With all the progress we’ve made — and we have made progress — being the ​“only one” is still too com­mon for women in today’s work­place, espe­cial­ly in our indus­try. Women hold about 20 per­cent of avail­able jobs in the tech­nol­o­gy field even though they make up about 50 per­cent of the work­force. And we’re not even talk­ing about lead­er­ship posi­tions; rep­re­sen­ta­tion there gets even smaller.

We need to work to break that cycle, together.

That’s why we are launch­ing a year-round ASUG Women Con­nect pro­gram to serve as a plat­form that under­stands and embraces diver­si­ty. One where the ​“only ones” can con­nect with oth­er ones and cel­e­brate each other.

In the past, ASUG Women Con­nect host­ed a break­fast dur­ing SAP­PHIRE NOW and ASUG Annu­al Con­fer­ence. Begin­ning this year, we will expand our pres­ence and keep that con­nec­tion going through in-per­son events, as well as web­cast and blog­ging oppor­tu­ni­ties for mem­bers of our community.

Your Voice is Our Strength 

This is about more than just net­work­ing, although that is very valu­able. My hope is that the ASUG Women Con­nect plat­form serves to let women know they have a net­work that pro­motes respect, empow­er­ment, encour­age­ment, progress, and opti­mism. And that those aren’t just words, but val­ues that resonate.

We can all get bogged down and lost in the minu­ti­ae of our day-to-day. But the ASUG Women Con­nect Pro­gram exists to remind us that we have a voice and that oth­ers want to hear it and learn from it.

With that in mind, I would like to invite you to be a part of the ASUG Women Con­nect pro­gram. You can par­tic­i­pate as an attendee, speak­er, or pan­elist at one or more of our events through­out the year, or you can con­tribute by shar­ing your sto­ry via blog or webcast.

Tak­ing Bold Steps for Women in Technology

I real­ize that the ask of shar­ing is a big one. It requires you to step back and ana­lyze your your­self through both doubt and suc­cess, and then to allow oth­ers to look in from their own lens. As a woman who has worked her entire life striv­ing for that C‑suite posi­tion, I’ve had my fair share of bumps and turns, vic­to­ries and fail­ures, and every­thing in between. But the teach­ers in my life and the lessons they have taught me have helped me along the way, and for that, I am grateful.

I real­ize there is pow­er in shar­ing that sto­ry with all of you. So, I will take the first bold step and hope you fol­low suit.

The ASUG Blog­ging Pro­gram is an avenue for us to high­light women in the indus­try. If you know some­one who has a great sto­ry, or, if you want to share your own, or if you want to shine light on a woman who has helped you on your jour­ney, I encour­age you to sub­mit a blog post idea. 

For now, here’s my sto­ry. I hope I’m not the ​“only one.”

ASUG is no longer accept­ing blog post submissions.

For an updat­ed view of ASUG Women Con­nect, read our ASUG Rein­tro­duces Women Con­nect arti­cle and join our LinkedIn group to learn more about ASUG Women Con­nect and its future events.