Diversifying the Tech Workforce

I was quoted in this article by Yes! Magazine.

“Amongst the Latinx community, we found that the network is not always as strong and young adults who identify as Latinx in tech often do face that social capital gap,” said Frances Coronel, co-executive director.

Yes! Magazine Techqueria offers community networking and resources to Latinx people in the tech field. It’s estimated that up to 80% of jobs are found through networking, something that is often built through social capital and status.

“Amongst the Latinx community, we found that the network is not always as strong and young adults who identify as Latinx in tech often do face that social capital gap,” said Frances Coronel, co-executive director.

The nonprofit has eight city chapters that host events, a Slack community with more than 5,000 members—almost 1,500 of whom are active every week—and a community of 9,000 across all social platforms. The majority of that growth happened in 2019, spread by word of mouth and a collaborative approach the organization takes by connecting with other Latinx-focused organizations, which is subversive in a tech field that tends to compete viciously.

“Most people are pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere that we’re creating, and it’s a refuge from a lot of workplaces,” said Felipe Ventura, co-executive director.