Women In Tech: My Thoughts

Women in Tech. A catchphrase that has existed almost as long as people have been wondering why there aren’t any in tech. Despite the college performance and the initiatives made, it seems that efforts to increase female presence in the tech world have not produced the results expected. Why is that? Fumbi Chima discusses the reason behind this phenomenon using her experiences to illuminate the issue. So Mrs. Chima, why aren’t there more women in tech?

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“That’s a good question. You know, we’ve talked about this topic for years. We’ve seen the numbers–only twenty-sex percent of computer-science related jobs are held by women as CIO Magazine reports*. So why aren’t there more women in tech? My answer? It’s exhausting. I think of my own journey rising up through tech and how much I had to sacrifice to get where I am.

I remember when I started working these conversations were not happening. Conversations around diversity and equity were basically nonexistent and if they were happening they were happening on the fringes not really in these rooms where business was taking place. And that lack of dialogue creates a pressure on you. You are one of the few women in technology, in those rooms. You don’t think about what the issues around you might be that cause you to be the only person there that looks like you so you turn that focus inwards. You start doubting yourself asking questions like, “am I even qualified to be in this room?” “Should I even be here?” That imposter syndrome creates a very heavy emotional burden that I had to carry. It gets so exhausting. So when all the guys wanted to go get drinks after a meeting, to talk about football or soccer or something that you really do not have any interest in. You just don’t feel like doing it. Especially since they don’t want to talk about my reality show tv and what’s going on in the news. That’s not what they want to do nor should it be. I have a husband and he’s watching golf on the TV and gets up in the morning to watch his Chelsea game. But you still deal with that everyday. So I’d rather just go home and go back into my corner and just relax and compress. And you don’t really talk with the other women around you about what you were all going through because again you don’t have those kinds of conversations. Because you or at least I always thought, “well if they can do it why can’t I?” Looking back on it now for all those reading this asking, should we have talked about it? Absolutely! Would it have made a difference? Probably. And I see that difference now, in these conversations we are having. In talking about diversity and equality it relieves the burden I felt at the beginning of my journey in tech. Is it still there? 1000 percent but we’re becoming more aware of it.

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But some burdens still carry through your journey. You know you are going to change, your desires are going to change. At some point you want to settle down. You want to be married. Become a mother. But you still have those career aspirations. Those two desires conflict, I have felt it myself. I am the mother of two beautiful girls and I have missed things with them. Things that my colleagues and friends who stay home got to experience. Things like being involved in the school or their accomplishments. That feeling of guilt at not being able to balance everything is real. Especially back when I was first working it was very hard to just take off work to go and watch your daughter’s soccer game. Now things are different. You have that choice. But that choice is worthless if you don’t know that you have a voice or if you’re worried about missing out at work. That FOMO that keeps you from truly paying attention to what’s happening–in the office and at home. So just figuring out how to prioritize yourself and what you really need is a big part of just being able to move through the tech world and being happy with yourself.

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Then of course there are additional worries if you are a woman of color. Being a black woman, myself, within these places I have been both challenged and accepted for who I am. Especially when I think about where I started, which was in the UK. I feel that in the UK racism is very passive-not as obvious as it is in other places. For example when I would go into meetings, do I see people that look like me higher up in the career? Maybe one or two. Which is reflected in reality right? Only twenty-eight percent of those in senior management are women. But it never occurred to me to question that percentage because of the environment I grew up in. There were very few minorities in class. It didn’t matter because we were all the same caliber, same background. We did not see the racial discrimination and that mindset is what I carried throughout my career. So I just worked hard. Hindsight 20/20, probably harder. But in my mind I just worked hard because failure wasn’t an option. However, when I moved to the United States that was where racism was a little more obvious. I still didn’t feel it as such but I did see it because of how it was being talked about and how people talked to you. If they see black they immediately associate you with being African American. However they saw me differently because of my accent. It was, “oh, you grew up in the UK, wow!” So I think it may have been a novelty–a black woman from the UK unlike the typical African American. Unlike how they experience that racial discrimination and deal with it at full force, I didn’t feel it as much. As I started to move up in my career, seeing people talk differently to me or people that looked like me created an awakening in me. When a crime is reported you see someone that looks like me. Or when you’re driving and going to the store security suddenly becomes alert when you walk in. That is when you realize. That’s when you become more aware. That’s really how I started getting into this whole conversation about diversity, fairness, and equity.

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I consider that awareness to be a gift because when I have been given a platform and voice I get to talk about this topic I am really passionate about. I get to try and address–not solve but address these problems that affect people and as someone who cares for people that is a gift. But part of that awareness, the burden of it is realizing I have been discredited for my ideas because of what I look like. A part of it is also because of how I was brought up. I’ve always been taught if so many people are talking you just keep quiet and listen and then provide your perspective. I know that is a common issue for women within the workforce, you see it in articles from places like CIO Magazine. I think I was naive enough and I took that as a way to be polite in the workplace. And then I think people sometimes take advantage because I’m not gonna talk over them, I wait and then they just move onto the next thing. And the more they do that, the more I think, “why bother, right?” Because sometimes if I try to be passionate I become expressive and then they’re like, “you’re being a little bit aggressive.” So it’s just constantly negative, negative, negative. So you just withdraw. So I’ve had to teach myself to find a polite way of adding my voice to the conversation.

Nowadays I try to really empower women. I look to see who people are as individuals. Looking at myself, because I try to lead by example, in my bio I talk about my children. You know, I am married with two children. When I speak to people I bring my authentic self, Fumbi–the daughter, the sister, the wife, to work. Because I wasn’t given that opportunity when I was coming up. When people asked me who I was I would just discuss my professional piece, what I did. So now I ask people who they are. And they are also programmed to give that professional response but I try to really get to them and I ask them, “okay, so personal?” And you can just see the shoulders drop because you struck a chord with them. Then from there you have a relationship because you can have a conversation because they opened up. Just being more empathetic and encouraging those conversations really brings about the best in people.

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I tell women that they should still go for tech. Despite the exhaustion, despite the stress, it is still worth it. Tech is such an exciting industry to be in right now. And we need to be more open and vulnerable to figure out where deficiencies might be. We need women, like myself, to promote other women. We are beginning to do it. It may not always be seen but it is happening. We have to go over and beyond for each other. Us women are more emotional because we take on more than men, so we need to be available for each other more than ever.

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As for myself, I still continue to advocate for women, be the voice for women advocacy and involvement in the tech force. Even looking at the best leaders–prime ministers, CEOS–the best performance in the economy or company or anything is women. So I am constantly pushing for that to be replicated in technology. But I am more than just one thing. I am pushing for Generative AI at the moment. You know, always pushing for both women and tech to go farther than ever before. ”

 

 

 

Appendix

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*CIO Magazine is a magazine focusing on publishing articles on entrepreneurship and business technology. The article referenced is linked below:

https://www.cio.com/article/191432/7-challenges-women-face-in-getting-ahead-in-it.html