I was at my desk working and my music playlist was playing randomly. Guess what came up on my playlist? Sade! As I worked and admired the song that popped up on my playlist, it occurred to me that she lady has always been the star of this band from the very beginning. You never heard the men in this band ever take her talents and beautiful voice for granted. As the lead singer of this band, I know it’s not easy, especially when you’re fighting for your voice to be heard.
I’ve been a fan of this band since childhood. I always liked the way she carried herself with dignity. I knew the band was very talented and to see her singing with them is amazing. The mystique of the woman behind the band.
If only the world were more accepting of women in Information Technology, if Sade can lead, then I can lead. Each member of this team respects each other for their talents and doesn’t try to outdo each other. They all have one thing in common, which is to make great music and work as a team. This is a diverse band. I can relate being the only female on the team and making this happen.
We are living in an era where people share everything on social media, where they are, and what are they doing?
As human beings, we need to be careful about what we tell the world and how we protect ourselves. Sometimes people in the are watching your every move or what you do in a bad way.
Cyber threats are on the rise every day, and some of these attacks are social engineering campaigns based on what you’re posting and doing. Here are some tips on “How to protect your identify”.
Don’t overshare
Most social media platforms and apps ask users to provide information about themselves, and then display this information on their profile. Be mindful of what you provide. The more information a scammer has about you, the more likely they are to set up a fake account using your personal information. If an application allows it, choose to keep your profile private.
Question quizzes and surveys
Be careful when you’re taking online quizzes. Be wary of quizzes that solicit personal information from you. Scammers pose questions with answers that you might use on security login forms, such as:
Your first car
Your first pet name
Your hometown
Protect your family
Always ask for permission from family members, friends or colleagues. Some people aren’t as active on social media as you are and don’t want their identity to be public knowledge.
Protect Your Personal Identity
Be careful about what you share on social media. Do not share personal information like your date of birth or home address. Check the privacy settings for each social media account. You might want to limit who can view your friends list, your contacts and photos. Keep your social media accounts private so only friends and family members can view your posts and other personal information.
Watch out for Scammers
Phishing is when someone pretending to be someone from Facebook or Twitter or another social media platform sends you an email pretending to be from them. For example, they might tell you that your account is hacked or that your password needs to be changed.
In phishing emails, you’ll be asked to click a link and provide your login credentials. Then, they’ll use those credentials to get into your accounts.
To tell if you’ve been phished, look out for unusual or misspelled or grammatically incorrect information. Hover over hyperlinks and see if they take you to a website that isn’t related to the sender of your email.
Be careful whom you accept friend requests from
Accept only friend requests from friends you know, and don’t reply to messages or click on links from strangers.
Yes, you heard it right, “I am changing”. Every day that I’m opening my eyes to something new, I know it’s another day that’s giving me the chance to make a difference or find something new. Every day we should be open to learning something new or accepting more of who we’ve become.
When I think about my past and where I am in my career, I think about how I’ve changed as a person over the years. As I look back at my past, I’m thankful that I’m still that voice in the wilderness for other women out there who want to work in IT. I talk to other women sometimes, and we all go through the same struggles of feeling like we don’t belong in a company that’s so resistant to change.
As I reflect on those who have paved that way for us to do this. I am grateful that I am paving the way for other women as well. I have not had an easy career path with some of the struggles that I have came across but guess what it made me a better person and I have learned from it.
I wanted to tell you a bit about the book. I’ll post a pre order link on my website closer to the book’s release date, and I’ll personally sign the book and mail it to you.
I keep asking myself, “What are you waiting for?” I know there aren’t many women in your industry, but don’t let that stop you from reaching your goals. Set the bar for others to aspire to the same level of success in Information Technology.
I went through a time in my career where I struggled to find a place to work that accepted me because it was a new concept to a lot of men in this industry who were not accustomed to having a woman in their workplace. Is it worth it?
I remember when I worked at the Trap House. It was exciting for them to say they had a female in IT now. It sometimes made my day to see them see me doing a role that they were most likely seeing a man do. To know that I am capable of anything I set my mind to and that I can do what the men do and better.
When I started getting my first hands-on experience, I started volunteering at my alma mater’s IT department. I had a good relationship with several of the IT admin’s in the building at which I took all my classes. I went into one of them and expressed my interests and aspirations. At the time, there weren’t many women in my industry pursuing a career in the IT field as I did, so I learned a lot from this individual and was eager to learn more.
