Breaking Down Barriers—How Network to Code Is Promoting Women in Tech

For centuries, the recognition of the contributions of women have been often overlooked in history.

That is, until a school district in Sonoma, California took it upon itself in 1978 to highlight and celebrate women’s contributions to history, culture, and society through presentations, essay contests, and even a parade downtown. This celebration of women’s achievements took off around the country, inspiring the formation of many women’s groups and consortiums. Out of this movement, the larger powerful organization called the National Women’s History Project was formed, who helped lobby for national recognition. Due to their efforts, in 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared a week in March National Women’s History Week. Many other presidents followed suit, eventually leading to the declaration of Women’s History month in 1987.

Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to not only celebrate the women whose contributions have gone under-appreciated but also to draw attention to the gender inequalities women still face in our present-day society, especially in the workforce.

The tech industry in particular has made it incredibly difficult for women to establish a career and grow, in addition to earning the respect of their peers. Women in tech often find themselves working twice as hard as their male counterparts just to earn the same role, and in many cases, they do not earn the same salary their male counterparts would for that role. Women of marginalized groups face even more challenges leading to further discrimination. According to one study researching women who occupied 25% of computing-related roles between 2007 and 2020, white women made up 13 percent, Asian and Pacific Islander women made up 7 percent, Black women made up 3 percent and Latina and Hispanic women made up 2 percent. Gender and race are a factor for these women, and this places more obstacles in their tech career paths.

This needs to change.

The Importance of Women in Tech

In 2022, it was reported that only 24% of computing jobs were held by women and only 19% of STEM majors were women. This underrepresentation has been a point of controversy in the tech industry for decades, and with many not realizing the value of employing women in tech, change has been slow.

In addition to the fact that it is the fair and equitable way to hire, there are numerous other benefits of employing women in the tech industry. From increasing revenue to driving innovation and closing the skills gap in the workforce, women in tech have a substantial impact on the business.

A survey published in a Peterson Institute for International Economics paper indicated that firms that went from zero women in a corporate leadership role to 30% of corporate leadership roles being held by women saw a 15% increase in profitability for their organization. While women and men in these roles performed fairly equally, women bring a new set of skills to the position. Employing more women also brings a significant reduction in gender discrimination in the workplace.

Also, it’s important to understand the impact women have on innovation in the tech industry. Harvard Business Review published a survey that highlighted that diverse teams develop more innovative ideas as a result of different genders and backgrounds working together.

Challenges Women Face in Tech

Even though the benefits of women in the tech industry are substantial, the obstacles they face, such as a lack of female role models and prejudice based on gender, continue to make it difficult to break down the barriers that have been in place for years.

Lack of Female Role Models

One of the biggest challenges women pursuing a career in tech face is the lack of role models in the industry. With women only holding roughly 20% of corporate leadership positions in tech, it can be discouraging to young women who are early in their careers to not see a pathway forward in the industry. Many women note that it’s already difficult to get hired at tech companies, it is even harder to work your way up to a C-suite position.

Gender Prejudice

Another survey indicates that only 8% of women in tech report never experiencing gender bias in the workplace. Flipping that on its head, this means 92% of women have faced some type of gender bias in their tech careers. A woman could have earned the same degree as her peer but males are still more likely to be promoted. And why is that? There is much more that could be stated here on patriarchal norms but to be brief, there is a deeply-rooted and damaging (gender) bias that women are incapable of making significant contributions and performing at a high level in the tech industry. As a result, women are held to different standards when it comes to performance and promotional opportunities. Yet again, another discouraging and debilitating factor for women and the industry.

What Is the Women in Tech (WIT) Course?

As a pioneer in the network automation industry and the originator of one of its first network automation courses, Network to Code recognized the gender disparity and limited opportunities for women in the tech sector and wanted to do something to help. The organization extended invitations to 15 women to enroll in their course, offering it at no cost, with the goal of supporting and advancing women in their career paths.

At the end of 2021, Jason Edelman, CTO and Founder of Network to Code, utilized his position in the industry and took to Twitter to promote change and offer help to women interested in pursuing a career in tech. Inspired by his young daughters, Jason recognized that the industry needs to do better in supporting women in tech and building role models for young girls to look up to.

Three months later, 15 women from around the world took part in Network to Code’s five-day Network Programming & Automation course. Attendees were able to learn the basics of network automation with Python, develop skills to automate network devices, and learn how Ansible can be used to simplify workflows and provide an even faster way to get started with network automation.

“It was a pretty unique experience for me, as I have never taught an all-women class in the 25 years I have been teaching!” says Elizabeth Abraham, NTC Instructor.

After the success of the 2022 course, this past March we again welcomed 15 new women from around the world to take part in a fully paid opportunity to attend our five-day Network Programming & Automation course.

Breaking Down Barriers with Network to Code

Breaking down the barriers for women in the industry is impactful for both their careers and the tech industry as a whole.

In this five-day hands-on course, network engineers learn about foundational skills as they pertain to network automation and programmability. Participants walk away with an understanding of:

• Using Python within the context of network engineering
• Using Ansible within the context of network engineering, including the use of YAML and Jinja2 templating
• Network APIs, JSON, and YAML

From the beginning, our mission at Network to Code has been to empower the network engineer of the future with the skills and resources required to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape of networking. This course is the epitome of that mission, providing women network engineers of all backgrounds with the skills needed to succeed in the network automation and tech industries.

-Elizabeth Yackley

Elizabeth is Manager of Training & Enablement at Network to Code. She has an academic background in Women and Gender Studies and is passionate about advancing the role of women in the technology industry.

P.S. Interested in learning more about the 2024 WiT course? Please email training@networktocode.com for more information.