Women Talk Tech Podcast Interview – Episode 40

How to Thrive in a Male Dominated Workplace

Women Talk Tech started as a conversation via the medium of podcasting to address the declining numbers of women in the tech sector. This past week I had the honor of speaking with the fantastic Marie Wise, who is not only a successful entrepreneur and marketing technologist but also the founder of Marketing CoPilot and Women Tech Talk.

I can honestly say Women Talk Tech is the most fun I’ve had on a podcast. I invite you to tune in and get to know a bit more about my humble beginnings, and where my passion for Diversity comes from. Marie Wiese was an absolute pleasure to talk to, and we can definitely talk non-stop for hours. I share my journey as an immigrant in the United States at age 16 and how I was able to transition to being a successful IT Leader and a fierce advocate in STEAM learning.

It is not easy for women, and especially Latinas and members of the LGBTQ+ community, to thrive in a male-dominated workplace, but I have done it, and want to share all the tools that helped me along the way. The tips I share include how to be more assertive, taking control over our people-pleasing tendencies, and the power of networking. Marie knew how to win my heart when she selected this specific quote from our interview because I mean every single word:

“We don’t see ourselves. There are not that many Latinas that are CIO’s and I see this as my responsibility, now that I’ve been given this position, to leave breadcrumbs in a way and make sure that I’m helping others.”

– Elaine Montilla

One of the reasons I created 5xminority was to find new ways to reach out to you, my loyal reader and followers, and to be a voice to the voiceless and even lose my voice if I need to, in order to speak about the injustices we face as minorities and people of color. I will continue to speak up for you, but also me because the joy that I feel when I help you, is way more rewarding than the joy that I get from any promotion or external accolades.

I admire people like Marie, who create space for people like me to have a voice, and I welcome you to download and review the insightful 2020 Action Plan Report they launched this year. This report will further help you understand the challenges facing women in Tech and give you tools you can use to combat gender disparity.

You can also read the show notes here.

Enjoy!

-5xminority

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