Representation Matters for Women of Color in Tech

How can you see yourself in a technical position; but there's no one who looks like you. This is one of many challenges Women of Color (WOC) experience in the tech field. The tech field is majority white men. As a Gen-X black woman, Lettie Ar-Rahmaan wasn’t encouraged to enter the tech field. Therefore, she struggled between service and technology. In the end, her passion for technology won and she's found success in technology from developer, QA tester, test manager, and now a product manager. The memories of being told she's not good enough came to her as she wrote her book, Struggling to Be Me: No Longer Silent & Invisible at the Table during the early days of the pandemic. When she was in London in Summer 2022, she talked about the challenges and success for WOC in tech and wasn’t surprised by the absence of WOC in tech. It's time to change the narrative and audience! This session will discuss the need for more men to invite WOC to events, and meetings where their voices are not present, the need for WOC in tech to mentor each other, and WOC to give back to their high schools, colleges, and university by showing up and talking to young girls and early career technologists so they can see future paths in tech.