Taking Action: Hiring More Women In Technology
In my last post on Hiring More Women in Technology, I highlighted some areas that can be addressed. Below are examples of actions real companies are taking, both here in the Twin Cities as well as elsewhere.
Scholarships & Fellowships
Braintree has partnered with Dev Bootcamp Chicago and offered up $25K in two fellowships to underrepresented minorities. In addition, the Braintree Commit Fellowship will also offer the selected fellows mentors from their developer team.
Mediaocean will be granting three $25K scholarships to women undergrads and grad students in STEM. Applicants submit a 60 second video to a panel of experienced women in technology who will narrow it down to 10 semi-finalists. The public will then vote the remaining three to be awarded the scholarship.
Open Houses
JAMF Software is hosting an open house, Career Beta, in their Eau Claire, WI office to show off their space, how they work, and help people learn more about their company.
Other companies are doing similar events to show off their new space to the community and to share their company culture: BuzzFeed and SmartThings.
Hire Entry-Level Developers
Local companies are hiring current college students, interns, or apprentices. The key here is to also have a plan to grow them within your organization in a way where they are getting real-world experience, learning the ropes and growing as a developer.
Punch Through Design is a local company doing this.
Offering Space for Community Events
A few months ago, one simple tweet went out looking for space in the Twin Cities for a Girl Develop It course. Click through to see the response it got (and then keep scrolling):
MSP folks: do you know of a company that would host a Girl Develop It class? We’re pretty neat & you’ll get to meet a bunch of devs.— Amy Gebhardt (@amlyhamm) March 24, 2015
Little Things Add Up
While some of these sound like little things, they add up. Instead of simply talking about the lack of women in tech, these organizations are taking action.