Building diverse and inclusive workforces is important for individuals and businesses. Research shows that diverse teams across all industries are more creative, experimental, and productive and are better at meeting deadlines and staying under budget. Also, when women are in upper management, financial performance improves.  

 Each woman’s story on how she enters a STEM subject (science, technology, engineering, or math) will be unique. As a trailblazer, there will be self-doubt and discrimination, but also triumph, strength, and the opportunity to have a profound impact on others.

How we begin to unlock these journeys – and the undeniable benefits of a diverse workforce and an empowered society – starts with increasing access to technology and creating new opportunities. Both tasks must be underpinned by a strong community.  

Community cultivates a culture of acceptance and inclusion. Bringing women together sparks conversations that break down the stereotype that tech is “just for boys”. By making the industry more welcoming and approachable to beginners, we can start to successfully expose more minority groups to the technology industry.  

Considering my own situation, I was lucky to have a family that encouraged my technical explorations and pursuit of computer science at university. However, I kept my interests in technology somewhat hidden from my friends because it was not a topic that girls were commonly interested in.  

During my university studies, I finally found my first female friends who loved technology. There were only a handful of women studying computer science, so we soon developed a supportive community in each other. Notably, it was through them and other female role models that I started to recognize the importance of connecting women in STEM, and inspired me to start advocating for women in tech.

A Microsoft study found that as girls get older their interest in technology careers drops. By the time girls are in university, 58% think that programming is “not for them”. However, girls who know a woman working in a STEM field are nearly 20% more likely to feel empowered by STEM activities – strongly indicating that the power of female role models and communities is quantifiable. 

Change Is Coming 

Societal barriers are being broken down and doors gradually opened to women in tech. Organizations are striving to create an industry that is representative of the world, not just the privileged few.  

To tackle low female representation in tech, organizations are providing free programming training, guidance on making career shifts into tech, developing mentor/mentee relationships, and are increasing the visibility of female role-models. The most impactful organizations are fostering community alongside their offerings.  

A sense of belonging in tech is developed by building both individual confidence and collective confidence or feelings of group inclusion. Individual confidence is often derived from upskilling and the proving of capabilities to oneself, thereby overcoming harmful gender stereotypes. 

Collective confidence grows through discovering a community that makes one feel valued and included. The power of community should not be underestimated. It has the capability to transform minds and instigate dramatic change.  

Community groups are needed throughout the entire career pipeline to attract and retain women at different career stages and age ranges by addressing the evolving challenges at each stage of being a woman in tech.  

Let me highlight several of my favorite programs:

The STEMettes, created by Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon, targets girls in elementary and middle schools to introduce them to STEM subjects through hackathons, panel events, exhibitions, and school trips. They also work with high school and university students to support them through their studies and deliver opportunities for growth.  

The STEMettes connect young women to fantastic female role models through their Students to STEMettes mentorship scheme, introduces girls to technical subjects in an approachable and creative way, and unlocks opportunities many girls would have never imagined having, for example the chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to the Grace Hopper Conference, the largest female computing conference in the world.  

Code First: Girls is a life-changing community which provides free coding classes to 18-23-year-old women and female or non-binary current or recently graduated students. They have taught over 10,000 women to code and aim to teach 20,000 women by 2020.  

CF: G empowers and inspires their community to use technology as a mechanism to pursue and achieve their dreams regardless of educational background. They unlock doors previously closed to many women and provide their community a platform to inspire others through speaking engagements, unique events, and interviews. 

Women@Microsoft, an internal Microsoft community, aims to help existing women in tech thrive. This is accomplished by spreading knowledge about technical advancements, sharing tailored career advice, and developing mutually beneficial relationships amongst employees. This work is proving crucial to improving retention of existing women in tech. 

Each of these organizations helps build women’s individual confidence and skills by providing training, but they crucially also build collective confidence by creating a strong community – this is what makes them effective in changing lives.  

