You Make a Difference

While many nonprofit and charitable organizations exist to bring more women of color into tech, they are often doing so with very minimal resources. Many are dependent on grants and donations, meaning that they must be very careful about how they spend funds. Even if these organizations have hired some staff members, the employees may be working part-time and doing the jobs of two or three people. Simply put, these organizations need extra hands and minds to help fulfill their mission (see Figure 10.1).

Helping Others See and Know What's Possible

One of the things I enjoyed about living in Chicago was its lively and growing tech sector. There was no shortage of free or low-cost tech conferences to attend. The limitation was mostly just having the time to attend.

Women in tech-specific conferences were plentiful there too, which was awesome. I enjoyed going because it was great to meet other amazing women, learn from them, and build my network.

After time, however, something began to wear on me. While there were plenty of women, I began to notice there were not many women of color attending. More concerning was that conferences made for younger women (high school and college aged) also seemed to have a low number or lack of women of color. Adding insult to injury, few women of color—specifically Black women—were participating as speakers.

I remember thinking, this can't be right. In a city that's so big and diverse, I could not believe—or accept—that women of color were not interested in pursuing tech jobs.

I don't want to single out any one city or tech conference. I think it is a far more pervasive problem across the United States and with industry conferences. The distance and costs involved to attend tech conferences can be burdensome, and without sponsorship or financial assistance, attending them can be difficult for anyone. I recently went to a major open-source tech conference that boasted more than 12,000 people in attendance in California. The number of women who attended was roughly around 11 percent, so roughly 1,320 women. The number of women of color was … well, low. To say that I stood out among the crowd would be an understatement.

It wasn't until I started working in tech myself that I realized there was more that was contributing to our continued absence in these spaces: the lack of role models for girls of color to identify with—women who look like them, who have some understanding of what they are going through, and who are serving as leaders within the tech community. If girls of color are not seeing or learning about successful women of color in these roles, particularly those in technical leadership, why would they think that certain career paths are meant for them?

It may be difficult for a young woman of color to picture herself as a software developer, a designer, or a product manager if she isn't exposed to people doing those jobs and with whom she can personally identify. In two recent Indiana University studies, girls of color who had accessible role models that were closely aligned with their own identities felt a better sense of belonging in school and, specifically, that a STEM career was right for them. I think about my own academic career and wonder whether I would have ended up in tech earlier in life if I had developed relationships with accessible role models.

For this reason, I try my best to devote volunteer time to organizations that serve young women and people of color, like Black Girls Code. By sharing about my work and how I got to be here, I believe it gives future tech leaders more option in terms of what their potential career could look like. Helping them to understand that while it does require hard work and perseverance to grow your career, a path in tech is attainable, rewarding, and fun.

Great Rewards

During one of the workshop events where I was volunteering, I met a young man named Arshan. Arshan was working the security desk in the building where the volunteering event was being held. We randomly struck up a conversation, where I discovered that he was going to both school and work, and he was looking to get into tech but wasn't sure how. I gave him my business card and told him I'd be more than happy to help him, as I remember all too well what it was like to be in his position. From there, we set up an informal mentoring relationship; we met as our schedules permitted and built a great relationship.

Fast-forward, I was having a somewhat difficult patch in late spring of 2019—I was adjusting to my newish role at work and writing this book, and for some reason, I decided to schedule not one but two of my very first public speaking events (one was the mentoring speech in Portland I mentioned in Chapter 7, “Demonstrating Your Skills,” and the other was a live webinar on cloud computing for Systers, an online community that is part of AnitaB.org for those working in technical computing fields). I was doing a lot of studying and practicing on top of dealing with the trials of everyday life. It was a lot, and I could feel the weight of all these (good) things on my shoulders.

The week prior to the speaking engagements, Arshan shot me an update text telling me what had been going on in his world, and then asked how things were going for me as I was preparing for Portland. Figure 10.2 shows part of our exchange.

