BLIC

BLIC is committed to encouraging and supporting Black, Latina and Indigenous (BLI) women to achieve economic mobility through a job in tech. Statistics show that these groups make up a small percentage of the tech workforce (7% Black, 5% Latina, and <1% Indigenous). These percentages are even smaller for BLI women that come from lower income backgrounds, those who may be the first in their families to go to college, and those who have not obtained a four-year degree. Our solution addresses this problem in a holistic way. For us offering comprehensive, affordable, and region-specific resources to obtain a job in tech is only the beginning. We believe to have a true impact we need to offer a space for BLI women to build authentic communities. Hence, we offer BLI women a community network that consists of mentors and peers that will support them in trailblazing their path in technology.

Despite technology constituting a significant portion of the U.S. workforce and economy, Black, Latina, and Indigenous (BLI) women are heavily underrepresented in the technology workforce. Although strides have been made in recent years to reduce the gender gap in tech, racial diversity amongst these women is lacking. Among women in tech, only 7% are Black, 5% are Latina, and Indigenous populations are often reported as being “too small to report” or regulated to the “other” category in diversity reports. Compared to their peers, these young women are less likely to have access to relatable mentors in the field and lack access to tech related courses and programs. As a whole, the current lack of representation leads younger generations of BLI women to feel unwelcome in the field causing a negative feedback loop. 

The lack of representation stifles the economic power of BLI women. At an individual level, BLI women are left out of some of the most flexible (due to remote options), fastest growing and most lucrative occupations. At a national level, the lack of gender and racial diversity in one of the fastest growing sectors threatens to widen the racial and gender wealth gaps in the US.

We will create a platform that motivates and equips women who identify as Black, Latina, and/or Indigenous (BLI) to carve their own path in the technology workforce. To accomplish this, we are proposing a two-pronged approach. First, we plan to create a digital space that centers the voices and experiences of BLI girls and women who have or aspire to have a career in technology. Our platform will provide resources that will further spark BLI women’s interests in technology. These resources include aptitude tests to expose the diversity in job roles, technical and non-technical ones, within technology, blog series that predominantly highlight successful BLI women in tech, videos that shadow BLI women on the job, and the ability to join a chapter, to receive geographic specific resources. Second, for those who decide they want more personalized resources, they will be able to join a cohort of 10 to 15 women. We plan to offer our cohorts course preparation, mentorship, and a sense of community. Through the chapter and cohort engagement, these women will feel empowered to trailblaze a unique path that is not confined to conventional ideas of what it means to have a career in tech.

The technology sector is one of fastest growing sectors in our economy yet Black, Latina and Indigenous women (BLI) have been left behind, regardless of college degree attainment. BLI women have not been able to penetrate the current pipeline for entry-level job opportunities in technology and, if the current model of career preparation and corporate hiring processes are left unchanged, BLI women will not be able to access the economic opportunities in the the technology sector.

We understand the educational and professional needs of these women because we are from the communities from which these women originate. We plan to serve our population through the following ways:

1. Partnership with communities and schools where those women live and attend schools to increase the number of women considering and pursuing tech jobs 

2. Collaboration with tech companies to  offer internships and entry level jobs to these women to create a workable pipeline for women to get jobs in tech 

3. Building communities  and meaningful connection for young women with BLI and other female tech professionals. 

4. Providing no- and low- cost skill learning and career building skills for these women

BLIC will provide resources that not only develop hard skills, but also develop a sense of community within a field in which Black, Latina and Indigenous women (BLI) and women without a college degree are heavily underrepresented. We hope to demystify what it means to work in technology so young women can choose whether this is the right path for them. If it is, we will provide them with support through programming courses, a cohort of young women with similar backgrounds and interests, and a mentor that will help bridge their transition from high school into the workforce or college.

Central to our solution is the understanding that holistic success is dependent on community and mentorship. While organizations like Girls Who Code and ChickTech focus predominantly on gender, we want to intentionally hold a space for those who have intersectional identities. Hence, we want young women to have a platform to build community based on affinity groups they feel most compelled to do so with. We also plan to match these young women with a mentor whom they can relate to on a personal and professional level. Moreover, we are intentionally working on developing these communities outside of the traditional tech hubs and large metropolitan areas. We have taken note that there are many resources in tech hubs but limited resources for young women living in cities in the Midwest and South. Hence, we plan to open chapters that provide resources and build community amongst BLI women who live in cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma and  Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Moreover, we are uniquely attempting to advocate for women who are not likely to attend a 4-year university. In recent years, many technology companies have dropped requirements to have a 4-year degree if the candidate has enough experience. We know that for many of our participants, attending college is not an option, especially during the economic downturn caused by COVID-19. Therefore, we hope to equip our cohorts with the skills and community support necessary to enter the workforce regardless of their ability to attend a 4-year university.