Self-Perpetuating Growth 

The beauty of communities like those highlighted previously is that they can transform into collaborative friendships that continuously uplift their members. Their power is compounded by the inclusion of others, and the achievements of each person. They are networks of ambitious women who are constantly striving to improve themselves and the lives of others.  

A community founded on altruistic goals often finds that altruism becomes part of the group’s culture. Many of the women who are part of these communities have gone on to help others find success or develop solutions to problems with which they have personal experience. These communities encourage each other to create impact with their new skills and to dream big.  

Eventually the girls who previously sought out role models become role models themselves. Their stories about how they endeavoured for greatness and pushed through barriers then empower the next set of women to join the community. They uplift others just as they have been uplifted themselves.  

The message that community is crucial to building a gender-balanced industry can be applied on a wider scale to build industries with diversity in ethnicity, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, religion, age, and physical abilities.  

Community creates a self-perpetuating growth of inclusion and fosters positive global change. 

Moving Towards Equality 

The UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 focuses on achieving gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls. Some targets focus on using technology to promote the empowerment of women and ensuring women have full, effective, and equal opportunities to rise to leadership positions so they can participate in “decision making in political, economic, and public life”.  

Technology is one of the world’s most powerful industries. It is changing every region of the world and every industry. With technical jobs that pay 36% more than the national average in the UK increasing in demand at twice the speed of non-digital jobs, actions need to be taken to ensure the entire population has access to self-fulfilling, well paid jobs where they can be decision makers in key global industries. The importance of technology being created with everyone in mind becomes critical as it increases its influence on people’s personal and professional lives. 

By breaking down the barriers that hold women back from pursuing technical subjects, we begin to build confidence, which leads to bolder action and growth. This growth unlocks new gifts and talents that many women would not imagine they have. As women embrace their gifts, they discover their power; a woman with power gains her voice; and a woman who gains her voice is an unstoppable force for positive impact on the world. 

Community kicks off that process by building a network of support which lessens feelings of being an outsider and replaces it with acceptance and love. 

We live their hopes and dreams for the future. For women, we live the dreams of our foremothers like the suffragettes and the millions of hidden women who changed the world. We are manifestations of their dreams every day we go to work, every time we vote, and through every independent decision we make about the lives that we live.  

Community formed the backbone of so many activist movements that got us to where we are today. We all must be a part of the collective effort to uplift those around us so that our futures and the futures of others are brighter and more fulfilling. 

“Feminism can’t exist in principle. It needs the oxygen of action. We are its life force. If not us, who? If not now, when?” – The Guilty Feminist, Deborah Frances-White

Team Fit is Irreplaceable

Let’s take a step back first. My real first six months at Microsoft I finished back in January 2017 when I was a placement student at Lift working on Paint 3D. I had an amazing team who taught me more about the technology industry, the world of business, and technical expertise in the year that I spent with them than any lecture or online class could. I finished my placement year and subsequent internship on the Xbox team feeling confident in my abilities and ready to start my full-time career.

My 15 months as an intern meant my transition to re-join Microsoft after completing my computing undergrad was seamless. I instantly had a connection with the team, was comfortable asking questions, and felt like I belonged. A major reason I wanted to work with the Lift team again post-university was because of the team fit. Our team is wildly clever, places critical importance on quality, and strives for impactful innovation — traits I hold in very high esteem.

Surrounding yourself by people who you can learn from is of the utmost importance, particularly for a new engineer. The classic phrase “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room” is so true, because otherwise you’ll begin to stagnate.

Beyond working traits, my team feels like family. I look forward to seeing them every day, sharing stories, hearing their perspectives, and laughing at the most absurdly random topics. Our team fit, driven by meaningful relationships, makes me an enthusiastic employee who wants to tackle challenging, unanswered questions in the emerging virtual assistant space.

Team fit is created on both sides of the hiring table and discovering what kind of team fit suits your unique needs and wants is a personal journey. You produce the best work if you are surrounded by people who complement, motivate, and inspire you.

