Inspiring Female Students to Pursue Careers in Technology with Ashley Masters and Sydney Berry

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 25% of computer and mathematical occupations in the U.S. are held by women, with some job titles, such as computer network architects, going as low as 9%. There are many reasons why this gender disparity exists, and true and lasting change will require participation across society. 

At Certiport, we are committed to helping close the gender technology gap. In this episode, we sat down with two amazing female tech professionals: Ashley Masters and Sydney Berry. Ashley is a Business Program Manager at Microsoft and MBA candidate at Washington State University. Sydney is a future Software Engineer and current Computer Science student at South Dakota State University. We discussed their career paths, what barriers they face as women in technology, and how educators can change the narrative to help female students succeed. 

You can learn more about closing the gender technology gap here (https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2021/March/Closing-the-Gender-Technology-Gap). Dive into Sydney’s story here (https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2020/April/With-ACA-I-Landed-Jobs-in-UI-Design). You can also read about how Ashley got her start in technology here (https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2017/September/MOS-Certification-Got-Me-a-Job-at-15). 

Sydney also mentioned some incredible resources to help your students. Honor your students with the National Center for Women and Information Technology Aspirations in Computing Award. Find more information here (https://www.aspirations.org/award-programs/apply-for-the-award-for-aic). College educators can also encourage their female students to connect with Rewriting the Code here (https://rewritingthecode.org/).