Resources for Women In Tech

The economic destruction brought on by the Covid-19 Pandemic has often been called the “She-session” due to the huge negative impact it has wrought on women in the workforce.

The labor participation rate for women has dropped to a 33 year low (Source: Labor Department) both due to the strains this pandemic has put on women who work, while also having its largest effect on industries that typically have higher female employment, such as hospitality and retail.  And with the recovery for these sectors of the economy still expected to take months, if not years, to return to pre-pandemic levels, there is a powerful need to provide access to other career tracks for women.

More Women in Tech Jobs is Critical to Accelerating the Recovery for Women

In fact, the percentage of women in the Tech workforce remains woefully low, with only 26% of computer-related jobs being filled by women.  Yet, this is one of the fastest growing and best paying career fields for women, with computer related jobs expected to grow by 19% through 2026 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Changing the ratio of women in tech by traditional means will take decades.  According to a recent Gallup Report, only 18% of college graduates studying computer science are women, resulting in the perpetuating of this lack of gender diversity in the IT workforce for the foreseeable long-term  future if a disruptive change is not identified.

Per Scholas can Change these Trends and Increase Access for Women to Jobs in Tech

IT Support StudentPer Scholas offers a disruptive and alternative approach to change this trend and increase access for women to jobs in the technology field.  First, a Per Scholas Tech Training course is only 12-15 weeks long, so in the same time as a traditional semester of college, women can attend and graduate from Per Scholas, ready to enter the tech workforce. Secondly, Per Scholas offers its courses free of charge, whether the be in end user support, cybersecurity, or software engineering.  This means our learners are not burdened with debt when they graduate, or worse yet, wouldn’t be able to attend at all, if we charged tuition for our courses.

At Per Scholas, we are working towards improving our gender equity, and are currently tracking ahead of the 26% female employment rate in the tech industry by 8 percentage points.

Business Partnerships and Public Policy Change Makes A Difference

Dramatically increasing the participation in the tech workforce by women cannot happen without the support of business and government, at various levels. For several years, Per Scholas has partnered with TEKsystems to develop tuition-free tech training courses that are customized towards specific geographic areas across the country, and to meet employer demand.  In addition to helping design the courses, TEKsystems is there all along the way, with workshops in professional development, resume writing, and mock interviewing (held virtually during the pandemic).  And importantly TEKsystems provides access to a network of employers for our learners to access when they graduate.

Increased government support and policy changes will also remove more barriers to access for job training and career development opportunities like Per Scholas.  The Child Tax Credit that was recently passed as part of the American Rescue Plan will provide well needed funds for families that can be used to pay for child care, enabling more women to attend an intensive tech training, such as that offered by Per Scholas.  The current federal child tax credit is only temporary — it needs to be made permanent to have a long-term impact. In addition, more government support for highly effective job force development organizations like Per Scholas will increase the growth rate for women in tech dramatically.

The solutions to increasing the representation of women in the technology field are in our hands and ready to be scaled. We need creative partnerships like that of Per Scholas and TEKsystems, as well as bold government action, which has already been initiated.  Now is the time to continue to act courageously, for this is what will ensure a strong economic recovery post-pandemic.

This content is sponsored by:

Diverse by Design is proud to host The 140K: Women and the Pandemic on March 30, 2021 starting at 12 noon Eastern Time.

Register Today for Our Next Diverse by Design Virtual Event

Taking place during Women’s History Month, this Diverse by Design virtual event will explore the unique challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has presented for women and the solutions companies are employing to address them.

Hosted by Per Scholas Chief Administrative Officer Michelle Pullaro, The 140K: Women and the Pandemic will unpack the startling statistic from the December 2020 jobs report: women accounted for all 140,000 jobs lost in the final month of the year. TIME Magazine’s March 15 cover story reveals more than 2.3 million women have dropped out of the workforce in the past 12 months, with Latina and Black women most affected.

On International Women’s Day, U.S. News & World Report published a piece with the disheartening headline: “In One Year, Coronavirus Pandemic Has Wreaked Havoc on Working Women.” One troubling takeaway – the labor participation rate for women is at its lowest since 1987.

After an overview of the 2020 Women in the Workplace Study, presented by Per Scholas Columbus Managing Director Toni Cunningham, the virtual event will feature a dynamic conversation between Google’s Stephanie LeBlanc-Godfrey, Julie Dillman of Chubb, and PwC’s Kimberly Jones.


