If a Gen-X woman falls in the forest, does she make a sound?

Kathleen McMahon — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 01:51:57 +0000

Whew! It’s been a few years since my last post, and after last-year’s turn of events, the post I was meaning to write, just didn’t happen. But! Since it’s technically the last day of Women’s History Month, it seems that while time is progressing, some things are staying the same. Therefore, the post shall happen this year.

First, though, this post on lived experiences by Laurie Barth is a great lead-in to my own lived experience as a woman who happens to be privileged in some things (cis, white) yet lacking in that magical Industry-approved Age[tm]. Before I write my ode to the women who have taken us to where we are today, I’m going to pause in this article for an intermission while y’all read that first.

…

Oh, you’re back? Cool. Let’s carry on then!

So as prefaced in my original post, I’ve been in the industry a while and it’s sure been an interesting journey. Paving a way through the 90s tech industry where there were'nt many women in tech — especially in the leadership roles that were reserved for those men in their early to mid-30s. Trying my best to stay the course, pay my dues — yeah, that was thing we did back then, pay dues to move up the corporate ladder — and move upwards through the ranks without throwing hands up in frustration and/or rage quitting the industry entirely.

Anyhow, it’s sure been a ride, and I’m still cruising. Sometimes it feels like hanging by a fingernail on a cliff, but…

That said, I suspect there’s more than one Gen-X woman that has somewhat similar thoughts, and I have crafted an ode to honor them.

My Ode to the Front Lines: Gen-X Women in tech

Oh women of Gen-X, In the industry of old, the stories we could tell. Some a bit hair raising. Some of us nod — and sigh — in solidarity. Doing the thankless work of sticking out the tough moments.

Sighing in sadness when a generation so often forgets that we exist. Watching those experienced — but mostly in their 30s — Women in tech panels reminisce about "the old days” of using Flash when they were in grade school. Rolling our eyes a bit, because we remember when Director was released. And we were in our 20s

We persevere, though. Our sense of humor is one of our finest assets. We share our reaction gifs without abandon, despite those hot-take commentaries on our relevancy.

This song pops up in our minds more often than not when it's spicy-take time, and we swap “your” for “our” in the lyrics, before smiling and moving on.

Continuing to make the road for the next generations of underrepresented and marginalized communities in tech a bit easier to succeed.

Hoping that the generations entering and somewhat established in the industry will make room for our well-earned life experiences. Understanding the very key distinction that the phase lift others as you climb doesn’t mean push your front lines out the door.

Nevertheless, Kathleen McMahon Coded

Kathleen McMahon — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 01:58:26 +0000

I began to code because...

I was more interested in playing with AutoCAD than with all the other courses I was taking as a Mechanical Engineering major. I've always been skilled with science-y things, yet also with art-y things.

Fast forward though a short detour as a double Physics/Math major (yeah, that happened) and a short break to regroup, I settled onto creating a custom major.

At the time, interactive design and development wasn't even an offering at colleges because the field -- and the tech -- was still in the nascent phase. Thankfully, UMass Amherst offered the Bachelor's Degree with Individual Concentration program that allowed me to select relevant courses to succeed in an emerging industry and forge my own path as a Multimedia Developer!

Back when I was a new grad, Photoshop, Premiere, SoundEdit, Director and eventually Flash were the way to make interactive products. It sure was interesting figuring out how to 'coax' software to produce the deliverables we needed. Oh, was there coaxing to make text antialias! And all that batch processing with DeBabelizer. And... maybe some creative language usage to make things work on Mac -- as well as on that brand spankin' new Windows95 OS.

Thankfully, the tools constantly evolve, as do your skillset and knowledge base. I gotta say, it's been pretty cool to work in an industry where you can use your creative and your problem-solving skills to make cool stuff.

I'm excited about...

Making apps accessible, functional, and beautiful. All at the same time. Lately in React. And I love puttering around in Greensock JS!

I've been everywhere, man.

There are so many industries where you can shine in tech. Here are a few industries I've worked in: interactive agency, airline manufacturers, software product, higher ed. All of them have interesting challenges and deliverables. Fun things for small and insanely large screens. Proprietary tech and Open Source Software!

I look up to...

Many of the rad individuals in the tech community. They make it great to work in this constantly-evolving field. Here's a very short list:

My advice for allies to support women and non-binary folks who code is....

Get serious about tech inclusion, there are many people that don't look like you that'd be a great addition to your team.
If your network isn't representative of a diverse demographic, expand that network. I guarantee women and non-binary folks have that type of network, leverage their knowledge and recommendations.
Learn about unconscious bias, do your best to be aware when it's happening, and speak up when it does.
Sponsor, don't just mentor. Help them move up in their career.

My advice for other women and non-binary folks who code is...

Stick with it! There are days when you'll want to throw your laptop out the window when you can't solve that one pesky bug. Persist. You'll solve it. Embrace the growth mindset, and the firehose of information that tends to follow.

Find the industry that excites you, and a team that welcomes you. Pursue the career path that keeps you satisfied. Don't allow yourself to get pigeonholed.

DEV Community: Kathleen McMahon