“You Don’t See Women Of Color Engineers Launching Rockets – We’re Instead Given The Bottom Rank Jobs”- Says Founder

As part of our weekly interviews, POCIT has had the pleasure of interviewing founders who’ve raised millions in capital and social media influencers using their platforms to educate young people looking to get into the tech sector. Now on this series, we’ve sat down with Erika Jefferson, the founder and president of BWISE, a STEM organization driving robust change for mid to senior-level Black women in tech, engineering, and science.

Erika received her MBA from Georgia Tech and her BS in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana State University and has worked for top companies such as Amoco, BP, Chevron, and Praxair in a myriad of leadership and executive roles ranging from sales/business development to supply chain in operation six excellence.

Joining in on the interview is her mentee, Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna, a Bioengineering graduate from the esteemed Harvard University, who is planning to study medicine and become a physician-scientist. 

Augusta also works as BWISE’s chief of staff.

For The Last Four Years BWISE Has Grown Over 1,200 Members And Six Chapters (Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, DC, Houston And San Diego) Around The Country. Did You Ever Expect It To Grow To This Capacity?

Erika: “I don’t have any experience in event planning or creating an organization. So, this was just something that I thought would be very small and limited to just a few women in Texas, but it’s just grown beyond what I could have imagined. There was nothing for women 10 plus years into their careers that related to them and something specifically in science, technology, engineering, or medicine. So I believe that’s why we had this demand.

“And so what originally was going to be just networking events and get-togethers has now grown into a platform with corporate partners who sponsor events and who post jobs on our job boards.”

“Our focus is on mid to senior-level folks, and we do whatever we can to shine a light on, educate, inform, and expose all our members to opportunities.”

What Are The Key Patterns That Your Community Talks About?

Erika: “Over  85% of our community say they have a lack of confidence, and if you’ve heard of this concept of imposter syndrome, which I hate, you have folks who’ve done incredible things, whether you were a woman or male or white or Black, they’re incredible for anyone.

“They have this perpetuation of doubt and feeling that they are not qualified even though they are. So I’m seeing Black women internalize that. So even though they went through engineering school or medical school, and they’ve risen in their careers and done amazing things, I’m still seeing it through all levels: entry-level, mid-level, senior-level, and executive level.

“I’m still seeing Black women struggle now; they may not publicly discuss it. But every time a Black woman or senior Black leader is passed over for promotion to the C suite, what are they supposed to think…that they are not good enough?

“So we try to support, encourage, uplift, empower, celebrate, and congratulate members of our community to help mitigate that. Because how are they going to empower the next generation when they secretly don’t believe that they can do things?.”

Did You Always Know You Wanted To Get Into STEM?

Erika: “So I loved science. I thought I was going to have a career in science, but I had a very prominent engineer mentor who said to me that you don’t want to be in chemistry, you don’t want to be a chemist, you’d instead want to be a chemical engineer and so after that, I never looked back.

“I never had a fallback plan – all I focused on was getting this chemical engineering degree. Chemical engineering and engineering, in general, is fantastic because, in theory, it teaches you critical thinking.”

Any Challenges In Your Journey?

Erika: “Honestly, the majority of us engineers, but specifically, women of color, we don’t get to work at NASA and help with the rocket launches – we’re working at the button factory, so we’re making buttons that go into a jumper.

“But, you know, that’s what many of us are doing – when we shouldn’t be because we are very qualified.”

“In regards to your question about things that I did in my younger career days that I’ve now learned wasn’t great – I’d say I was so naive; I did it all – I was tactical, but I wasn’t very strategic.

“And when I mean, tactical versus strategic, I mean I did whatever I thought needed to be done. They told young people to put their head down and do the work, but there are only 24 hours in a day and so if you’re only focused on the job and your career, and not on your network and the world around you – you can’t see what’s coming down the road and get prepared for it, so you’re going to get caught off guard.

“And I can say, for me, I was probably one of the most loyal employees you would ever find because it’s like, Oh, I’ve got to do this, I’ve got to stay here, and I’ve got to work. So it didn’t occur to me to focus on myself, and I didn’t think about how I would benefit from working there.

“Another thing is imposter syndrome. I was under-utilized, under-appreciated for all the things I was doing, but then you see folks doing less getting rewarded. It was a situation where you’ve saved the town from being burnt down, and then a less diverse person comes and bakes a cookie, and they get all the reward. That doesn’t make sense, right?

“So I’d say to any young person to believe in yourself, uplift yourself, treat yourself warmly and treat yourself well.”

Augusta, as a young person in the engineering and tech space, what are your thoughts – what advice would you give to young people looking to enter these spaces?

Augusta: “First, I’d like to say – I’m happy to be working with BWISE, especially before I begin medical school because I’m excited about how I can take the learnings from Erika, who’s been in the space for so long to whatever institution I attend and, make them a part of my career. I’m also here to think and learn about how we can radically make STEM spaces more inclusive of Black women and all individuals who are overlooked and underrepresented in this space.

Augusta: “My go-to response is for these young people to try, and I say try because it’s not always easy to find support from like-minded people. They should seek out individuals who are faculty or have the power to be their mentors and sponsors.  Such people will uplift young people through their careers. 

“This is the advice I  would give. But I recognize that it’s not always easy to find such people, and I think when we ask these questions of what I as an individual can do,  what I as a Black woman can do to make this easier for myself, there are only so many answers. I can’t make my experience in science and research free of exclusion and racism- the institutions need to do that.

“And that’s why organizations like BWISE are so crucial because we are working to mobilize – individuals, universities, and companies in the industry that have the power to change how their organizations work from the bottom up so that when individuals like myself are training our experience can be more just and equitable.

So I think to summarise – individuals should try and find mentors. But ultimately, this task of inclusion and making Black women feel safe in these spaces is one that belongs to leadership in STEM organizations. 

Erika And What Advice Would You Give?

Erika: “If I could tell young people one thing, it would be that technology is truly the future. Augusta knows this; I’m always ranting against lotions and potions; we have enough Black people developing hair care – we don’t need anymore. But what we don’t have are folks who are like us in sustainability-building businesses, and we don’t have folks in clean energy building businesses or artificial intelligence building businesses.

“You don’t have to have an engineering degree. Just find a space that’s technology-driven or technology-enabled.”