It's no secret that women are underrepresented in the field of technology. That's true even here at Barracuda, where we do our best to include and encourage women and minorities to join our staff. It's the nature of the industry right now; even universities see a disparity between men and women in the field of engineering. From a recent mLive article:
Today, fewer than one of every three first-year students enrolled at the University of Michigan's College of Engineering is female. Only one of four graduates from the COE is a woman, and that number drops to about one out of every five when it comes to those enrolled in master's and doctoral programs.
There are a number of organizations working to encourage women to pursue careers in technology. One that is close to our hearts here at Barracuda is Girl Develop It.
Girl Develop It is an international organization that works to provide affordable and accessible programs to women who want to learn software development. The organization facilitates learning opportunities through mentorship and hands-on instruction.
Priya Rajagopal, a Principal Software Engineer with Barracuda, speaks at GDI in Ann Arbor
If you'd like to learn more about Girl Develop It, you can get more information here at the GDI site. You can get information about classes, events, and chapters.
Christine Barry is Senior Chief Blogger and Social Media Manager at Barracuda. In this role, she helps bring Barracuda stories to life and facilitate communication between the public and Barracuda internal teams. Prior to joining Barracuda, Christine was a field engineer and project manager for K12 and SMB clients for over 15 years. She holds several technology credentials, a Bachelor of Arts, and a Master of Business Administration. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
Connect with Christine on LinkedIn and follow her on Twitter here.