The shortage of women in tech has been a hot topic. But Latinos are even less represented, making up a mere 7% of the tech workforce, says Wendy Rivera (above), executive director of Latinos in Technology Innovation and Social Media. The nonprofit launched five years ago when founder Ana Roca-Castro heard a venture capitalist say there weren’t any Latinos working in social media. The engineer quickly formed a group of Latinos working in tech, who talked about why more weren’t in the industry even though it’s the largest minority group in the US. LATISM has grown to over 190,000 members and 22 chapters and partners with companies like Google and Johnson & Johnson to make technology more accessible to Latino children.
One of its local champions is Phone2Action founder and Bisnow Power Women winner Ximena Hartsock. She will be part of LATISM’s annual gathering, which will be held in DC next week. Wendy says it’s the first year the group is holding a STEAM fair as part of its event, where Latino high school students will see various tech and arts in action. The event also includes a digital influencer retreat with bloggers who will provide advocacy training led by Ximena. The group will also head to the Hill to speak with members of Congress on getting more Latino kids interested in tech.
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