INDIANAPOLIS — Hiring Hoosiers is our initiative to connect you to jobs and resources and right now, there’s a push to get more women into IT.
Tech Point and Indy Women in Tech are partnering to bring the EMPOWERIndy Expo to Indianapolis. The goal is to inspire and encourage women to jump headfirst into a male-dominated career.
Women make up 48% of Indiana’s workforce. But when it comes to IT jobs, that number drops to 28%.
“I used to be a housekeeper,” Tanaka Jackson said.
Jackson is back in school at Ivy Tech, studying technology.
She said she was inspired by her mom, who went back to school in her sixties.
“She gave me the inspiration to step out and do something that I maybe was a little bit nervous about, but she gave me the inspiration to create and follow a dream of mine,” Jackson said.
Through Ivy Tech, Jackson was introduced to Indy Women in Tech — a nonprofit encouraging and supporting women to get into the male dominated field.
“It has given me the confidence to apply for tech positions — something I probably wouldn’t have done before,” Jackson said.
“We’re very happy to see that women are entering into tech, thriving into tech and hopefully moving into leadership,” Ariel Crawley with I-WiT said. “We have seen over 250 graduates from our workforce development programs, so we know that women are getting into the field."
Crawley says demand is high for women in IT.
“In Indiana we’re in a great position where we actually have more positions available than we have people to fill them,” Crawley said.
I-WiT even helped Jackson land a job with OneCause before graduation.
“It was very obvious that she was well prepared to break into tech,” Eric Gossard with OneCause said.
Gossard said they often work with iWiT to find employees.
As for Jackson, she has this message for women thinking of joining her in the tech field.
“Take the plunge. Take the leap. It’s not as hard as you think it is. I am doing much better than I dreamed I would do,” Jackson said.
The EMPOWERIndy Expo is on March 1 at 16 Tech and is free to anyone interested.
The event is for women who are in IT or who may be interested in the career field.
They will have panels, free headshots, resume building and so much more.
