M+E Connections

Men still far outnumber women in the technology sector but, by creating programs that teach coding and other science, math and technology applications, the right education and opportunities can advance equity and drive more diversity in tech roles and ultimately drive more women to tech careers in Hollywood, according to speakers at the SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit, presented by Women in Technology Hollywood (WiTH).

“Women are still a rarity” in tech and “post production is even more male-dominated than the studio world that I had come from,” Cindy McKenzie, chief information officer at Deluxe Entertainment Services, said Oct. 7 during the Summit’s Community track breakout session “Leveling the Playing Field: Getting More Women in Tech.”

Noting there are not that many female CIOs, she joked that, “at a conference, we can get to the bathroom pretty quickly.”

McKenzie is also a member of the board of directors of STEM Advantage, whose “mission is to advance equity through education,” she said, noting “we work with women and underserved communities” to help them get degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

“It’s a 360-degree program,” she said, explaining: “It includes internships, mentors, scholarships and professional developments…. Most of our students are low income, first-generation college students.”

It has served about 360 students to date in its seven years and 6,500 people through professional outreach, and has given out about $1 million in scholarships so far, she pointed out.

“We work with a lot of the major studios and other media companies to provide those internships and we really see that this provides a great pipeline for diverse entry-level talent to the companies that work with us,” she added.

McKenzie encouraged more people in the industry to become mentors, adding there are “lots of opportunities to help.”

The session also featured representatives of four other nonprofit organizations that WiTH is currently supporting, along with STEM Advantage: DIY Girls, Codetalk, PepUp Tech and STEAM:CODERS, whose missions center around introducing underserved and underrepresented communities to the tech sector, many of them girls and entry-level women.

STEAM:CODERS

STEAM:CODERS teaches underserved and underrepresented kids from Kindergarten to 12th grade the computer science “fundamentals” that include science, technology, engineering and math, along with art (STEAM), said Charmayne Mills Ealy, its director of operations.

Since 2014, it has served 12,000 kids in mostly title 1 schools that receive federal funding in the Pasadena and greater Los Angeles area, she noted. The goal of STEAM:CODERS is to provide them with the “skills, experience and confidence that they need to compete in the academic and employment opportunities of the future,” she said.

Codetalk

Codetalk, meanwhile, “provides access to women who have been adversely affected by economic disadvantage and things like homelessness and domestic violence and trafficking,” according to Sharon Plunkett, director of the St. Joseph Center digital web technology job training program for low income, underemployed and underserved women. Codetalk is finding a lot of “talent that’s out there that’s just completely obscured by these circumstances and giving them a safe…nurturing environment,” she said.

What typically stops females from pursuing jobs in tech is “we don’t see others like us already there” and don’t see an “environment that reflects us,” Plunkett pointed out, adding that, as a result, “we don’t necessarily feel safe” there – and that makes it hard to be creative. There is also “just no access” to the sector for many people, she said.
However, tech sector leaders should “encourage people to go do it anyway” and enter the field, Plunkett said, adding: “We can’t wait for the environment to look the way that we want it to look in order to engage with it because we’ll be waiting a very long time.” It is also important to encourage girls and women to “watch out for those biases” that exist even among themselves as a result of what they see and have experienced because “we can’t afford for you to wait,” she added.

PepUp Tech

At PepUp Tech, meanwhile, “we find motivated students that come from underserved and low income backgrounds access to salesforce roles” in the tech arena and “help diversify tech” in the process, according to Gina Avila, its senior director of programs and partnerships. The nonprofit also provides career advisement and mentorship, she noted.

“I don’t think that we’re represented as much as we should be” in the field, she said. But she told viewers: “We can change that by participating in lectures, encouraging women to pursue careers in tech [and] being more vocal about it – how life-changing it is, not only from a salary standpoint but there’s so many opportunities out there that aren’t being tapped by women specifically.”

Avila encouraged tech companies and those leaders in a position to hire to create internships and entry-level opportunities for school-age girls. Women changing careers or reentering workforce, meanwhile, are “sometimes forgotten” and it’s important to acknowledge them also, she said, explaining many of them have skills and experience that can help companies and the tech field overall.

DIY Girls

And DIY Girls is “empowering the next generation of female STEM leaders,” according to Leticia Rodriguez, its executive director. Her organization runs afterschool and summer programs for girls in Los Angeles, mostly underserved communities in the northeast San Fernando Valley region, she noted.

The organization introduces them to STEM and the goal is to inspire them to pursue STEM careers and help develop their confidence as leaders in STEM and gives them the skills and tools they need to be successful, including problem solving, coding, critical thinking and working in teams, she said. Since 2012, DIY Girls has served nearly 5,000 girls from fifth to 12th grade, she noted.

Noting that she grew up in the same community and “I didn’t know what it meant to be an engineer” back then, she said it’s “incumbent upon us” as leaders in the sector to support girls and women within organizations and in the community.

April Schneider, chairwoman of WiTH Community Engagement, moderated the session.