August 1, 2023

First-Ever BaddieCon Event Is Creating A Space For WOC To Thrive In Tech

BaddieCon

This summer, Baddies In Tech is hosting its inaugural BaddieCon event to celebrate and connect women of color in tech.

BaddieCon Event

Baddies In Tech is a professional development and networking community for women of color in tech.

Its first-ever BaddieCon will take place in Brooklyn, New York, on August 18, allowing attendees to gain insights from over 30 speakers, connect with employers, and build relationships with each other and a theme of “Sustainable Success.”

Through engaging workshops and thought-provoking panels, women of color will also gain career growth insights and the tools they need to navigate and thrive in the tech industry.

“We’re creating a unique and inclusive space for women of color in tech to come together to learn, connect, and be celebrated,” Baddies in Tech founder Allie Joy Tsahey told Ebony.

The team has also partnered with a Black-owned networking app, Spark, to help foster meaningful connections in real time at the conference.

Creating a space for WOC to thrive

Allie Joy Tsahey, the Ghanaian-American founder of Baddies in Tech, told Ebony that the nonprofit DAO was born out of her journey and desire for community and connection in the early stages of her tech career.

In 2019, for her first job, she was the only Black woman and the youngest team member in an AI health-tech startup.

She found the experience both challenging and empowering, and she realized she didn’t fit the typical “tech bro” mold, and there was a need for a space where diverse individuals like herself could thrive and be celebrated.

Tsahey highlighted to Ebony that her experiences aren’t unique. Black women face several disparities in the tech industry, including a representation gap, bias and stereotypes, and access to resources and networks.

Black woman with short curly hair, wearing a peach top, posing for camera
Image Credit: Allie Joy Tsahey (Medium)

According to the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), women account for 25% of tech workers. Black women only accounted for 3% of the Tech workforce. 

Baddies In Tech, with over 10K members, offers monthly community newsletters, access to their Discord community network and resource database, and invites to community events and workshops.

Several businesses, including the Linux Foundation, Accenture, NPR, T-Mobile, and Splash, sponsor them. 

On her LinkedIn, Tsahey stated, “We are helping Black and Brown women break into and thrive in careers in technology, with a vision of increasing representation of women in color in computing roles to 10% by 2030.”

Sara Keenan

Tech Reporter at POCIT. Following her master's degree in journalism, Sara cultivated a deep passion for writing and driving positive change for Black and Brown individuals across all areas of life. This passion expanded to include the experiences of Black and Brown people in tech thanks to her internship experience as an editorial assistant at a tech startup.