We will use a website as our primary technology to connect with students in various regions and expose them to the resources they need to pursue their path within tech. Through our site, we will create a tiered system of engagement. At the first tier, anyone who visits our site will have access to “A Day in the Life” style videos and posts to highlight an array of jobs available in tech and roles held by women of diverse backgrounds. This tier will also have access to a career assessment quiz, that takes their unique interests and skills and suggests next steps and potential roles that may fit their needs. The next tier is our chapter model, where students, educators, and professionals can use our website to look up their local chapter or start one of their own. This tier has access to curated job boards, provides no- to low-cost resources and workshops, offers community connections, and allows students to opt-in to the third tier that consists of a small cohort. The final cohort tier offers deeper connections and opportunities for direct mentorship that will be facilitated through our site and can be carried into the offline world.

We acknowledge that many students in our target demographic may not have access to personal computing devices and/or stable wifi connections, so our partnerships with local schools, local community centers, and tech companies will be crucial to ensure that all of the students we serve are able to connect with us.

Year 1:

• Start 5 local chapters in cities that are not necessarily considered tech hubs and where there is a significant percentage of Black, Latina and Indigenous girls and women their population. Include cities: Laredo, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Tulsa, OK; Chattanooga, TN, Providence, RI.

• Create  partnership with 3 to 5 technology companies who will commit to hiring and providing summer or academic year internship opportunities for  Black, Latina and Indigenous girls and women 

Year 2 to 5:

• Expand local chapters from 5 to 50 

• Expand partnership with 50 tech companies

• Partner with an educational/job skill companies or colleges to develop a curriculum for our cohort

Year 5 to 10:

• Double the number of Black, Latina and Indigenous women in tech field

• Influence the tech industry to create a pipeline to hire and retain Black, Latina and Indigenous women in their companies

• Become a policy advocate for the local, state and federal level that make the education and career preparation for girls and women more 

Nia Sanders, Co-founder & Industry Partnerships

Julie Lee, Co-founder & Strategy 

Leticia Calvillo, Co-founder & Community Partnerships and Outreach

Our unique personal and professional backgrounds give us the capabilities to approach the problem we aim to solve from a variety of informed perspectives and the drive to deliver a solution that authentically serves our participants. From a professional lens, the three members of our team bring experiences that range from software engineering to education and advocacy for historically marginalized communities. On a personal level, we are all women of color from   different racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds. As we come together to address this problem, we bring with us our experiences as women of color, former first generation college students, and experiences growing up in under resourced communities. Our personal journeys and successes  taught us the importance of  access to high quality resources to carve a path within our focus industry. We have personally witnessed the social and economic mobility that comes from being connected to consistent and comprehensive resources. Our goal is to help students reach their career goals through the tools we provide. We also understand and fully acknowledge the importance of role models and mentors along our journeys, and aim for our solution to create and provide these key communities and connections for young girls and women who are looking to be supported along their journeys in similar ways.

To create pipeline for jobs, internship opportunities and find mentors, we will partner with:

1. Tech companies that are interested in increasing the diversity of their employees, specifically:  recruiting Black, Laina and Indigenous women and women without a four years college degrees

2. Recruiting companies that recruit engineering and non-engineering tech jobs

3. Tech professional group for women for mentors

4. We will work with tech and recruiting companies to identity skills sets they are seeking in technical and non-technical entry-level position

To recruit and to connect with Black, Lantix and Indigenous High school girls and young women, we will partner with:

1. Community colleges which have a substantial percentage of Black, Laina and Indigenous women

2. High schools in which there is a substantial percentage of Black, Laina and Indigenous  female girls

3. Colleges and universities at which there is a  substantial percentage of Black, Laina and Indigenous  female women

4. High schools in Indigenous communities

In order to offer career guidance and training for job ready skills, we would like to partner with:

1. Companies and institutions that provide job-ready skills for high school and young women, such as Brainstation in NYC

2. Professors and academic programs in the local college and universities in the cities where the active chapters will reside

3. Roz Picard, Ph.D.: MIT Faculty and  Head of MindHandHeart Initiatives

4. Anantha Chandarkasan, Ph.D:The Dean of School of Engineering 

5. Fiona Murray, Ph.D.,  Faculty at Sloan School of Management and Head of Innovation Initiative

6.  Cullen Buie, Ph.D.: MIT Faculty and Career Development Chair

BLIC inspires and prepares young Black, Latina, and Indigenous women to craft their own career path in technology. We believe every young woman should be able to decide what career path they would like to pursue regardless of their race, gender, and class status. BLIC is committed to supporting women from underrepresented communities to pursue a technical or non-technical career in technology. If funded we would use the grant to build an app that fosters a greater sense of community. We want young women from underrepresented to have a sense of community when pursuing a career in which they are heavily underrepresented. An app would allow us to greatly appeal to our target audience.