Featured Speakers

DxD Speaker Headshot - Stephanie LeBlanc-GodfreyStephanie LeBlanc-Godfrey

Global Head of Inclusion for Women of Color, Google

Stephanie LeBlanc-Godfrey is the Global Head of Community Inclusion Programs for Women of Color at Google. She was born in Brooklyn, NY, attended Stevens Institute of Technology, and completed her bachelors of engineering degree in Electrical Engineering before starting her career in the finance industry. She then pivoted her career to digital media, where she spent over 10 years in Advertising Operations at major media conglomerates including Forbes Media, FOX News Digital, and NBC News Digital. Currently, Stephanie’s work at Google is in service of women of color and parents/caregivers to create community where it doesn’t naturally exist and to influence the policies, programs, and processes that impact a woman’s sense of belonging and inclusion at Google.


DxD Speaker Headshot -Julie DillmanJulie Dillman

Global Head of Operations, Chubb Group

Julie Dillman was appointed SVP for Chubb Group and Global Head of Operations in October 2016. In her position, she oversees a wide range of operational areas across the Chubb organization including information technology, service, digital and e-business operations, real estate, facilities, and flight operations. Prior to joining Chubb, Julie was with Travelers Insurance, where as a member of the Company management committee, she led global operations and the corporate wide digital and analytics delivery. Julie was honored in 2013 by the Connecticut Technology Association as a Woman of Innovation and by Insurance Business Magazine with the 2018 Elite Women award. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.


DxD Speaker Headshot - Kimberly JonesKimberly Jones

People Experience and Talent, Center of Expertise Leader, PwC

Kim Jones joined PwC more than 25 years ago as an audit associate. Since her transition to the Human Capital team, she has served in many roles ranging from recruiter to diversity leader to global project leader. She now leads the People Experience and Talent Center of Expertise. She is focused on enhancing the day-to-day People experience across the PwC US/Mexico firm for its 50,000 partners and employees and leads firmwide initiatives including flexibility, diversity and inclusion, and talent strategy. In addition, Kim leads the firm’s Market People Leaders in their ongoing work as credentialed coaches and in support of PwC’s overall people priorities in geographic markets. Kim graduated with both a Bachelor and Master of Accountancy degree from the University of Oklahoma.


DxD Speaker Headshot - Michelle PullaroMichelle Pullaro

Chief Administrative Officer, Per Scholas

Since 2015, Michelle Pullaro has served as Per Scholas’ Chief Administrative Officer, overseeing the organization’s national growth. Immediately prior, Michelle served as the Managing Partner of a nonprofit management consulting firm, Quidoo, helping nonprofits develop the management and organizational capacity to scale their impact. Prior to her role as a consultant and advisor to scaling nonprofits, Michelle was the Executive Director for Taproot Foundation. Prior to her contributions to the nonprofit sector as a visionary social impact leader, Michelle held various leadership roles with Automatic Data Processing (ADP) in Sales Management, Corporate Training, and Corporate Marketing. Michelle attended Columbia University’s Executive Program in Nonprofit Management, earned her MBA from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business, where she was a recipient of a NASH Honors Scholarship, and holds a BA in Economics and Political Science from University of Wisconsin, Madison.


DxD Speaker Headshot - Toni CunninghamToni Cunningham

Columbus Managing Director, Per Scholas

Toni Cunningham is an accomplished leader, motivator, workforce development professional, and reboot strategist. As Per Scholas’s Managing Director in Columbus, Toni provides vision, operational, and executive leadership. She is a highly sought after conference speaker and workshop facilitator for organizations including Dress For Success, Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD), National Urban League, and Women In Tech. Toni’s passion is supporting women and girls; she serves as a member of getWITit Columbus Women in Tech, partners with Women In Tech International (WITI) Columbus and Women in Analytics (WIA) Columbus and is a volunteer mentor with Dress for Success Columbus. Toni was named a “Woman WELDing the Way” by WELD in 2020 and recently appointed to the Board of Directors of New Directions Career Center.


DxD Speaker Headshot - Nia DarvilleNia Darville

Director, Diverse by Design

Nia Darville was appointed to the position of Per Scholas’s Director of Diverse by Design in January 2021. In her role, she is responsible for providing vision and leadership, fiscal responsibility and sustainability, alliance cultivation, strategic thinking, and event management for Diverse by Design. Prior to her promotion, Nia served in various capacities in Per Scholas’ training organization bringing innovation and efficiency to each role she held. Nia obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from Andrews University and is currently pursuing her Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Organizational Management at Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University.

Diverse by Design is powered by Per Scholas and ITSMF (IT Senior Management Forum) and generously supported by Comcast NBC Universal, Google, JPMC, and TEKsystems.