I cannot tell you how touched I was by Arshan's words. It meant the world to me to have that surprise encouragement from someone I was trying to help succeed. I won't lie, I teared up, and that exchange helped get me through the challenges of the week with renewed positivity. It was the reminder that I needed of why I do this, and I look at this exchange all the time.

At the end of the mentoring speech, a young woman of color in the audience, Alina, asked me if I would be willing to serve as a mentor. Again, I was touched, and it was all I could do to hold back my emotions. Seeing both Arshan and Alina succeed in their respective paths, and that they reached out to me to help them, has meant more to me than you know.

Having the willingness to put yourself out there and offer to help can yield so many positive feelings and boost your confidence.

Building Relationships

Much like networking, volunteering puts you in contact with other great people within your industry and community. This can help broaden your network and give you access to amazing mentors, industry contacts, and others who are in similar career trajectories to yours. And don't forget the potential of making great friends!

Also, if you're like me in that you struggle with what to say or do in situations where you need to interact with strangers, volunteering can take off some of the pressure of getting to know people. Unlike a networking event where you're randomly brought together with others, a volunteering event brings together people who have similar interests and mind-sets and is centered around a group activity for everyone to focus on. This is preferred over nervously sipping your drink and peering off into space trying to figure out what to say!

Coping with a Bad Day

If you're having a tremendously, hideously bad day, taking part in a volunteer activity may not be a good idea. Rather, you may need to call it a day and get a good night's rest to start tomorrow renewed, refreshed, and with your head straight. The last thing you want to do is bring a bad energy and attitude into an activity that can rub off on others.

Barring bad situations, though, volunteering can help improve your mood, find some perspective on the challenges you are facing, and who knows, even have a bit of fun.

This past fall, I signed up to be a resume reviewer for an evening event for the Women in Technology and Entrepreneurship in New York (WiTNY). It was a very long workday, and to add insult to injury, it was raining heavily outside. I was already running 30 minutes late, and because I got the address mixed up, I ended up having to walk outside for a considerable amount of time to get to the event location.

When I got to the event, my pants and sneakers were completely soaked. My umbrella was virtually no help in keeping me dry. I was grumpy, and honestly, I would have loved to have gone home, gotten into some dry, comfy clothes, and watched something on Netflix until I fell asleep.

But I knew that the young women there also had long days, if not longer, than mine—most of the students were commuter students enrolled in a City University of New York school and were balancing the demands of schoolwork, family, and jobs. They probably had “craptastic” days themselves. If they could make the time, then I could too.

After taking several paper towels to my pants and shoes and getting settled, I helped a few of the young women in the room with their unique resume challenges. It didn't help my pants get any drier, but even in the soggy clothes, I felt much happier. I enjoyed talking with them and learning about their goals and dreams. By the end of the event, I completely forgot about all the unpleasantness I had to deal with before getting there.

There may also be some scientific evidence that volunteer work keeps you healthy too. In a 2013 study by Carnegie Mellon University, researchers found a positive correlation between study participants who had performed 200 or more hours of volunteering per year and lower blood pressure; lower blood pressure decreases the likelihood of having a stroke, heart attack, and other negative cardiovascular events.

You've Been in Their Shoes

You may be at, or near, a place where you have amassed a wonderful network, a great career, and other resources, which is amazing! Remember that right now, there is someone who is starting their own journey, and may be having the same feelings, concerns, and doubts that you had at that point. They need your help.

Being an expert or having amassed a wealth of experiences is not necessary to help. You already possess enough knowledge and skills that can prove to be invaluable to those beginning academic or professional tracks similar to yours. All you need is empathy and a genuine desire to help others. You have more to offer to others than you may realize.

It is never lost on me how fortunate and privileged I am to be where I am now. I remember the struggles and how hard it was just to get here, and I know that I was afforded opportunities that my peers were not. If I can spare other young women even the slightest bit of strife along their path, or make things easier to help them achieve their dreams, I'm not only happy to, but I believe it is my duty to do so.