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Finding employment in any tech field can be extremely difficult, whether it be from lack of network or complete change in career paths.
Even when there are networking events they tend to be predominately male, which can make it difficult or intimidating to enter circles of conversation, or worse– it can turn into several minutes of them mansplaining a topic you're well versed in.
Where Can I Find Networking Events To Connect With Women In Tech?
A great way to build your network, especially if you're entry level is to connect with non-profit organizations centered in tech. They normally throw sponsored events and have pannel discussions, so you can gain some some useful insight and connect with the women panelists afterwards, as well as other women attendees.
The Grace Hopper tech meet up is excusively for women. If you're having trouble finding tech events in general there are platforms like Eventbrite in which you can filter the events by location, category, date and price. Many of those events are free and tend to be monthly meetups with complimentary catering, so it's definitely worth the scroll to find ones to attend.
What If I Don't Have Tech Experience?
Certain companies in tech are making efforts to include diverse hires for both race and gender. TEKsystems is a company that not only encourages diverse entry level hires to work with them, but has several programs to combat the lack of diversity in media and IT.
They fully welcome women with non technical backgrounds, as they offer bootcamp courses as well as PNC courses for students to ensure you're entering the field with the proper amount of knowledge and experience. Educational programs like Per Scholas can be useful as they offer IT certification programs and more.
Why TEKsystems?
TEKsystems is the largest IT staffing in the US. They are really driven in diversifying the industry and lead by example with their own company. After research, Teksystems found that not only are POC a very small percentage of people within the industry, they are usually hired for more creative roles.
They make sure to hire more diverse candidates outside of the usual creativity pocket. Different backgrounds offer different perspectives, which leads to better outcomes for the clients. For more info about TEKsystems Marketplace Diversity Solutions click here