A Mentor’s Role in a Learner’s Life & 5 Goal Setting Tips

A mentor’s role in a student’s life is highly significant. A mentor is someone who guides a learner throughout their journey to break the barriers that might stand in their way to success.

Per Scholas offers supplemental mentorship to all its learners in addition to their training. Our mentors are career coaches, financial coaches, and instructors, all who believe that maintaining an open line of communication with our learners is essential to their success. But how exactly are mentors influencing our learners’ experiences not only during their time at Per Scholas but also after graduating? How are our learners prepared to navigate a job market that grows continuously and becomes more demanding every day? Hear from some of our Per Scholas’ mentors about the benefits, activities, and advice for career success:.

 

How mentors help learners

One of the many ways a mentor can help our learners is “by ensuring that they are equipped with proper knowledge and skills necessary to be marketable in the workforce, as well as enhance confidence in areas that learners might feel incompetent in, and accommodate time outside traditional class to provide a more personal learning experience” according to Deandre Branch (Manager, Career Advancement – Dallas). 

Mentorship can be as broad or as specific as learners need it to be. One way Kelsey Briggs (Senior Manager, Career Solutions, Chicago) provides mentorship is by sharing information about the job market opportunities in the area and also offers feedback to learners about their job search materials, networking and communication skills.

“We guide them through their next career move, salary negotiation, and even when the right time is to move on to a new opportunity.” 

It is also important to remember that the relationship between mentor and mentee, in this case, our learners, is a safe, free of judgment space, and encourages learners to share their personal challenges and create an effective plan of action. “I focus on mentoring my learners with my life expertise and best professional practices. I also hold one on one meetings with my learners, and together we create an effective plan to address them,” shares Jose Jurado (Senior Manager, Career Advancement, New York).

 

What to do with a mentor

It is essential to understand what activities learners can participate in with their mentors during the mentoring process. Our mentors in Boston and Detroit agree that having a set time to connect and check-in regularly is fundamental to building a fruitful relationship between mentor and learner. Equally important is to talk openly. Honest feedback is one of the many benefits of mentorship. However, this can only be effective if there is an open communication line between the mentor and the learner. As Kelsey Briggs explains: “As we get to know each other, we can offer information on how others might perceive us, how we could get ahead, or how we can reach our goals.  The mentor/mentee relationship isn’t fixed, either. A strong relationship will have you sometimes offering advice and sometimes receiving it.” 

Other suggested activities include role-playing, which can be beneficial during the interview process when looking for a job, setting reasonable expectations, providing career focus direction, and networking activities. Many other activities can be part of your mentor’s relationship; these will depend on what you need, what you are looking for, and where you stand in your career at the time. 

 

Goal setting tips

Goal Setting is one of the many exercises where a mentor’s help is crucial. We gather a small list of the most important tips or steps to set and accomplish your goals. 

1.  Start with small goals.

Small goals will help you build the habit of setting and meeting goals. As you accomplish these small goals, you will gain the motivation you need to achieve bigger goals. Eventually, this will develop your confidence to carry out more complex goals successfully in the future. 

2. Just set your aim and get started.

It can be a stressful activity to set goals that will impact our future. But it is essential to understand that goals will evolve with you. Your first set of goals doesn’t have to be arduous. It certainly doesn’t have to make you look the other way just by thinking about it. Kelsey Briggs from Chicago acknowledges it “As you learn more about yourself and your field, they may change. But, you can’t see where you’ve come from, where you’re going, or even know if you’re on the right track if you don’t set those goals.” 

3. Begin with micro-habits

Micro-habits are small, simple tasks. They never last longer than 3-5 minutes, but they are mighty, and they can be as simple as making your bed in the morning, leaving your phone on the other side of the room at night, drinking more water, setting your next day the night before, etc. By setting micro-habits, you can grow the confidence and ability you need to achieve more significant life goals. Starting small instead of making drastic changes can help you build the consistency that will help you achieve your goals.

4. Set SMART Goals

Setting your goals is vital to make sure you are holding yourself accountable, and SMART goals help you do so. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Using this method is critical to focus on your daily activities that will amount to completing your goals. Plan out your goals, follow your plan, and you will accomplish it. 

5. Be Intentional

To achieve your goals, you have to be mindful of your actions, time, and effort. Achieving goals is a significant accomplishment, and it can quickly be done by following the plan that has already been set. Remind yourself of the big picture, keep your goals close to you, and don’t forget to check-in with your mentor and yourself to make sure you are following your plan and that you are on the right track to achieve your goals. Equally crucial is to be kind to yourself when you find you are not following your plan.

