Self | Career | Feminism

I Was (Briefly) a Woman in Tech. It Sucked.

How I was held to a double standard and watched women be subjected to rumors.

Photo via Jopwell at Pexels (Royalty Free)

Fresh out of college, I landed my first job as a tech support. I’d read the horror stories of what it was like to be a woman in tech and I was prepared to do battle. But when I arrived, I found no resistance.

There were women in leadership positions. Women in technological positions. Women driving innovation, change, and experimentation. I mean, sure, all the developers were male, and most of the leadership roles were male. But there were a few women! In visible positions of power!

Now I had become one of them. I was a Woman In Tech. I thought I’d made it into the only female-positive technological workspace in existence.

Admittedly, I was in a support role, and I was the only woman out of five tech support employees. But still, there I was, working in tech while female, and not being harassed, beleaguered, mistrusted, mansplained to, or undermined. I began to think that perhaps things had started to get a little better for women in tech.

For the first few months, it was a dream. My opinions were respected. My colleagues believed in me. I was an authority in my field, trusted…