Podcast Interview with ChickTech CEO Katie SanFilippo: International Girls in ICT Day
Fostering a sense of belonging is critical to increasing retention and building the pipeline of underrepresented technologists, including women, girls, and non-binary people of all ages, according to Katie SanFilippo.
Katie is the CEO of ChickTech, a US-based nonprofit, and she is dedicated to creating a better technology culture for all through a number of youth and adult programs, consisting of technical and leadership workshops; group and 1:1 mentorships; training on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace; and community events.
In honor of International Girls of ICT Day, WI-HER’s Communications Associate Liz Hall interviewed Katie about the different ways ChickTech encourages young girls and marginalized people to get involved in ICT and STEM-related fields, and how they advocate to shift the narrative about who is a technologist and what it means to work in tech.
She says: “We have a lot of students who come to our program, that they may be the only girl in the robotics club, or they may be the only girl in their AP computer science class, and they felt alone in it, and that nobody else represented them. When they come to our community and it’s full of students that look like them, that have similar interests like them, they can start to see they are not the only person there, and there is a community of support that is advocating for them, cheering them on, and here to answer questions or to help guide them through the different challenges they might face through their education and careers.
Celebrate International Girls of ICT Day with us and listen to the full interview here:
A preview of the interview is accessible here:
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