Black women are one of the least represented groups in the technology sector. According to The National Center for Women & Information Technology, Black women account for only three percent of the US computing workforce, while BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, reports that they account for just 0.7 percent of the UK tech workforce, 2.5 times lower than other professions.
Those Black women who do manage to forge a career in the tech industry will also likely have waited longer for their first opportunity compared to their colleagues. Research from Totaljobs has revealed that after finishing education, it takes Black women on average 5.1 months to secure their first role, compared to 2.8 months for white women.
These numbers are certainly not due to a lack of education among Black women, according to Alexandria "Lexi B." Butler, Founder of Sista Circle: Black Women in Tech. Butler notes that in the US at least, Black women are the most educated body of people in the whole country. What Black women are lacking, however, is insider knowledge of the corporate tech world, she argues:
"I've been very fortunate that my career started when I was 22, right out of university. The first two years, there were so many things I did not know. When I looked at my peers who were not Black women, I noticed they were invited to rooms to learn the truth about what's really going on. I wasn't invited in."
Butler graduated from Stanford university in 2011, and worked at various tech companies including NetApp and Airbnb. By 2017, she began to realize that to have the mentorship and conversations required to support and progress her career, she needed more Black women in her circle.
Continue reading: https://diginomica.com/getting-equity-black-women-tech-sista-circle-approach
Those Black women who do manage to forge a career in the tech industry will also likely have waited longer for their first opportunity compared to their colleagues. Research from Totaljobs has revealed that after finishing education, it takes Black women on average 5.1 months to secure their first role, compared to 2.8 months for white women.
These numbers are certainly not due to a lack of education among Black women, according to Alexandria "Lexi B." Butler, Founder of Sista Circle: Black Women in Tech. Butler notes that in the US at least, Black women are the most educated body of people in the whole country. What Black women are lacking, however, is insider knowledge of the corporate tech world, she argues:
"I've been very fortunate that my career started when I was 22, right out of university. The first two years, there were so many things I did not know. When I looked at my peers who were not Black women, I noticed they were invited to rooms to learn the truth about what's really going on. I wasn't invited in."
Butler graduated from Stanford university in 2011, and worked at various tech companies including NetApp and Airbnb. By 2017, she began to realize that to have the mentorship and conversations required to support and progress her career, she needed more Black women in her circle.
Continue reading: https://diginomica.com/getting-equity-black-women-tech-sista-circle-approach
