ON MATERNITY LEAVE 👩💻 Director of Next Tech Girls | Inspiring and empowering the next generation of women in tech ✨ Women in Tech Excellence Outstanding Returner 2023 | TechWomen100 Winner 2023 #SmashTheStereotype
Why do communities matter? 🤔 I was talking to one of our role models yesterday, who mentioned that after a year at her current (large) company she was still yet to meet another Black woman working as a software engineer. I realised that this is one of the reasons communities like Next Tech Girls are so important: ✨ They create a sense of belonging. If you're used to being surrounded by people who aren't like you, finding a community of people who come from a similar background and have similar interests can be so comforting. You can finally fully be yourself without fear of judgement, and feel like you fit in rather than standing out. At our recent Next Tech Fest event lots of the women commented on how refreshing and exciting it was to be surrounded by women for once! 80% of our community are also from ethnic minority backgrounds so no one should feel like they stick out. ✨ They broaden your network. Taking Next Tech Girls as an example, the girls and women in our community get the opportunity to engage with other girls and women they might otherwise never come into contact with: they go to different schools or work at different companies; they might even live in different parts of the country. When it comes to sparking and sustaining an interest in tech, this is crucial, as they can inspire, support and motivate each other to keep going. ✨ They open up opportunities. Broadening your network of likeminded people is likely to lead to you hearing about and having access to more exciting opportunities. The girls in our community will talk about the placements they've done, events they're attending or what they're applying to do when they finish school. The women will talk about what it's like working at their organisation or in their discipline. They might let each other know when there's a vacancy or even put in a good word with the hiring manager. I could write about the benefits of communities all day but I'll leave it at that for now! Are you part of any communities? What benefits have you found? Let me know in the comments 👇 If you'd like to join or support the Next Tech Girls community, send me a message! We have lots of opportunities for volunteering, attending events or partnering with us 💜 #SmashTheStereotype #WomenInTech #CommunityBuilding #Networking #DiversityInTech
I totally agree Emily! If you haven't been lucky enough to naturally luck into the community you need, the next best thing to do is to hunt one down or create one! Screaming into the abyss on your own is a lonely and exhausting place to be, and the irony is, there are so many likeminded people out there doing it. But once you go looking for your tribe, you realise your community is really everywhere - dotted around like little islands. Sometimes you just have to be a bit creative (and persistent) in figuring out how to bring everyone together, either IRL or virtually (or preferably both). I was so impressed at #NextTechFest at how great everyone was at networking in the room. I didn't really learn that skill until I was at least twice their age, but it's such an important one to have. Communities and networks are so critical to success, but it can be hard if being comfortable networking is not your default state, so communities and events like yours really make such a difference.
We at #net4tec support female careers in technology with the power of oue powerful, engaged and relevant international network of women and men from the technology world. With the believe #togethermatters we collaborate with many ither networks, initiative, companies, universities and experts in order to fulfill our mission: to close the gender gap in tech! Happy to connect and collaborate
A sense of belonging is definitely the number one and best feeling I get from communities. Sometimes, you can feel so alone, especially in an industry like marketing where a lot of us are individual contributors so knowing you’re not alone is such a great feeling 🫶✨
Emily Hall-Strutt - I encountered numerous brilliant women/girls in my job and not all of them involve in coding. Tech jobs offers much broader scope for interest and skillset. I would like to involve in explaining different type of tech jobs which girls can excel in.
Such brilliant points in this post Emily, and as a black woman who really have had it tough, this picture makes me sooooo happy. 😍 😍 I could like it a million times if that was possible. Well done Next Tech Girls You are the epitome of community and representation!! Thank you. 💜
What a great picture after a brilliant day!
This is so powerful 💪🏽
Pharma Consultant Turned Software Engineer 🔁 | Developing Embedded Systems Within MedTech & Wireless Industries 💻 | Championing Diversity In Tech 🎉
8moLove this Emily, it's so true 👏 I've only ever worked at start-ups so unfortunately I've never had the chance to work with another female developer/engineer. Being part of communities like Next Tech Girls has allowed me to meet so many amazing women in the tech space that can relate to my experiences. Also finding that so many have had "unconventional" paths in to tech like me and can relate to the difficulties of switching careers and starting almost from scratch has been super refreshing 🙌