Discover your (Evolving) Motivations

True, long-lasting motivation comes from within. It is created by your passions, values, and dreams. When I first started pursuing technology, working in the video games industry was my goal. I grew up playing games and wanted to create the games that shaped me.

Over the years, as I was learning about other technologies and was gaining experience, my motivations evolved — as they should! Working on Paint 3D and Xbox taught me that I love working on user-facing products that bring fun and creativity to others.

Building on those revelations, the combination of working on Paint 3D and Cortana helped me tune into the joy and adventure of working on cutting-edge technologies that introduce additional challenges of solving unanswered questions like “How can we make 3D creation easy for anyone between the ages of 4 and 104?” and “How can we provide the best experience and most value in the new voice-enabled world?”.

Experience across three very different global products taught me what made my heart sing; pursuing innovation, pushing boundaries in new human-computer interaction spaces, the ability to enhance the lives of others around the world.

This discovery freed me from the small box that I put myself in where I thought I would only be happy or find success working in the games industry.

Seek Communities Outside Your Day Job

The women in STEM community brings me a sense of fulfilment that I cannot find solely in programming. Crucially, it combines my engineering skills, life experience, and my desire to make the world a better place.

During my placement year, I was fortunate to have a mentor, Linden, who fuelled my fire to bring equality and gender balance to the technology industry. Since then, female empowerment and activism has been at my core.

Once I went back to university to finish my undergrad, I was elected the VP of the Computing Society to use it as a platform for change. My efforts focused on increasing industry connections for all Surrey students and providing female students strong role-models, a powerful network, and career advice on how to succeed in male-dominated industries.

My work continues at Microsoft. Coincidentally, this week also marks International Women’s Day and the culmination of weeks of work organizing an inspiring technology showcase developed by the engineering teams in London incl. HoloLens, Paint 3D, and SwiftKey to show to 50 year eight girls during a DigiGirlz day.

DigiGirlz, a Microsoft organization, aims to inspire future female technologists by introducing them to Microsoft employees and workspaces, getting them hands-on with the latest technology, and challenging them to #CreateWhatsNext during a hackathon centered around making the world a more accessible place. Throughout the day I wore many hats — hackathon helper, mentor, judge, and co-organizer.

I was exhausted by the end, but absolutely thrilled with the results. The girls left feeling empowered to pursue technology with a greater understanding of how they can integrate programming skills into their individual passions.

These additional communities introduce you to people that otherwise may be out of reach.

External communities unlock a network united by shared interests that can be tapped into to accelerate your career and altruistic goals.

I have met so many incredible female leaders and have had countless career opportunities stem from my advocacy work.

Satya Nadella wrote in his book Hit Refresh — Employee Edition that we should use Microsoft as a platform to change the world and create impact. We are all dynamic people with interests beyond our day jobs. Find a way to combine your skills, create positive change, and live a more fulfilled life.

Lock into Your USP

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve been given is to find gaps in your team’s skills and fill it. Make it your USP. Not only does it push you to learn new skills, but it also makes you an invaluable member of the team.

For me, this comes in the form of Windows UI development done in XAML. For those who have written in XAML before, you know that it can be a bit of a beast. There is a lot to learn with different quirks and “magic” that can make it hard to fully understand.

There are other amazing XAML developers team members, but as their careers have progressed, they no longer have the time to develop as much. Others find it too complicated or just outside their realm of interest. Conversely, I enjoy the challenge of XAML and developing front-facing code, so this skill appeals to my technology sub-interests.

It is a perfect opportunity to seize a skill gap and fill it whilst using the other XAML developer’s experience to enhance and increase the pace of my learnings. Note that this does not mean limiting yourself to just this skill. The intention is to grow your skills into these needed areas.

Expertise brings respect and career growth opportunities. Identify a cross-section between the technologies you love and the skills your team needs.

Taking a moment to self-reflect helped me appreciate my growth in the last six months. I look forward to the next six months of learnings leading up to my 1-year anniversary at Microsoft.