</The Gender Gap in Technology>
Despite all my homework piling up, I wanted to reflect on my experiences after AnitaB.org’s Grace Hopper Celebration — so, here are 3 of my takeaways.
* To acknowledge and recognize women of all walks of life including cis and trans women, as well as non-binary, agender and intersex people.
1. Never underestimate the power of a supportive group of kickass women*.
Around this time last year, I was a freshman never more unsure about what I wanted to do. I was stuck in a constant cycle of doubting myself and my ability to pursue a career in tech.
You don’t really realize the importance of having a strong support system until you find one. It wasn’t until I joined the hackathon community that I found people who were going through a similar journey to my own, as well as those who I could look up to.
Throughout this conference, I often found myself thinking about how grateful I am to have found incredibly motivated, encouraging, and compassionate friends in all these ladies. They kept me sane during stressful periods and were always there to provide me with unique perspectives.
“You are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.” ~ Jim Rohn
I’ve never believed in something more than I do after this week. I’m incredibly lucky and humbled to be surrounded by such intelligent and successful women*: everyone I got to spend time with in Houston pushed me to be the best version of myself, in every way possible.
2. The importance of demystifying tech.
We often are under the impression that in order to be successful, you must “do what you love.” It’s easier to stick with what you’re already good at and become better at it. But this week, my friend Sofia reminded me: what about learning to love what you do? For some of us, our passion doesn’t necessarily translate to how experienced we are in the field yet. For us, our pursuit of technology is fueled by a sense of determination and hard work.
Over time the tech sphere has evolved into a competitive environment fueled by the next big idea. This makes sense, given the nature of the industry. But this toxic mentality of “never being good enough” also leads us to detrimental thoughts adequately summed up by Imposter Syndrome — the inability to internalize your accomplishments and ever feel like you belong ~ if you find yourself experiencing Imposter Syndrome, please take a minute to read this article that helped me out!
A speaker from the conference who resonated with me the most was CEO of a renewable energy technology company, Uncharted Power, Jessica O. Matthews. While she reflected on her own journey through tech, she confessed that she really had no idea how she got to where she is today.
Sometimes it can be comforting to know that even the most successful people feel just as lost and confused as you do. It’s okay if some things don’t come naturally, you can learn to work on it. It’s okay if you don’t love what you’re doing right now, you have time to figure it out. And it’s more than okay to not know exactly where your path is headed — what matters more is that you’re on one to begin with.
Matthews’ openness and genuine tone helped me realize that we need to dismantle the illusion of perfection by addressing our shortcomings and actively talking about our experiences. This is the barrier that prevents passionate people from continuing, or even starting, their momentous journeys in tech.
3. Equal representation isn’t just the minority’s issue.
One of my favorite reads, Dear Madam President, was written by Hillary Clinton’s former Communications Director, Jennifer Palmieri. In her open letter to future female* leaders, she writes to women* about ways to find success in their workplace.
“Remember, centuries were spent making the workplace a comfortable place for men.” ~ Jennifer Palmieri
Palmieri’s advice holds true as many women* tend to forget about this when they get stuck at frustrating points in their careers. I try to remind myself of this when I feel like my work is being undervalued. Even though the circumstances may not be in your favor, you do have a voice at the table.
Yet, this advice only applies to the assumption that women* are the only agents for change in a traditional workplace setting. Before arriving in Houston this week, I thought I had a pretty good sense of why women* need to fight for representation in the tech sphere. To my surprise, I left the conference with a totally different perspective on this industry and the gender norms involved.
I have always been so accustomed to being the minority in my classes, but at Grace Hopper, I was suddenly the majority, surrounded by 18,000 empowered, intellectual female* technologists. It was such a surreal experience — at times I felt like I was on the set of Wonder Woman.
With that being said, I can see how a Celebration for Women in Computing doesn’t naturally extend itself to invite men.
As a MCWIC scholarship attendee, there were only two male attendees in a delegation with 80+ other female* scholarship recipients. You’re probably wondering: what would a guy possibly get out of going to a conference of this nature?
A lot of my girlfriends and I agree that some men will never understand what it’s like to be a female* in tech. My friend Vicky had put it like this, “male technologists never have to feel like they’re not good enough solely because of their gender.” This is the reason why some guys still don’t understand why women* and other minority groups need platforms like these in order to be heard. And I understand why they’re confused about it — they don’t have nearly the same experiences that we do.
Luckily, I was able to talk to Michael, one of the two men from our delegation, and learned how he took his experiences at Grace Hopper as a learning opportunity on how to become a male ally. He told me—
“Simply not participating in the problem doesn’t cut it — one can believe they’re not part of the problem all they want, but if they don’t truly educate themselves on what the problem is they have no right to make that claim.”
At Grace Hopper, men like Michael were actively learning about their ally roles as they found what it was like to walk in our shoes for a week — what it was like to not feel welcomed into a space you’re actively pursuing. As I was around other men at the conference, I suddenly became conscious of the majority gynocentric (female-centered) language used throughout the course of the week. How did it feel for the guys to be the minority?
It’s not like anyone was actually telling them: you don’t belong here, but after hearing about some of their experiences at Grace Hopper, I could tell that it was more of an implied bias that was projected onto them — which is the same bias that women* still face in the workplace today.
It’s now clear to me that in order for us to enact long-lasting change, equality should always concern the majority just as much as it does the minority.
I hope to take this mentality with me to Technica this year — with a team of students who are equally as passionate and committed to diversifying tech.
Technica’s culture fosters an environment that encourages active participation amongst all groups; where majority groups take equal responsibility for achieving change. Not only should we inspire self-advocating amongst minority groups, but also ensure that majority groups are actually practicing inclusivity.
