Hello, world!
I have good news and I have bad news. But before I jump into that, let me introduce myself.
I’m a Latinx woman from Brazil who moved to Silicon Valley in 2010. At the time, I was in the middle of a tech career gap: my main focus was to care for my 6 month old daughter while trying to adapt to life in a new country (it actually feels unfair to call this a “gap in employment”, since parenting was as hard as, and has taught me as much as any other professional roles I’ve had - if not more).
I’ve recently joined SOMOS.tech as Director of Communication and this is my first big contribution to the organization: in celebration of Women’s International Day, I was tasked with writing about women in tech, focusing on Hispanic and Latinx women.
This brings us to the bad news: Hispanic and Latinx women in tech are not only underrepresented, they are underpaid. If you look at numbers regarding inclusion and compensation, you’ll find out there is little reason to celebrate:
In the US, women make up only 27% of professionals in the technology sector, even though they are 56% of the country’s workforce. Hispanic and Latinx women are even less represented: they hold only about 2% of the jobs in tech.
Women in tech tend to make only 74% of what their male counterparts earn. This pay gap is wider than the pay gap across all industries, where women’s earnings are usually 80% of men’s. And if you add race and ethnicity to the tech industry numbers, you’ll find out that, in terms of compensation, Hispanic and Latinx women are at the very bottom (as well as Black women):
The good news is that there’s been progress (things used to be worse), thanks to the hard work of many women and allies that came before me and you. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but there’s also a growing number of people working to change these numbers. As the title of this blog post says, this is a work in progress.
One year after arriving in the US, I decided I was ready to go back to work. I was able to land a role in tech, but I had many challenges to overcome and many complexities to navigate. This experience is what drove me to join SOMOS.tech. I am sure my journey would have been less bumpy if I had the support of a community like the one we are creating, with resources like resumes tips and tricks; advice for job searching in tech; AI assistance; mentorship programs; local community meetups; and many more.
Today, I hope to give back to this community by helping other Hispanic and Latinx folks join the tech industry and be successful in their career.
Since its inception, the International Women’s day has been a global day to celebrate women’s achievements but also to advocate for gender parity. This year, the theme is Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress, highlighting “the importance of diversity and empowerment in all aspects of society”. I hope that this March 8th brings up discussions about issues like the pay gap and the lack of representation for Hispanic and Latinx women in the tech industry. I hope we can create awareness and inspire change.
If you are a Hispanic or Latinx woman who is already in tech, give back by holding the door open for others to get in. And if you’re one of those wanting to join, don't hesitate to reach out: we're here for you.