 

Diverse by Design

Mission

Diverse by Design (DxD), powered by Per Scholas and ITSMF, promotes solutions-driven conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion within tech, produces meaningful content that empowers c-suite leaders to make both valuable and socially impactful business decisions, and provides access to sophisticated customized training and talent sourcing solutions to meet companies’ talent demands while transforming the diversity landscape of their organizations. Read more about our mission here.

Vision

We envision a future where the technology workforce is as diverse as the customers it serves. Our goal is to equip companies with proven tech talent sourcing solutions, tools, and resources that will transform their organizations’ diversity landscapes, and ultimately, the landscape of the technology workforce itself. 

Where We’ve Been

Per Scholas first launched Diverse by Design as a conversation series in a strategic alliance with the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) in 2016. Diverse by Design created a space where leaders in tech and workforce development could come together to discuss and share best practices to attract, retain and develop skilled black and brown tech professionals. Each event gathered more than 150 attendees to hear from Fortune 500 thought leaders in tech, finance, and social impact. Through events at Google’s New York City headquarters and, Washington, D.C headquarters, plus convenings in Dallas, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Mountain View, Diverse by Design worked to spark new cross-cutting collaboration around critical issues, with a vision to ultimately foster more diverse talent pipelines and an American tech workforce that better reflects the diversity of our nation. 

Where We’re Going

We want to transform words into action. At Diverse by Design, we believe that investing in diversity makes good business sense. Diversity drives innovation and increases profitability. We want to provide companies with the proven tech talent sourcing solutions, training, and resources needed to recruit, retain, and cultivate diverse talent on purpose. 

How We’re Doing It

  • Customized Talent Solutions
  • Thought Leadership
  • Alliance Building 
  • Strategic Planning
  • Consulting
  • Content Creation

Diverse by Design Podcast

Diverse by Design just released the inaugural episode of the Diverse by Design Podcast. Hosted by Director Nia Darville, this episode features the story of how EVP of Social Ventures at Per Scholas and co-founder of Diverse by Design, Damien Howard, turned his frustration into action by creating a platform designed to help C-suite leaders make both valuable and socially impactful business decisions.

Click here to follow Diverse by Design on your preferred podcast platform.


Connect With Us

Are you interested in learning more? Schedule a consultation below. If there are no available appointments that fit your schedule, reach out to us at [email protected].



Explore the links below to learn more about past Diverse by Design events.

Diverse by Design 

Young, Black & Techy: Recruiting, Retaining, and Cultivating Diverse Talent. February 2021

 

Diverse by Design 

Virtual Conference, 2020

 

 

Diverse by Design 

Detroit, MI 2019

 

 

Diverse by Design

Dallas, TX 2018

 

 

Diverse by Design

Pittsburgh, PA 2018

 

 

Diverse by Design

Mountainview, CA 2017

 

 

Diverse by Design

Kansas City, MO 2017

 

 

Diverse by Design

Washington, DC 2016 

 

 

Diverse by Design

New York, NY 2016

 

 




Developing A Post-Pandemic Recovery Plan for New York City

There is no more important time for public institutions,  private companies, and nonprofits social enterprises such as ours to work together in developing recovery solutions.

For this reason, Per Scholas President & CEO, Plinio Ayala is an Advisor to the New York City Workforce Recovery Strategy Group — a group where Abe Mendez, our NY Managing Director, serves. This group of private sector and human services organization leaders have recently produced a strategic plan for New York City’s economic recovery with the first focus area being: Education & Training Ecosystem for the Displaced Workforce & Marginalized Communities.

COVID-19 has exposed deep inequities in our cities, in particular for black and brown communities that have been the hardest hit by this pandemic.

I am hopeful that public and private institutions will recognize how essential our role is in building a stronger and more equitable economy post-pandemic. — Plinio Ayala, Per Scholas President & CEO

That is why our recommendations start with the public, non profit, and private sectors investing in career and skills development for the long-term to help businesses and New Yorkers build a more resilient, nimble and modern economy. Much of this comes down to the critical role that Per Scholas and other similar organizations will play in this economic recovery.   Click the image above to see an Executive Summary of the NYC Workforce Recovery Plan.

Defending the Digital Frontier: A Per Scholas and Barclays Issue Brief

Defending the Digital Frontier: A Per Scholas and Barclays Issue Brief

An innovative partnership between Barclays and Per Scholas helps develop a tech talent workforce to defend against today’s sophisticated cybercriminals. Read the white paper by clicking on the image below.

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