Amazon executive gives women important advice

It’s no secret that women are underrepresented in tech jobs. According to OECD data, around 16 percent work in the IT sector in Germany. For comparison: Bulgaria, as the leader of the countries surveyed, manages to achieve just 30 percent. Both values ​​are expandable. But why is that actually the case?

Both gender-specific prejudices and structural injustices are frequently cited reasons. Anyone entering the IT industry as a woman often feels like an outsider. A feeling that not least discourages young talented women from starting a career. A vicious circle.

The Amazon manager also admits that the world – especially for young women who work in tech – is not a fair place Nancy Wang on Linkedin to understand. There the Director of Engineering of the cloud computing service provider Amazon Web Service writes: “It is no coincidence that we have been confronted with numerous cases of prejudice in the workplace or even harassment.”

In any situation where women are outnumbered, she believes it is very important that they act confidently and assert their opinions. It takes strength for that. And they give her mainly female advisors. “My number one piece of advice for young women in tech is to find a strong female mentor,” said Nancy Wang, who also worked at Google Fiber prior to her career at Amazon.

Women from the industry would give good advice for professional careers and are also empathetic listeners as soon as unforeseen challenges arise in the job. “I’ve been very fortunate to have had mentors throughout my career who have stood up for me, pushed me into new roles, and who have been great advisors in tough moments,” explains Nancy Wang.

“It is no coincidence that we face numerous cases of prejudice in the workplace.”

The AWS manager is well aware of how difficult it can be to find these women. This is one of the reasons why she founded a non-profit in the USA that wants to network female tech workers and support them in their careers. The Advancing Women in Product network was founded by Nancy Wang in 2017 to “address the issues we’ve encountered in tech leadership positions,” the website says.

Around 6,000 people have joined the network. New offices in London, Paris and Berlin were added in 2018. They also cooperate with partners such as the Wharton School of Business.

Similar networks have also been established in Germany in recent years. One of the most popular examples is Global Digital Women. The initiative was founded in Berlin with the aim of “as a leading diversity expert to support medium-sized companies and corporations in further promoting diversity and digitization”.

Digital Media Women, founded in Hamburg, also works to increase the visibility of women, for example on stages – whether at conferences, in specialist media or on management boards.