Women in Technology - Part 2

 Greetings and salutations!

As a follow up to our blog posting on Women surviving in technology, today we are featuring a guest post from our one of our friends, Jessica Hernandez, of Great Resumes Fast.

Thanks Jessica!

How Women Can Overcome the Challenges They Face in the Tech Industry

The tech industry isn’t the first male-dominated field in which women have had to fight to rise to the top. Here are some tips for overcoming the challenges women face in a male-dominated industry.

1. Don’t be afraid to speak up—and ensure your voice is heard. When men seem to dominate meetings, it can be hard to speak up. Ensuring you’re heard is a positive step. Practice, in a safe zone, having a voice and being heard. You can join activities that provide opportunities to be heard; or seek advice from a career coach who can help you to work through how and when to speak up and what to say. The more you practice, the more confident you’ll be—and the more you’ll want to be heard.
2. Are you not being treated properly? Point it out. Don’t be afraid to expect respect—for your work, your position, your voice. Learn to be assertive. That doesn’t mean you have to be aggressive; but expecting respect and the way you carry yourself affects a person’s perception of you.
3. The reality is that there will be tough days—but you are tougher. Ignore the naysayers and meet challenges head on with confidence. Handling difficult situations (or personalities for that matter) with confidence and grace speaks volumes about your character—and people will respect that. Sometimes you will have to be your own cheerleader.
4. Seek out mentors in your industry, and create your own advisory board. Having a sounding board, and women to look up to who’ve already walked the road you’re on, will be a great encouragement to you on the hard days and provide much needed wisdom for the challenges that lie ahead. Discuss with them how they got to where they are now, get any tips they have to succeed in a male-dominated industry, and bounce ideas and thoughts off of them on major decisions and projects you’re working on. Mentors can be a great asset to your tech career path; and they can provide a lot of peace and encouragement—especially when the going gets tough.
5. Try to focus on a bigger picture. Women have risen to the top in many once male-dominated industries, and now you’re paving the way for the many younger women who will come after you. They’re going to look up to you and think: If she could do it, then I can do it too. Then one day you’ll be the mentor for women breaking down the stereotypes and invisible walls.

Good Luck and Good Searching!

Stay tuned for the next guest post on the topic.