This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend a brunch held for the black women in my company and to celebrate one another.
One thing I always say (and probably 5 other TED talkers) is that it’s important for underrepresented groups to feel like they belong in the industry because that’s one of the main reasons people decide whether to stay or leave a company or industry. Over the past year, I can truly say that getting more involved with my community in tech (women, black women, people of color, etc), has helped me in that aspect.
It’s something that is really important to me and I’m always thinking about what more I can do, especially for black women who are not yet in tech or haven’t even considered it. Ok, enough on my rant, let’s talk about the event!
The invitation said “Dress to Impress,” but I like to think of it as dressing to inspire. I chose this skirt from Topshop because it allowed me to move freely and most importantly, I was able to show a little bit of my loud personality.
One of the things I appreciate about these events is the effort to give back to the communities we’re in. Just being able to hold the brunch a Oeste, a gorgeous restaurant owned by a fellow black woman, introduced us to a new business, that we might not otherwise visit and also helps the business grow. And I left the brunch knowing that I would be back.
We received these adorable place-cards that were actually envelopes with a card inside that we were supposed to write an encouraging note to someone that we met that day. Unfortunately, it slipped my mind so let’s think of this blog post as a note to all of the beautiful black women in tech I met!