Hey everyone, this is my first official post since my introduction and I appreciate all the support so far. I just wanted you all to know the importance of women in technology and how so few of us exist. According to ISACA’s 2017 Women in Technology survey, here is what they found:
Looking at the numbers: 8 in 10 women report to a male supervisor, 1 in 5 organizations are very committed to hiring and advancing women in tech roles, while 1 in 5 organizations are not at all committed to hiring and advancing women in tech roles.
Comparing these studies to my work place, it is the opposite actually but in some cases there are still more men in a company. My former and current supervisors are both women. I am genuinely thankful that my current supervisor sees the potential in other women and provides them the opportunity to reach their highest potential, like she did with me.
When I received my graduate degree in May 2017, my supervisor gave me the opportunity to transition into the Information Systems (IS) department. Since June 2017, I have grown to learn more about data and how it affects our world. The IS department is responsible of running reports, updating databases, creating web applications, and just recently, I created a form application that can be signed and emailed to other users on their mobile phone. It has been an eye opener for me because previously, I did not know how many opportunities existed until I was given the chance to pursue my dream.
Although I am not the lead developer in the IS department, I am part of a team that has so much knowledge and experience in the technology industry than I can ever imagine. I learn from each person every day and they are able to give me their feedback on how a task can be done instead of what I should be doing. They give me the opportunity to make mistakes and still be open to any questions along the way.
If other women were given the same opportunities that I have, there will be endless projects and ideas for the technology industry. Another article that was released last year titled International Women’s Day 2017: The tech stats talked about how the “odds are significantly stacked against female entrepreneurs.” Even the UK has the same shortage of women in the tech industry as the US. China however has 63% leading positions in the Asian country that has at least one female executive according to the same article mentioned above.
I am not trying to divide the men and the women of the world at all. I am just trying to shine a light on the women who have been working hard to get to where they are now. Again, I applaud any woman that is able to manage a group of employees without any bias or negative mindset. I think we can all agree that we have all worked with a particular person who (for whatever reason) does not like anything you say or do, but it is up to us to make the most of that situation.
I have given the pessimistic people the opportunity to think about the situation in a different angle and most of the people have changed their ways since I have worked with them. I am not perfect. I make mistakes every day, however it’s all about how I learn from it, which has in turn made me into who I am today.
Thank you again for taking your time to read this post. Stay tuned for more posts about women in technology every other week, some tech tips on Tuesday, and some life hacks on Thursdays.