Valuable Resources for Black Women Coders In Tech

As of 2019, according to a report by the Nation Center of Women in Technology and Information Technology, Black women make up 3% of the computing jobs in the United States.

While there are many aspects that come in to play, such as having the access and resources to learn or having a psychologically safe work environment to thrive in, a big factor can also be attributed to not having enough resources to feel that they can be successful as a Software Developer.

Today we’ve put together a list of communities, podcasts, and blogs that provide a space for Black women software developers to feel seen and heard, as well as supported throughout their journey.

Communities

Communities are a great way to connect and meet people that you otherwise may not have been able to. While there are tons of online communities for people within tech, here are some communities that are specifically geared towards black women:

Baddies in Tech Career Club: Baddies in Tech is an organization that helps black and brown women to the best job opportunities and resources in tech. Through this platform, you’re able to connect with black and brown women who have a range of similar interests as you as well as seek advice on how you can grow and build your career.

Frauvis: Frauvis is a community that focuses on elevating and empowering black women in technical roles. Through this community, you’re able to connect with other Black women who are working as software engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity specialists with fun virtual events such as book clubs, hackathons, and monthly meetups.

She Code Africa is a non-profit organization that works to empower young women across the entire continent of Africa. They host conferences, workshops, and provide mentorship opportunities for people to continue to build and develop their skills in a place with other people who look like them.

/dev/color: /dev/color is a professional organization geared toward Black Software Engineers and they have chapters in San Francisco, Atlanta, Seattle, and New York City. Within the community that have a special sub-community for Women of Dev Color where you have the space to connect with other black women who are software engineers and learn from each other.

Podcasts

Podcasts are a great tool to find support because you get to hear the voices of people who are going through the same things that you are going through in some way. Here are some podcasts that are hosted by fellow Black women coders:

Git Cute Podcast is hosted by Jocelyn Harper where she shares her insights on different technical topics as well as career advice for other software engineers.

Lost in the Source is hosted by Lola Odeola where she shares her experience navigating her career as a software engineer. She shares her experiences as well as dives deep into various technical topics such as types, rate limiting, and arrays.

A Different Tech is hosted by Ademusoyo Awosika-Olumo and Nicole Daniels where the duo candidly breakdown what’s going on within the tech industry from the lens of two black women software engineers. They cover topics like bootcamp vs. cs degree, salary negotiation tips, as well as how the tech industry has responded to things going on within society.

YouTube

YouTube provides you with an opportunity to catch a glimpse of someone’s life on the internet. Here are some black women software engineer YouTubers who are sharing their stories as well as providing insights on various technical topics.

Maya Bello provides videos about her journey to becoming a Software Engineer as well as tons of videos about python for beginners.

Almeezyuh films weekly vlogs, does tech unboxing, as well as provides resources for people who are trying to interview for their next software engineering job.

Bukola shares her experience getting a software engineering job without a CS degree and also fun tutorials on the projects that she’s created like when she automated her Spotify playlists with python.

Sidney Bickner is a co-host of the Ladybug Podcast but she also has her own YouTube channel where she discusses her experience working as a Software Engineer and provides a lot of valuable advice based on her experience.

Find your place where you can plug in and gain insight as well as support as you continue to grow your journey.