Today I had the honor of being on a career panel for a Summer Immersion Program group from Girls Who Code.  The Summer Immersion program is for girls in high school who are interested in exploring the tech field, and “get exposure to tech jobs, meet leaders in tech careers, and find community.”  It was wonderful to see all of the fresh youthful faces of future tech leaders!

What impressed me, even more, were the other women on the panel.  We all had different experiences but share a love of tech.  I am always amazed at the ways women get into tech – I specifically studied Computer Science but that is only one way.  One woman had learned how to use loan underwriting systems, took a chance on a job to work on the technology behind the system, and got the job based on knowing what the output needed to be and the willingness to learn the technical aspects! 

Another was in school for database, started a job, and was handed a manual on how they managed databases at that organization, and had to figure it out by asking questions and learning.  How scary that had to be for a recent graduate! 

We talked about all the different ways to be involved in tech beyond coding, and different ways to get into tech if you do not want to code.  The key takeaways were really to always be flexible, and always be willing and actively learn new things.  These are the reasons I love tech and hope the girls from the program decide to continue to pursue opportunities in tech too.

You can do it too!

Talking about what we love and making it less scary and unknown is a great way to bring more women into the field.  If you know a girl who might be interested or want to help by volunteering with Girls Who Code, I highly suggest checking out their website https://girlswhocode.com/ for a local chapter (or start one)!

#womenintech #girlswhocode