Local experts speak on challenges facing BIPOC women in tech sector, need for representation

The numbers speak for themselves.

According to 2016 data from the National Center for Women and Information Technology, 25 per cent of roles in the tech sector comprise of women holding computing roles. Black women make up three per cent of that number, about five per cent are Asian women and one per cent are Latina women.

These numbers raise an issue of underrepresentation for Lena Thibeh, co-founder of BWOSS, a Waterloo-headquartered non-profit that helps BlPOC women access sales development resources and career development support.

Thibeh is among several speakers at a panel discussion Monday evening titled The Colourful Side of Tech Sales, that aims to put a voice and face to those statistics.

"How do we humanize that data so it hits home for tech companies and hits home for recruiters where they understand that this is a problem and it's unacceptable," she said.

Thibeh said tackling the issue of gender diversity starts with holding tech leaders, who often have a bias toward men, accountable and ensuring equity is front and centre.

"They do not see the value in Black, Indigenous and racialized voices, especially when it comes to women. And this is a problem because the question becomes, who are they actually serving and what does this say about a company's ethics? Especially in 2021."

The online event offers an oppourtunity to highlight the underrepresentation of women in the industry and ways to help them break barriers and take up space in revenue-generating roles.

Experience in industry 

Thibeh, who is Afro-Palestinian, said her experience navigating the industry is what helped inspire her to establish BWOSS to help others. She said she was often the only Black person on the sales floor and was denied job opportunities because of her race.

Today, she continues to move through the industry, challenging leadership through her own Black excellency, she said, "showing them what a Black woman can do and how far a Black woman can really innovate and change and just completely disrupt their own systems for the better."

Donna Litt, co-founder and COO of Waterloo-based Uvaro, which offers tech-sales training programs, is moderating the event on Monday. 

"It's been an uphill battle of carving out space for myself and often being one of the only women within certain conversations, especially women with arts backgrounds," she said about her experience in the industry.

Scholarship program

Both Thibeh and Litt's respective organizations are going even further to help ensure representation.

BWOSS, Uvaro and Waterloo-based Garage Capital, an investment fund that supports new startups, have partnered up to launch a $50,000 scholarship that will help ten women of colour enter the tech industry.

"Black women, Indigenous women and women from racialized communities are sometimes struggling from a socioeconomic standing, or just don't have the opportunities to connect with different educational resources," said Thibeh.

Litt said, "the goal here is to help establish a more equitable work environment through representation by increasing representation and reducing barriers for these folks to be able to gain access to the skills required to be successful in this industry, but also help accelerate that representation."

People can apply from anywhere in the world, without a background in tech. So far 50 women have reached out seeking more information about the program.