Leaning In with Girls Who Code

Leaning In With Girls Who Code

This past November, LinkedIn’s Women In Tech (WIT) Community hosted a group of roughly 25 young girls from Girls Who Code, a nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in technology and engineering. These girls, aged 14 to 18, came from several different high schools around the Bay Area.

In addition to taking high school math and engineering classes, some of the girls had already demonstrated high interest in the field by attending coding camps (and winning contests!), while others had just started expressing interest. They were a tenacious and lively crew. It was a privilege to take them under our wing for the day to share LinkedIn’s culture and provide encouraging advice about entering software engineering.

We first took them on a tour of our LinkedIn campus, providing a behind-the-scenes glance at our culture and workspace. They said that they loved seeing engineers in action. One group couldn’t get over the fact that our office was so visually dynamic and also provided fun, stimulating spaces to collaborate. Their favorite stop on the tour was by the inCafe at our fro-yo station where they raved about all the different flavors of frozen yogurt and toppings!

Next, the girls attended a panel discussion with five amazing LinkedIn women in our WIT community, which I had the honor of moderating.

LinkedIn WIT panel members

From left to right: Michelle Carrega, Kacey Coughlin, Associate Web Developer,  Charu Jangid, Associate Product Manager, Sarah Clatterbuck, Director of Engineering, Julie Kuang, Senior User Experience Designer, Swetha Karthik, Senior Software Engineer

The panelists covered questions ranging from “Describe a typical work day at LinkedIn” to “What challenges have you faced early in your career?” Because the panelists were at various stages in their careers, and worked on different engineering teams, the students were able to get a diverse set of answers to their wide-ranging questions -- from current concerns to long-term goals.

The first question the panel received got to the heart of why we have a program like Women in Tech.  A high school student not only posed a question to the panelist, but also recounted her own personal story. When she walked in the door on her first day of coding camp, she immediately walked out when she realized that she was the only female in the room. Her question to the panelists was this: “How do you stay encouraged to stay in when you’re the only female?” And then, as true role models for the next generation, the panelists told her to never turn around, but rather embrace being female and make the men your allies.

Girl asking the panel a question

For the last part of the event, we discussed LinkedIn’s partnership with Lean In, a non-profit and online community dedicated to helping all women achieve their ambitions. LinkedIn, together with Lean In, the Anita Borg Institute, and Facebook, launched Lean In’s Computer Science & Engineering (CS&E) Chapter — a global network of Lean In Circles focused on bringing women together who are studying or showing interest in computer science and engineering. The Lean In CS&E chapter focuses on growing peer support through Circles – small peer groups that meet regularly to learn and grow together.

I walked the girls through a modified version of Lean In’s Connection Card activity, which is aimed at generating reflection and rapid relationship building. With the Connection Card activity, each group receives a deck of cards that helps the students share information with each other and build trust through a series of questions. There are three rules: 1. confidentiality is key, 2. everyone plays, and 3. stretch outside your comfort zone. To start, we split the girls up into small groups so they could introduce themselves and share one thing about themselves that the group didn't know. Then the circles dove into answering questions like the following:

  • Who do you most admire and why?
  • When have you felt the most powerful?
  • What do you most regret?
  • What is one thing about yourself that you wish you could change?
  • Talk about a time when you overcame adversity.

The students were able to open up to each other in a safe space and establish an authentic level of trust with each other. You could hear the enthusiasm as they continued to share and listen to one another’s challenges and experiences. After we concluded the facilitation, many expressed interest in creating their own Circle in their hometown!

At the end, the girls expressed deep gratitude for their time at LinkedIn. After the day’s activities, our guests and panelists alike left feeling more connected and empowered in their journey through tech. Taking the time to remind each other that we are not alone in our paths is truly a worthwhile endeavor.

Fun group photo of Girls Who Code
  • Our volunteers for our campaign tour, Taylor Lint, Allison Thater, Cara Kessler, Ramya Kedlay, and Joann Chou who led our girls for an excellent tour of our LinkedIn Campus headquarters.   Another special thanks to Joann Chou, who captured the evening with her wonderful photography and support.
  • Allison Hall, Taylor Lint and Naga Sowjanya Mudunuri who were on the event planning committee.
  • WIT panelists who took time out of their busy days to invest in girls in tech:  Kacey Coughlin, Associate Web Developer;  Charu Jangid, Associate Product Manager; Sarah Clatterbuck, Director of Engineering; Julie Kuang, Senior User Experience Designer; and Swetha Karthik, Senior Software Engineer.
  • A huge special thanks to Swetha Karthik for organizing and putting this event together.   Without your efforts, Swetha, this evening wouldn’t have been possible! Also thanks to Melanie Shaver and Robert Bennett from our Campus team, leading Lean In and Diversity efforts. Melanie and Robert, thank you for your support in putting on this event!