WIT Embraces Women Entering The Tech Field

Breanna Tillie

When someone is entering an environment as an underrepresented minority, it can prove to be stressful and intimidating. The fear of facing biases and stereotypes can take a toll on one’s confidence in whatever they are doing, potentially leading to poor performance or giving up altogether. However, there is great power in someone knowing that they are not alone. Although being an underrepresented minority in any field or environment presents challenges, when someone has a support system of other minorities who can relate to the challenges, it can make facing them a little easier. 

The University of West Georgia’s Women in Technology, also known as WIT, offers a bonding and relationship-building opportunity for women entering the tech field as the organization is hosting a game night in March since March is Women’s History Month. 

“In my own experience, there have been tech jobs that I’ve wanted to pursue, and meeting other girls who are also pursuing them helped,” said Abrianna Warner, President of WIT. “Also, you don’t just want to network up with people who are above you, but you want to network across. I think if you network with people who are on your level, you can build each other up together.” 

WIT is a large organization in Atlanta that is composed of several different companies that support Georgia colleges and universities and connect them with industry professionals as well as offering internships and scholarships. 

“Our mission as WIT campus is to plug in the girls in STEM-related fields: science, technology, engineering, art and math,” said Warner. “We plug them into different programs that WIT offers.” 

Women are underrepresented in the tech field, and the leaders of WIT and similar organizations are passionate about plugging women into the field. 

“A lot of women don’t go into tech because they don’t think that there is a place for them,” said Warner. “When I was younger, I didn’t see a lot of girls pursuing tech at the high school level especially. But now there are a lot of professionals taking the time to teach girls as young as middle school and elementary school about tech, with clubs like ‘Girls Who Code.’”

WIT is not limited to any one branch of tech, because most industries require some sort of a tech professional. 

“Everything is pretty much tech because we all work with processes and programs. I was actually in the military and I got exposed to many different tech roles,” said Warner. “I was originally a business management major but I found that it was really broad. So when I got back from the military, I joined WIT and learned about so many different careers that I had no idea about.

“It was enough for me to switch to management information systems because it helped me narrow down a specific pool of jobs related to tech,” Warner continued. “I even had some girls last year who were in cybersecurity so we went to cybersecurity headquarters in Augusta. I think that women are going into roles that are going to challenge them. With the world of tech constantly changing and expanding, it’s only natural that more women are going to gravitate towards more tech roles.”

Warner is optimistic about the strides that the tech industry is making to be more inclusive to women and break down that stereotype of women not being able to succeed in this male-dominated field.

“I would tell any young girl who is interested in tech to go for it,” said Warner. “A lot of companies are looking to specifically hire women to help with the underrepresentation. If you put in the work and take action, you can do it.”