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girls who code: stockton

I am so in my feelings.

Last week, I had the opportunity to give back to my own City of Stockton and speak at a Girls Who Code event.

This is something I’ve wanted to do for years. I’m happy that it happened in the city that raised me. The response from the staff, students, and parents was amazing.

(Quick shoutout to Brenda Amboy for connecting me with the program.)

Here’s the thing, there is one woman developer for every 19 men who code. Only 1–3% of those women are women of color depending on the job function.

Plot twist: Many teams are less than 15 people. As a result, most women in tech do not work on a team with other women who can mentor them directly in their position.

I was lucky to have my mother as an example of a woman in tech but most of my mentors were male. I want to say thank you, Cristina Robinson, for being THE woman who pulled me up with you.

When I introduce myself as a developer I’m still told things like,
“Wow, you don’t look like one” or asked questions like
“How did ‘we’ get you in here?” at conferences.

I walk in the door as an exception, not the rule. It is isolating.

My skin has thickened over the years but as frustrating as it may be there’s still so much power in knowing I can write my own ticket at the corporate game.

As women in tech have a responsibility to run our race remembering to uplift more women along the way.

When I look at women like Paty Ventura, Lady Christian Havens, Leticia Campaz, Kayla Ervin, Jessica Cranfill, and Vanessa Gray I know things are getting better but we have to keep uplifting young women.

I refuse to let my sister or little cousins walk into conferences as a token, feeling the need to fight for their voice to be heard at the table, or be undervalued by corporate America regardless of their education or level of experience.

You will know Minion’s work ethic before she walks in the door. My sister is 13 she’s learning to podcast, owns an online necklace business, is learning to blog and find her voice. She is watching me. I didn’t force her to do things, she gets inspired and asks questions I just send her links to the resources.

Tech and entrepreneurship are the two most empowering skills we can expose girls to because they can start where they are. As long as they have a computer & internet access there is an opportunity.

I started coding when I was 12. I got paid to design MySpace sites before I learned to drive.

All this to say if you want your girls to start learning to be their own bosses start teaching them how to code and pair them with mentors.

Teach them young. It’s a ticket to their independence.

Please join me in the #LiftHerChallenge

Let the industry know there is #moretocome.

—tirzah moneè

P.S. Thank you, Paul Johnson & La Tresa Spears Johnson for letting me explore anything and everything I wanted to do without being afraid of the child you have. Lol, I’m not the easiest child to have but hopefully, you’re proud.