How Women in Tech Can Create Their Own Opportunities

“Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire…” — Oprah Winfrey

If anybody is aware of a factor or two about mounting the excessive wire — and setting the bar excessive — it’s Oprah.

Today, Oprah is an internationally acknowledged discuss present host, media govt, actress, and billionaire philanthropist. But years in the past, she needed to navigate gender, financial, and race limitations to create her personal alternatives for achievement. She secured an on-air primetime anchor place in Baltimore, however when scores dipped, she was fired. Undeterred, Oprah shifted gears. She landed a job co-hosting a daytime discuss present and the remainder is historical past. Oprah has proactively sought out alternatives (from performing roles to authoring books), by no means feared failure, and at all times realized from every step of her life journey.

I feel girls in expertise can apply a number of of Oprah’s classes to forge their very own profession paths, navigating profession hurdles and roadblocks in the method. And after I point out hurdles, I’m referring to the long-standing underrepresentation of girls in technology-related fields. Despite making up practically half of right now’s whole workforce, women account for only 25% of those working in technology. And more than half (56%) of women leave the tech industry, by the mid-level level in their careers, usually pushed out by gender bias and institutional limitations they encounter. How can girls finest conquer potential hurdles and roadblocks as they pave their path to profession success? Keep studying.

1. Don’t be afraid to be the ‘first’ and ‘only’

I grew up in Bangladesh inside a big, prolonged household. I didn’t have a laptop computer and had to make use of the large desktop pc all of us shared on the home. Imagine 10 folks sharing one pc and you’ll sense the chaos round homework time. When the pc would crash, which was actually because it was so closely used, I might inform my uncle. My uncle’s reply: “I’ll call my friend — he can fix it.” No one was allowed to the touch the pc till this man confirmed as much as restore it.

I used to be being informed we would have liked a person to repair the pc. I advised numerous methods to revive the pc however was informed that I couldn’t repair it. This was a person’s job. “If I become a computer scientist,” I believed, “I will be able to fix my computer without having to wait for a man to fix it.” One easy query served because the inspiration for my future profession: “Why can’t I learn to fix the computer?” Even although I didn’t have any “women in tech” position fashions, I constructed up the boldness to take dangers (extra on that in a second). I later moved to Canada to earn a grasp’s diploma in pc science, and now work as an AI analysis scientist at San Francisco-based Volta Charging, an electrical automobile infrastructure firm.

2. Be the change you want to see

Traditionally, girls have endured gender-based stereotyping. This started in the house, the place younger women had been steered towards compassion-based careers equivalent to nursing or instructing. It’s additionally assumed that ladies will tackle nearly all of family and child-raising tasks. What if we, as a substitute, informed younger women, “Why not try computer programming? You’re good at math. Keep working at it.” Or “I know you’re interested in space exploration. What if you could work for NASA someday?” This early messaging is vital, because the teenage years are sometimes when younger folks start to guage profession choices.

Even in the event that they do obtain their dream tech profession, many ladies battle to steadiness household and job duties in the center of their careers. When girls don’t get wanted help from household and the office, they drop out of the workforce or shift to a distinct profession. This was highlighted in the course of the first two years of the COVID pandemic when more than one million women left the labor force.

I’ve at all times been conscious of those potential gender-related limitations — and I’ve labored to assist break them. As a management fellow in Women Who Code, a global nonprofit devoted to inspiring girls to excel in expertise careers, I assist manage free workshops, tutorials, and “ask me anything” periods with various girls leaders from Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. Our attendees are impressed by the talks, as they see different girls like themselves and may hear firsthand about their profession journeys.

3. Seek alternatives — and don’t be afraid to fail

Don’t look ahead to alternatives to fall into your lap. Seek out alternatives to attempt, fail, be taught, and enhance your abilities. I’m a giant proponent of hackathons, and I’ve participated in a number of contests and conferences. When I submitted a paper to a selected convention or utilized for a job and didn’t get a suggestion, I at all times sought out suggestions and methods I may enhance the following time. I educated myself to do not forget that these weren’t private rejections, and I centered on the lesson I may be taught.

Speaking of classes realized, it was a hackathon that truly helped me land my first job. When I used to be in graduate college, I took half in an AI hackathon in Canada. I used to be a finalist in the competition and networked with one of many occasion judges. A yr later, I used to be making use of for jobs and had gotten a number of rejections. I then remembered the hackathon choose I had spoken with and despatched her my resume. I used to be thrilled when she replied that her workforce was on the lookout for an information scientist. I later marveled at the truth that I used to be sitting on the identical sofa the place solely a yr earlier than I used to be a hackathon participant — however now I used to be a full-time information scientist.

Hackathons and conferences not solely enable you to sharpen your problem-solving and presentation abilities, however you’re uncovered to folks you in any other case could not meet — from fellow individuals to judges and organizers. These days, I attempt to pay it ahead by participating in hackathons and competitions — however this time as a choose. For instance, I used to be honored to be chosen as a choose for TigerGraph’s “Graph for All Million Dollar Challenge,” a worldwide search that duties individuals with utilizing graph expertise to unravel urgent world issues. I hope to finally interact with promising individuals to supply recommendation, mentorship, and steerage.

There’s an previous proverb that proclaims {that a} journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The similar precept applies relating to your expertise profession. As Oprah mentioned, the one individuals who by no means fall are those that by no means dare to climb. Take steps, fail, fall, stand up, be taught, and maintain strolling. This is the way in which ahead and the trail to success.