NCWIT TECHNOLOchicas presents: TECHNOLOchicas 5.0!
Meet the TECHNOLOchicas Ambassadors featured in our latest campaign:
- Melissa Delgado-Martinez; Engineering Program Manager, Microsoft
- Melinda Vargas Ramos; Business and Systems Analyst, Triple-S Salud
- Josephine Vazquez-Rivera; Associate Director of Technology, AT&T
- Laura Robles; IT Analyst, Caterpillar Inc.
- Nery Lara Mancia; Software Engineer, Qualcomm
- Ruth Vela; Director of Global Technology Experience, Nextiva
- Zaida Hernandez; Spacecraft Engineer, NASA Johnson Space Center
- Ali Guarneros Luna; Senior Aerospace Engineer, NASA Ames Research Center
The official TECHNOLOchicas 5.0 Launch took place on October 27, 2022, and invited members of the public to join two events for a panel discussion with these accomplished Latina tech ambassadors from across the country and hear about their journeys, including:
- what got them interested in STEM
- the role family and educators’ support played in their journeys
- their strategies for facing and overcoming challenges
- what does life-work balance looks like for them
- why they’re on a mission to inspire Latina girls and women to pursue careers in tech and computing
Recordings:
East Coast Virtual Launch: Watch video on YouTube
West Coast Virtual Launch: Watch video on YouTube
About TECHNOLOchicas 5.0
TECHNOLOchicas, co-produced by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and the Televisa Foundation, is a national initiative designed to raise awareness among young Latinas and their families about opportunities and careers in technology.
Launched in 2014, TECHNOLOchicas uses the powerful stories of Latina’s from diverse backgrounds working in computing and technology industries, to inspire the next generation to be part of the future of technology.
TECHNOLOchicas stories highlight the lives of TECHNOLOchicas Ambassadors and present them as “relatable” role models through several communication channels, including broadcast television, social media, and online videos. TECHNOLOchicas Ambassadors around the country hold events, virtually and in person, to expose girls and young women to coding and other aspects of computing careers.
For upcoming events, follow us on social media (@technolochicas), including this month’s celebration of our most recent campaign, TECHNOLOchicas 5.0, which includes new profiles of real-life Latina role models.
WHY TECHNOLOchicas?
Latinas occupied only 2% of jobs in the computing workforce in 2021 (Resource: By the Numbers). Yet, both the number of technology positions and the Hispanic population are growing. The U.S. Department of Labor predicts 3.5 million computing-related job openings by 2026. The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics reports that by 2060, nearly one in three women will be Hispanic. Latinas represent a vastly untapped computing talent pool that is vital to increasing the bottom line of the U.S. economy and creating diversity in the computing workforce, leading to advanced technical innovation. Their participation in computing disciplines also improves the economic outlook of the Hispanic community.
NCWIT’s intersectional approach to diversifying the computing ecosystem serves as an exemplar of the role that nonprofits, educational systems, and corporations play in addressing the underrepresentation of Latinas in computing. The success of NCWIT’s TECHNOLOchicas initiative has sparked an expansion of NCWIT’s work to influence the participation of women and girls of color from other under-represented backgrounds (including Black and Native American) in computing. NCWIT’s Color of our Future initiative anchors NCWIT programs, initiatives, and research-based resources focused on broadening the meaningful participation of underrepresented women and girls of color to drive game-changing and sustainable inclusion of Latina women in computing.
TECHNOLOchicas is funded by Televisa Foundation, Qualcomm, Microsoft, AT&T, and Apple, with additional support from the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI.)