Are you a female developer looking for ways to fight the gender gap in tech? It’s no secret that women remain massively underrepresented in the tech industry — but it’s possible to take steps to help close this gap!
This is why in March, we launched the Coding Wonder Woman Campaign to celebrate the women developers in our community and ask them to share experiences and advice to foster inclusion in the tech industry, and, more specifically, in the role of developers.
Together we can make progress towards empowerment by unleashing our coding superpowers!
Tips for women developers
As we explained before, during March we interviewed women developers from the Codemotion community to ask them about their jobs and, specifically, to share advice and insight with other women trying to thrive in the tech industry and pursue careers as devs.
Many people from the community responded and help us chose our Coding Wonder Women, and here are some of their responses.
Advice from our Coding Wonder Women
Chiara Corrado, Software Architect: “Be at the forefront of fighting the gender gap, generate awareness, don’t break down in the face of injustices, create networks, and work towards the goal.”
Francesca Tosi, Numerical Analyst, and Full Stack developer: “Study, learn, don’t care about those who underestimate you, and move forward like a train!”
Veronica Di Giorgio, Solution Architect: “Regardless of gender, those who show passion for this job always excel. And excelling and receiving satisfaction is something that we women have been denied for many years, due to the type of work we were “invited” to do. In the world of technology, and that’s one of the beautiful things, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, black or white. It only matters that you know how to do your job well.”
Azahara Fernández, Frontend Developer and Immunologist: “This is a very entertaining and exciting profession, but it’s important to not demand too much of yourself (all people fail and make mistakes). Try not to compare constantly with other people, because each one of us has something unique to offer.”
Anastasia Kondratieva, SRE, cloud-native & DevOps: “Tech is a fascinating sector that needs diversity and it’s working towards that. Technology does care about your degrees or age. If you are really interested, you will feel super powerful as you learn and you will be opening more and more doors. Diving deep into technology is one of the best decisions that you can take, you will see how your ideas take shape and are useful in the real world.“
Gloria Giannascoli, Frontend Developer: “I would recommend a girl to pursue a career in tech because developing is above all FUN, we are professionals who manage to make ourselves known by people and companies through platforms such as github that allow every person passionate about code to make themselves known. The tech landscape is a further incentive for those who want real professional growth “that is never stagnant, or with interminable waits before entering the working world.“
Nieves Ábalos Serrano, Chief Product Officer & Founder @ Monoceros Labs: “Learning technology is as useful as learning a language and also has a very useful practical application in society: we can solve many problems with what we create and build. Furthermore, technology is a very good complement to other disciplines, such as physics, biology, philology, etc..“
Giorgia Fiscaletti, Cloud Engineer
“Software Engineering is certainly a challenging path, but it is also a highly rewarding one. You don’t need to be a tech geek (I’ve never been one), all you need is curiosity, creativity, and a strong desire to learn. It is such a vast world that has something to offer for everyone’s taste!”
Stefania Delprete, Data Scientist
“Technology is now present in every area of life, and there are various ways to learn different tools, from online tutorials to bootcamps around the world. Speaking directly to those who are reading this… No matter what your interest is, you can certainly bring innovation and accelerate solutions. Personally, I see crucial importance in bringing more voices and viewpoints to technology initiatives, from entertainment to social impact projects. I am available to offer advice!”
Sara Subijana, Software Developer
“Don’t be afraid to pursue a career that’s been traditionally male-dominated. With effort and dedication, anything is achievable. And remember, valuing yourself is totally crucial!”
How can companies help tackle the gender gap in tech?
Let’s dive into why businesses play such a pivotal role in creating greater diversity in tech and how they can foster a positive shift toward true equity. So if you’re curious about what it takes to make a meaningful change or just want to see some companies leading by example, take a look at the infographic below.
These tips and recommendations are for companies to support women and tackle the gender gap and other issues that women developers face every day. Check it out and share it!
Why are women developer communities so important?
Finally, communities can play a key role in helping women boost their careers in the tech industry. Here are five ways that communities help women developers grow and succeed:
Connecting with peers: Being part of a community gives women developers access to a network of peers they can connect with and learn from. This is especially important for those who don’t have access to an existing mentor or other experienced professionals.
Sharing knowledge & ideas: Communities provide a platform for discussing challenges and sharing ideas—for instance, through online forums or blog posts. Also, many communities offer workshops and tutorials that give members access to valuable resources. See the example of Black Girls CODE.
Encouraging collaboration: Women developers often find it difficult to contribute to open source projects due to lack of confidence or feeling intimidated by more experienced members. However, being part of a community allows them to collaborate on projects with other members without needing any special qualifications or technical experience.
Breaking Down Barriers: By encouraging collaboration between members with different levels of skill, communities can help break down barriers that prevent women developers from entering the industry. This is especially important for those living in areas where there aren’t many other opportunities available for technical roles.
Creating opportunities: Finally, communities can also help create more opportunities for women developers by providing visibility into what’s happening in the industry and connecting them with potential employers and mentors who may otherwise not know about their talents.
