As a woman in technology I want to speak to women. I want to speak not from a position of weakness, but from a position of possibility. I want to speak to any of you who at some point believed that their possibilities were limited. I want to tell you, “You can make IT happen.”

My story

I started my career in Software working for a startup in Mexico(my home country), although I was very excited for the opportunity I was also terrified. When I met the rest of the team my fears did not go away, quite the contrary.

The startup was a bit chaotic, we didn’t have clear direction and it was up to us to make our path. The guys would immediately jump at the opportunity to work on new challenges, no hesitation, they were so confident that I assumed they had previous experience with the task at hand. Who would volunteer to work on something they know nothing about? It seemed like everybody knew more than me. I thought it was fair for others to take the big challenges. “They are more prepared. They can do it better. That’s not my role,” I thought. Meetings were the worst. I had ideas but I didn’t think they were worth sharing. I would avoid eye contact and think to myself “Don’t ask me, don’t ask me”

“You can do it”, I was told one day. Really? Me. Uh, I don’t know, maybe others want to do it? Should we ask them first? “No, you can do it. Make it happen”. I didn’t have all the answers, I didn’t have all the knowledge, but I worked hard and I was able to overcome the challenge. It worked out, and I was fine.

The biggest lesson I learned is that guys didn’t raise their hand because they knew it all, they raised their hands because they wanted to learn it all. And I could do it too.

Find motivation

I recently read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg – recommended by one of my female colleagues at Sittercity. I was skeptical at first, but I found a very empowering point of view. There is one line in the book that I keep repeating in my head. “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” It’s a powerful question, think about it. Would you go after a CS major? Would you take the lead on that project? Would you take that job across the country? Would you speak at a conference? What would you do?

Every now and then you may need a boost of confidence, a reminder that you are in the driver seat. Be prepared for those moments, take some time and find what works for you: blogs, songs, quotes, friends, family, colleagues, whatever it is. Don’t be afraid of asking for help if you need it, this is all part of making “IT” happen.

Find the right company

Men and women are different - I believe we are different! But we need to stop thinking that being a woman is a disadvantage. Diversity is a very important asset for any company, and if you find a company that doesn’t believe that, you probably don’t want to work there.

I am proud to work for a company that gets it. At Sittercity we have created an environment that embraces collaboration and communication. I work side by side with strong women who are empowered to make it happen. Women lead projects, women get involved, women ARE part of the team. We trust each other to get things done, we don’t see genders, we see awesome engineers eager to learn and contribute.

At Sittercity, I know I’m not here because of a hiring policy, I’m here because I belong here. I have received encouragement and support to lead projects, to go to conferences, to give presentations, to write, in fact, this post is a direct result of that encouragement. I am engaged and motivated to contribute and become the best I can be.

I wanted to write about this because I don’t think there are enough good stories about women in tech. I work for an awesome company which has inspired me and I want to pay back by inspiring others. You can be a woman and you can have a career in Software. You can make “IT” happen.

Today, make IT happen

We NEED more women in Technology. As women we don’t have to fight against others, we have to be confident and strong to fight with others. Today let me be a voice that says “You can do it” and let today be the day that you raise your hand and make “IT” happen.