The Importance of Applaud Her (#ApplaudHer): We Need to Celebrate Women in Tech
Written by JL Lewitin
Applaud Her (#ApplaudHer) is a practice developed by Women Who to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of diverse women in technology daily. Women are building the future of innovation, yet they celebrate their wins significantly less than their male counterparts. The Applaud Her (#ApplaudHer) is a venue to make it easier to promote your work and that of other diverse women working in the industry,
This year Women Who Code is hosting the Applaud Her Awards: 100 Technologists to Watch. Through this, we will recognize the achievements of diverse technologists working in various technology fields who are furthering the boundaries of our knowledge, creating new products, building companies, leading teams, and empowering others.
Nominate yourself or someone else for the Applaud Her Awards: 100 Technologists to Watch
Special awards will also be given in the areas of Empowering Tech for Social Good, Outstanding Executive in Tech, Emerging Technologist, WWCode Mentorship, Global Impact, Leading Change, Excellence in Engineering, WWCode Founders, Inspiring Innovation, and WWCode Mission.
Individual Impact
Women who actively work to make their accomplishments more visible are more fulfilled at work, have significantly greater compensation growth, and tend to advance further in their careers. Applaud Her (#ApplaudHer) is important because it facilitates the ability to celebrate wins. It allows diverse women to talk about their work and achievements and actively encourages them to share about themselves and others. In this way, they can increase their visibility across the industry and, in doing so, advance their careers.
Industry Impact
When diverse women in technology are recognized for their achievements, they gain a reputation in the industry, making it easier for them to attain career growth and become leaders in positions of visibility. As their visibility in tech grows, more people in and out of the industry will become aware of them. This can change how the average person sees technology as a whole and help create a more inclusive mindset that will encourage more significant equity and diversity.
According to a survey conducted by London Tech Week, 57% of women consider a lack of role models to be a barrier to women in technology. When you see yourself in success you can believe it and then be it. Celebrating yourself and others is a way to create role models and heroes who can inspire not only this generation of technologists but the next as well.
The other dimension to this is that when diverse women can achieve distinction and career success in tech, they’ll be in positions where they can elevate others, mentor them, and make policy decisions that will promote a more diverse industry. They can direct their companies to support causes that help increase inclusion, and they can found companies with DEI values built into their core.
The Applaud Her Awards: 100 Technologists to Watch
This is your chance to elevate diverse women technologists. Nominate yourself! Celebrate your wins. Get into the habit of promoting your achievements because that will help you to succeed even more in tech and subsequently give you the ability to help others.
Nominate someone else! Celebrate your fellow technologists. Tell us about the accomplishments of the diverse women you know in the field. Let us know what they’re doing and help us to elevate their work.
Together we can change the tech industry.