#BreakTheBias: Breaking Down Barriers for Women in Tech

As Liquid Web’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), I take a lot pride in working alongside remarkable women every single day. 

Celebrating Women’s History Month, I’ve been considering of the numerous incredible women leaders in tech from all around the world, watching as they make their unique marks on an industry historically dominated by men. Throughout my profession, I’ve worked with many inspiring women—subject-matter experts with high expectations who never fail to maintain their word. 

The theme of this yr’s International Women’s Day was #BreakTheBias. A component of what keeps gender diversity greatly lacking within the tech industry is a pre-disposed assumption that girls lack interest in STEM careers, or in the event that they are within the industry, that they are usually not as qualified as their male counterparts.  

Though women make up nearly all of the workforce in the USA, as of 2019, they made up only 28 percent of the STEM field, but we’re making strides, and as a community, we’re working hard to vary the balance.  

Using my very own company for instance, the number of girls employed at Liquid Web has increased by 291 percent over the past seven years. We were in a position to achieve this growth through a purposeful strategy of stating that we wanted to extend the number of girls within the Liquid Web Family of Brands; placing women in leadership positions to actively reveal our commitment to gender equity as driven by our CEO, Jim Geiger, by showcasing our women; and purposefully in search of growth opportunities to assist them succeed.

Hiring more women means they’re playing significant roles in our success. Since 2015, there was 560 percent growth within the number of girls who lead teams. Women make up 30 percent of our leadership, a number we aim to proceed to grow. 

I consider in a future void of barriers and biases on the planet of technology for girls and underrepresented groups, but there remains to be work to be done.

Listed here are five ways to #BreakTheBias against women in tech—and 6 women at Liquid Web who’re helping to interrupt those barriers with their phenomenal work. 

Many biases against women in tech are societal and cultural, starting at birth. From the varieties of books and toys marketed to children of various genders, the message sent to little girls is commonly that science and technology are usually not for them. 

We understand the importance of participating in programs that support STEM in schools, which helps construct a solid foundation for all kids, no matter gender or background, to see a future for themselves in technology. At Liquid Web, we engage with schools and take part in profession planning and job fairs to encourage a greater diversity of those that will consider tech careers.  

Considered one of her favorite points of her current role at Liquid Web is that she is in a position to work throughout the community, meeting highschool students and sharing her love of technology with them, showing young women especially that they will go into STEM fields and find success.

There are women in STEM— we just aren’t as visible,” says Bulmer-Jones. “Which is unhappy considering that girls were well represented in the sphere at its inception. Ada Lovelace was the primary person to publish an algorithm for a contemporary computer to execute. The creation of COBOL, a language still used pretty heavily within the insurance and finance industries, was led to by the efforts of a girl— Grace Hopper.”

Mackenzie Gladney, Liquid Web’s Customer Success Manager, was at all times thinking about technology.

Mackenzie Gladney’s introduction to the world of technology was an entertaining one—games. Growing up in Melvindale, a downriver industrial suburb of Detroit, Gladney spent hours as a child gaming—a hobby she still enjoys today. “I’m a giant gamer,” she says. “For me, a chill day where I can spend time in a virtual world is my idea of fun. I’ve at all times loved games. From floppy discs to cloud gaming, it’s been an expansive journey over time.”

Internalized biases are real, and people of us who’ve carved paths for ourselves as women in tech should offer resources and mentorship when we will, making it clear to women that there’s a place for them in tech in the event that they want it. Mentorship and early profession opportunities are essential ways to support women in technology. Learn what it means to be a mentor. Invest your skills as a mentor and every young woman as a mentee.  

Krissy Franklin, a Linux Support Technician, continues to grow her technical prowess.

I absolutely love this company and appreciate the chance that I’ve been given,” she says. “My teammates and my supervisor have been influential in my profession journey. They’re all so very supportive and inspiring and are more like a family than a team.”

Jennifer McMillon, a ​​Network Operations Administrator at Liquid Web, has embraced ongoing learning.

Though McMillon got here to Liquid Web with no background in tech, she has not only been in the sphere for nearly a decade, but is a Red Hat Certified System Administrator and Cisco Certified Network Skilled. She can be the very first woman to just accept a position on the Liquid Web Network team and the primary to grow to be a Cisco Certified Network Skilled.

Find places in your team to ask women into leadership positions. If you have got the possibility to present a girl a shot, give it to her. Women have incredible capabilities and capacities. Give women opportunities to point out you what they will accomplish. 

Our VP of Development, Lisa Clark, leads Liquid Web’s Development team.

She turned to her father for advice. “My father asked me what I desired to do. I said I desired to be a programmer. He told me to return and never to just accept anything lower than what I wanted.” In 1995, on the age of 19, she did just that and started what’s now a 24-year profession in tech.

Tech is a brand new adventure for Baldwin, who began at Liquid Web just over nine months ago. “I used to be seeking to learn something recent, challenge myself, and step out of my comfort zone,” she says. “I had at all times been interested in Liquid Web, and heard so many good things in regards to the company from others. Once I saw a gap in management, I seized the chance and applied. It’s so rewarding to be among the many amazing women currently working within the tech field.”

Probably the most organic ways to interrupt biases against women in tech is to be certain that you surround yourself with a wealth of viewpoints and perspectives. 

Once I’m making a very important decision with Jim Geiger, it is important for us to be in conversation with a various group of individuals, especially those that might be most impacted by any recent policies.

We also depend on people like our Senior VP of Marketing, Terry Trout. We leverage her worldview, empathy, and knowledge of our business to assist us create, edit, and deliver our key messages. 

I’ve learned that I generally is a highly effective leader in technology, despite the fact that I wasn’t a technologist. Technology firms need the highly expert engineers who make these things work they usually need the method driven, communicative, facilitative, strategic partners to assist them execute.”

Investing in equity is an exciting and ongoing process. As we work to extend representation from underrepresented groups in technology, allow us to have fun the purposeful movement toward inclusion and diversification. 

A real love of community drives Frechette. “A few of my richest experiences in life have come because I befriended folks that others ignored,” she says. Along with reaching out to others, a necessary a part of Frechette’s journey has been learning to acknowledge probabilities for growth as they arrive and saying yes to them. “I try to not ever turn down opportunities—especially ones that push me outside my comfort zone—because I’m at all times desperate to learn.”

At a societal and institutional level, we have now to proceed working to remove barriers that keep women from pursuing careers in tech. We must listen, learn, and move intentionally towards growth to rework tech, break biases, put off barriers, and create an environment where everyone can contribute and thrive. 

And, we are making progress. 

I asked my daughter, a freshman in college majoring in Marketing and Graphic Design, to inform me about any biases she’s faced as she continues her education and starts her profession journey. She said, “I haven’t felt a bias towards me being a girl. The truth is, I feel like my professors predict much more of me than I expected. Several have met with me, are already mentoring me, and even offered me a teaching assistant role for the business school. And, I feel like I work well and compete face to face with my male peers. I’m undecided what to anticipate after I enter the skilled world but based on stories you’ve told me, I do know it can be different out of your experience, and I’m excited to see what’s on the market!” 

I feel deeply encouraged by my daughter’s experience, by the strides toward gender equity we’ve made at Liquid Web, and by the incredible women on this company. You possibly can read my profile and find out about most of the remarkable women at Liquid Web through our Women in Tech Series. Celebrating and supporting women is who we’re—this month and each month. #BreakTheBias