WOC in Tech
I saw this picture and just knew I had to do a blog post about being a woman of color in technology.
I won’t talk about how long ago it was that I found the image though… embarrassing, LOL.
I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go with this, but now that I am at a company where I stick out as 1 of 2 black women in the organization, I think I’ve found the perfect topic to use with this image. Just to be clear, 1of 2 black women, not just women of color, lol. With that being said, now I do feel more weight on my shoulders to succeed, but I also feel more confidence in the work that I do and confidence in my experience during deliberations and implementation for my project. It’s okay to feel the pressure, just don’t let it break you or make you buckle. You’ve got this!
I’ve developed a greater sense of admiration for not only black women in technology but all women of color. We really do create an atmosphere for continued success, which turns into examples for other young women of color to look up to and use as motivation to keep pushing themselves. Just think about it, on top of being a woman of color in any business/corporate/professional setting, add in the way we have to balance our “attitudes”, excel in expanding our knowledge more than our male counterparts, and advocating for ourselves (which is also advocating for all women) because for some reason what one of us does is a representation of all women that look like us. Then on top of that we have to deal with men’s grubby little eyes looking at us wherever we go… EVEN IN THE WORKPLACE. But that’s a complete different topic for another time lol.
ANYWAY!
I can excitedly say I just completed my first certification exam in Amazon Web Services and whew chile… that process was GHET-TO LOL. But God!
On a serious note tho, lol, I’m super proud of myself for persevering and not giving up even in the midst of my doubt and frustrations. I also have to give a super big shout out to my tribe and everybody that was rooting for me and sending me words of encouragement and prayers up on my behalf. It really took everything I had to push me across the finish line, but we made it!
I think one of the most accomplishing parts of it was my determination to go after this influencing another young lady on my team to finally start her studies and get her cert as well. She had been planning to get started since she got hired last year and finally got the motivation when I started inquiring and pushing to start my studies, lol.
Anyway, the purpose of this weeks post is just to give a shout out to all the D.O.P.E. women killing it in the tech industry as well as all the other STEAM fields out there. It’s hard persevering in these fields as black women, but we overcome neigh sayers everyday. Just wanted to take a second to clap it up for the women that encourage me to push myself and apply myself in a career I never expected to wind up in. As much as I believe it’s imperative to encourage our young people to be exposed in artistic endeavors, it’s also just as important to encourage the youth to explore all facets of career types and professional fields.
I also don’t often toot my own horn, but ya’ll I’m so excited and proud of myself for this first accomplishment!
No, this is not the end. I have a few more feats I’m aiming to tackle, and even though sometimes I feel I haven’t been quite as productive during this pandemic as I “should” be, the fact of the matter is I’m being just as productive as God intended me to be.
Productivity is determined by the mind of the producer.
My goal (after sitting down and really thinking about what I wanted to do to better myself after accepting this dream job) was to place time constraints on ideas I’ve been playing around with for years and turn them into actual goals. Success!
We are in a time of social distancing and that comes with some sad moments, but today I want us to take a minute out to celebrate our wins. Even if we think they may be small… nothing is too small to be celebrated. Did you read a book, learn a new skill, pass a test, enroll in an online course for a topic of interest, watch a movie you’d been putting off, video chat with somebody you hadn’t spoken to in a while? Anything! Let us know so we can clap for you too!
Also, what are some tips you’d give a young woman interested in getting into the field you work in if you’re a woman of color in tech? Share your expertise, share what you love about the work you do, and share how you’d love to see more women of color contribute in your field or your work environment. Let’s get the conversations going for how we can encourage one another and grow our numbers in these offices we work in. Let’s change the narrative from 1 of 2 black women or women of color to 1 of too many to count!
Share your accomplishments, tips, and tricks in the comments below or under any of my posts on FaceBook, IG, or Tumblr! Can’t wait to celebrate with you sis!
Be D.O.P.E!