For Some Latinas in Tech, Career Growth Still Remains Elusive

A few days ahead of its annual conference, the Latinas in Tech headquarters in Moraga is flush with tote bags, T-shirts and other swag emblazoned with the word “jefa,” female boss.

“Jefa is an attitude, making sure you get what you deserve and are delivering excellent work,” said Rocío van Nierop, co-founder and CEO of Latinas in Tech, which helps with networking and career growth in the U.S. and six other countries.

A focus of this year’s conference, which starts Thursday in San Francisco, isn’t just about pushing Latinas to feel like bosses — but to become them.

The organization’s latest annual survey data indicates a troubling trend: 64% of its members feel stuck in low-level positions, even though most of those have enough experience to advance.

Studies show that Latinas face numerous biases in the tech industry — such as being seen as uncommitted or less competent after having children or coming off as “feisty” instead of authoritative when they speak up, said Joan Williams, director of the Center for WorkLife Law and professor at the University of California, Hastings.

According to Williams, women overall receive different treatment than men — who are often promoted based on potential, whereas women have to show more accomplishments. Research has also found that managers tend to give men more high-profile assignments that lead to promotions than they do to women.

Van Nierop said many of Latinas in Tech’s 33,000 members have experienced those findings firsthand. According to the annual survey, only 17% reported receiving a promotion with a raise in 2023.

Entering the industry is hard enough, van Nierop said. Latinas only make up about 2% of the tech workforce, and the number hasn’t budged in five years.

“What we need is hiring managers that are from our community, and there are people that are qualified,” van Nierop said. “People hire people that they get to know in their networks.”

Latinas in Tech member Ivonne Mondragon has recruited workers for tech companies, including Meta, the parent company of Facebook, and now Qcells, a solar panel maker. She wants to see a much bigger pipeline of Latinas entering tech, and that process needs to start when they are in high school or college, she said.

“Regardless of what company I’ve been with, the talent for the need is just not there. It’s really a numbers game,” Mondragon said. “Speaking for Latinas, we’re starting to get into tech more. But if we knew about it earlier on, at an early age, it would definitely allow for more success.”

Elizabeth Vasquez, 30, grew up in San Jose knowing the tech industry was in her backyard, but she didn’t know anyone who worked in tech. A few years into her career in marketing, she decided to give tech a try.

She found a job at a medical technology startup, then some big names came calling. The first was Meta, the parent company of Facebook, then LinkedIn, and then Google. Then, in January 2023, Google laid her off amid a wave of job cuts. It took her a year to land a new role as a marketing manager, this time as a contractor for Google.

During her year of unemployment, she applied for leadership roles — and was routinely rejected.

“I really thought about whether being in the tech space was worth it and something I still wanted,” she said. “I was seeing just how difficult it was for me to land more senior roles that were aligned with the years of experience and the skill sets that I have.”

Now that she’s back in the workforce, she said she feels more confident about asking for opportunities to move into management.

“This time around, I’m asking for a lot more direct feedback from my manager,” she said. “I definitely want to remain in the tech space. It’s something that I still find joy in and that I have a true passion for.”

Oakland resident Joanne da Luz had been teaching high school math at a charter school for over a decade when she decided to pivot to a career in tech.

That desire came from a similar place to her desire to teach — to empower kids of color.

“I wanted to be the person that looks like you if you want to pursue this,” she said. “Tech opens up so much access and opportunity, especially in the Bay Area. It can change your world financially. ”

She earned her MBA from Mills College in 2013 and thought she would easily land a job in educational or financial tech. She was wrong.

“I thought, okay, I’m a Latina, I’m a first (generation college graduate), I’m a catch for a tech company,” da Luz said. “I couldn’t even get a ‘hello.’”

Getting hired, “was way more difficult than I ever could have anticipated. It was because I didn’t have a network.”

She withstood rejection after rejection until some of her classmates from Mills hired her to work at their edtech startup. She loved her work as a product manager but then was laid off — a pattern that repeated itself several times. Finally, in 2022, she landed a role as a senior product manager at Amazon.

Two years later, in March, da Luz was laid off again. But, this time, she has a much stronger network she has made through past jobs and through organizations, like Latinas in Tech, which she has been a part of for several years. She looks forward to attending the conference this week.

“It’s like a little dose of fun and of being around people that look like you and sound like you are trying to do the same things,” da Luz said. “It just keeps me going to try to continue to access the opportunities in the tech industry.”