DENVER, Colorado — As the tech industry experiences layoffs and other challenges, one Denver-based organization is working to make sure Latinas have a space at the table for opportunities and upward mobility.
Latinas in Tech is a national 501c3 nonprofit with a chapter here in Colorado. Within just a few years, the Denver chapter has grown to more than 400 people. The organization helps coach people through job interviews and resumes. They also curate events for networking and professional growth. Companies also have an opportunity to post their positions to their job board, where they try to connect members to new opportunities.
"You need to be able to see yourself in certain places and certain spaces," Aimara Rodriguez, one of the chapter leaders for Latinas in Tech Denver, said. "You need to be able to have a community where you can go back to and say, 'This is the difficulty. This is the challenge that I am navigating.'"
Rodriguez began her career in tech 12 years ago.
"I think for the majority, at least in the early part of my career, I was the only woman in the room. Certainly, the only Latina in the room, and if we are being candid, that brings about experiences where people doubt you. They don’t listen to you. They over-sexualize you. So, I think for me, my north star was always if I don’t see myself in this room, I’m going to make sure that I can be an example for other people to follow," Rodriguez, who co-leads the group with Corina Hierro, said.
Rodriguez is now an entrepreneur who works to mentor and coach people looking to follow or find their own journey.
"It’s been really rewarding to be able to feed into that community and help people that need it, whether they are in tech, looking to transition into tech or looking to transition out of tech and into entrepreneurship," Rodriguez said.
In the case of Thalía Giraldo, she took a data analytics boot camp to pursue opportunities in tech. Shortly after moving to Denver, Giraldo became connected with Latinas in Tech. It's how she landed her job as a data analyst at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.
"Once I applied, Latinas in Tech completely advocated for me," Giraldo said. "They reached out to our HR here at the company. I believe in community 100%, especially communities of color and their ability to advocate for folks. So, when I moved to Denver, I immediately looked for a community because I do know how lonely that process can be. Once I found Latinas in Tech, it was 100% support."
Giraldo at the time was transitioning to tech with experience in higher education and community planning. When she recognized how much data analytics played a role in her work, she decided to pursue more opportunities.
"The transition was really hard," Giraldo said. "I spent over a year trying to make the transition."
Her job was posted to the Latinas in Tech job board. From there, she was hired by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.
"They made an intentional choice to follow through and post this job on their job board, and I think it shows that they really care about making their staff look like the people that they represent," Giraldo said.
Throughout the interview process, she was coached to make sure she could communicate how her previous background and new technical skills could be valuable to the organization. They helped through the experience to land the job with the hope that it would mean a more diverse workplace.
"I think that is part of what our community brings, just this diversity of experience and whether it's technical or not, I think it’s really important for us to be in the room," Giraldo said.
Latinas in Tech continues to welcome new members and hopes that more people may step up to become mentors and coaches within their organization.
"Being a part of this community, also being in the position where I get to build a community is so rewarding, and just seeing the Latinas that we have been to support to help them get jobs, to help them in interviewing prep, to help them see themselves in a different way than maybe those around them have told them that they are capable of," Rodriguez said.