Tips for women looking to break into the tech industry

This tech titan shares her tips on how women can break into the industry

April 21, 2022 3:29 PM

The tech industry is filled with opportunities for women seeking new careers, but in a male-dominated field, it can be difficult to find them.

Women make up 28.8% of the tech workforce, according to a 2020 study by AnitaB.org, a global organization that advocates for women in tech. That’s up from 25.9% in 2018, signaling a steady increase in representation. Today, as more women are exiting their current jobs and joining the Great Resignation, the tech industry is an appealing place to make a fresh start — if you know how to break in.

“The landscape is still competitive,” says Amy Kim, CEO of Jugo, an immersive virtual events and technology company, and a tech veteran of almost a decade. “The hands aren't in women's favor to this day, that's just reality. And it's something that we're going to continue to recognize.”

Kim has worked in several different realms of the tech world, from gigs at big-name operations like Google and Microsoft, to serving as founder at smaller firms. Her experience has made something very clear: just because the industry is male dominated doesn’t mean it isn’t suited for women.

“Tech is one of the hardest industries [to break into] because in Silicon Valley, there is such a strong, preconceived notion of engineers being men, or intelligence coming out of male engineers,” she says. “But that’s just a numbers game — you've only got five to 10% of women engineers in that stack.”

Amy Kim, president & CEO of Jugo.

Only 2% of VC funds in the U.S. go to women entrepreneurs, Kim points out. And it’s not because they’re not successful — in fact, companies in the Fortune 1,000 that have women as board members are 23% more profitable and see a 28% increase in higher end performance.

“Lift as you rise,” she says. “For the next generation, I want females and female leaders to help drive a path and make it easier to create that equality and eliminate some of the preconceived notions of women in tech and women leaders in general.”

Kim shared a few tips and tricks with EBN, both for women looking to break into the space for the first time and for those who’ve already established their place but are looking to move up.

Trust your skill set

“I'm seeing a trend in women that are very competent on their resume, but when I'm actually interviewing them, they come across as unsure,” Kim says. “The feedback I've given them is, they’ve got to be more commanding in their delivery and their presentation skills and their mental state. Say ‘Yes, I can do this job.’ Especially if you’re trying to reach for something that you haven't done before. That confidence is what people look for.”

Have perseverance

“You may get 10 rejections, but if this is what you truly believe in, I don't think you should ever back out,” she says. “My odds weren’t great — I'm a first-generation immigrant, I don't have networks or pedigree in the United States, I'm a woman, Asian, five-foot-three, and was trying to make it in Manhattan. No one gave me the chance except for this one female manager. If I hadn’t persevered and knocked on different doors for that opportunity, no one would have given it to me.”

Embrace the hard work

“Nothing comes easy,” Kim says. “Work is not easy. Work is not always fun. And I think there's a preconceived notion that it should be. There's a lot of tough decisions that need to be made. You have to do things sometimes that you don't want to, and you have to be able to work with other people — and for women specifically, they're making life choices like going back to school, getting married or having kids. Having that conviction that you have a purpose to stay in the workforce and get through those hard days.”

Overprepare

“It is really important in the tech industry to know your stuff,” she says. “They're so biased [against women]. It's a social issue more than anything, but because of that, we need to hire women and prove that they don't have to prove anything, [let them] demonstrate that they can do the job. If you’re a woman, be knowledgeable about what you're delivering, whether it's a marketing message or sales content or a technical demo. Build credibility.”