How do women leaders in the tech industry start their workday? On the best days, with a tasty breakfast, juicy fruit, strong coffee and stimulating conversation with other tech leaders. This is exactly how Thoughtworks welcomed the newly formed social group Women of Color in Tech on Friday, June 20, 2014.
Women of Color in Tech was created to build a community for women of color in the technology sector in Silicon Valley. The group’s goals include learning ways to enjoy every individual’s journey in the tech industry, growing as leaders and learning how to mentor other women in the sector.
The morning meetup focused on solution-based and proactive strategies for the following topics:
- Being an agile freelancer and service provider.
- Preserving your character and personality while ensuring others “take you seriously” as an assertive and active female leader.
- Encouraging teams to be ambassadors for women - specifically, speaking up on behalf of female co-workers and acknowledging ideas generated by female counterparts, particularly when their ideas or thoughts have been pushed aside or disregarded.
- How to change perceptions of one’s self in the workplace to the image you wish to project.
More than 25 women attended from groups and companies such as the Kapor Center, YouTube, Dropbox, Indiegogo, Greylock Partners, Dev Bootcamp, Blavity, ZeroDivide, TubeMogul, Red Clay, FactSet, Uptima, Blaze Mobile and CODE2040.
To join the group, contact Thoughtworker Abby Bobe at ilbobe@thoughtworks.com.
Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Thoughtworks.