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Thursday 17th May 2012

Advocating for Women in Tech

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Advocating for Women in Tech

Posted by Guest Blogger 20 January 2011 Careers |  Guest blogger |  Women in IT Written by Lis Hubert.

Now that we’ve accepted our female presence in the tech world, as well as become Proud to be Women in Tech, we, as experienced women in tech, need to start spreading the message that tech is not as male oriented as some think, and that it is a place for women of all ages to find happiness and success.

Being a person that puts a lot of time and thought into my own career, I’ve talked to many people to get their advice and counsel on how to do better and be better. One of the things that I hear over and over again are the stages within a profession. They go something like this: entry level - learning about the work, professional level - doing the work at a high level, higher level - mastering the work and mentoring others, even higher level - spreading the work and explaining it to others.

The problem I’ve been seeing is that those at the highest level aren’t always spreading the messaging about tech. We aren’t taking it upon ourselves to let other women know how beneficial the tech world is to us as females and just people in general, and that if it is something you are interested in, it’s not only a “doable” profession, but it’s one where you can find much success. Thus, because we are not being vocal, most women are scared to embrace their technical side, or are confused as to their options in tech, and don’t even consider becoming a tech professional an option. This is detrimental to women’s place in technology.

By starting to talk about tech and being a women in tech, we can ease other women’s fears and apprehensions about the industry. This talking can be done anywhere! Blogs like this one are a great source, but also just in your own community, organization, personal circle... wherever there are women wondering about tech.

Once we start getting the information out there, women will begin feeling comfortable both joining and becoming more in depth with tech. This will then allow us to equal up the numbers and we’ll begin to see the tides turn in more equal ways. But, if we continue to keep quiet so that we don’t stand out or make a fuss, then we’ll continue to be the underdog as well as continue to wonder when will things be equal.

So, if you have been doing this tech thing for awhile, reach out to others, spread the message, embrace the tech world. Let’s start to advocate for being a woman in technology and then we can reap the benefits of the work we’ve sowed.


Lis Hubert is an independent user experience design consultant working New York City. Visit her website at www.elisabethhubert.com and you can follow Lis on Twitter @likehow22.
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