-quarter sales miss. AnitaB.org's 2024 IRS filing shows a $14.6 million loss on $27.5 million in revenue, with contributions and grants collapsing from $11.2 million to $724,350 and attendance sliding from 29,000 to 17,000. GHC's own 2024 numbers already ran a gap, with $26.9 million in costs against $22.4 million in revenue. This year's shortfall just made that math impossible to sustain.
The event was built partly around hiring women into tech, at a moment when the industry is cutting jobs and pointing to AI as the reason. Running out of money two weeks before the career fair undercuts that pitch more than any press release can fix.