Once I graduated from college, my career took a backseat because a lot of guys weren’t ready to close the gender gap at the time they hired me. I went to the finish line and all I heard was, “I don’t think you’d be a good fit for our team.” I was learning the hard way that my career wasn’t a safe space for me as a woman.
During this time, I tried to do things in my life that I didn’t feel passionate about but I knew my heart was in IT. I didn’t give up. I kept working on it.
This is a chapter in my book, and I’m giving you a sneak peek before it hits shelves in 2024. So what are you waiting on?
I often say to myself, “I need to look out for myself more than I do the people and business I work for,” but the truth is, a lot of companies don’t care if you’re mentally stressed. They don’t check on the people who work in information technology because all you’re thinking about is that the issue you have is worth screaming/stressing those people who put their lives on the line to keep the company going.
Now that I’m older, I’ve learned to set limits on what I’m willing to put my mind to. There were times when I let my work grind to a halt. I didn’t say anything, didn’t think I needed to take a break, and even when I did, I returned to a mountain of work or 99 problems and useless drama. Knowing that your coworkers didn’t know how to do their job effectively without you around.
Deep down, you know you’ve had enough. You know it’s okay to take a break during your workday to do something that relaxes your mind and helps you unwind from the pressures of work and home. No one outside of work knows what you go through when you come home. The only people who might know are the people you want to talk to about what’s going on in your life right now. Family and friends can be limited in their support, especially when they don’t know what you’re going through or what to do during your downtime.
Learning new ways to cope with your mental health is a life lesson in itself. I don’t have many people I can talk to and vent to. I used to write my feelings down in my journal and sometimes I would just listen to music or go for a drive just to get away from everything going on in my head.
There are resources for positivity to help you through what you are going through. I’ve gone to counseling to talk to a stranger and cry to let out some tears. I feel good knowing that this person is keeping my life information private. I’m not a private person and I don’t feel comfortable sharing all my business on social media for people who could care less about you. They just want to show you how perfect your life is when life isn’t perfect. We all experience things in life that are good and bad.
Sorry I haven’t written anything in a long time but I have been going through a lot. I recently went to go see the Beyonce concert/movie this weekend and yes it brought me back together again. I was so happy that Beyonce did talk about the struggles Black women do have to go through and how so many times you have to keep repeating yourself to be heard or act in a manner that not professional to be heard.
I was so messed up inside that I didn’t have the courage to write or to be the “voice of reason”. I’m comfortable and comfortable with being me. It’s okay for others to accept certain people’s behavior and when you tell them how you feel or what’s bothering you but nothing’s been done to fix it.
I am not going to stop being me and if you can not accept me for the person who I am and I do not want anything to do with you. I have been at a few workplaces in my career and know I do a good job at what I do. Yet people still want to disrespect you for what you do and do not understand how much you have been through in your career and it’s not easy being a black woman in a corporate environment. One thing I am not going to do is let someone disrespect me and not speak up about how I feel especially if nothing is being done about what I am telling you about.
After listening to Beyonce speak about the challenges she faced as a black woman living in a predominantly white environment, I was motivated again. I will finish my book. I will continue to be the black woman who isn’t afraid to tell her story. I will be the black woman in my career who can help other women accept themselves and know that they are boss lady.
I’ll be done with my book by year’s end and I’m the boss girl. I’m on my way to continue to thrive and nothing will destroy my spirit or kill my mood. God has given me a special gift and a special mission. It won’t be easy, but me not speaking up about injustice in my industry will never end.
I hope whoever’s reading this knows that I’m back, and there’s nothing the devil can do to kill me, steal me, or ruin me. The evil will never win, and God yes, you will win for everything I’ve done and learned. And yet I keep going.
I hope I’ll keep inspiring others and continue to be that example to them so they know she didn’t let it hold her back.
As a young girl in my teens I always knew what I wanted to do and found my passion. As a grown woman I have never stopped dreaming of reaching my career potential. It has not been an easy role but it was sure worth it.
I remember my mentor in college telling me nothing is easy and it comes with challenges especially if God is trying to elevate yourself. Yes is right about that for sure because I have come across challenges, obstacles in the road, and standstills to get here.
I am always talking to my sister about continuing to pursue her dreams and goals. I am still pursuing my dreams and goals and not going to give up no matter how hard things get. My time is coming and I am going to reach the top. I have been up and down in life. One thing I can do is come back stronger.
One of my favorite songs I added to this blog because it talks about “Never Giving Up”.
I have been trying to figure this out all month but I never will be able to figure this out because this still has my mind in a mystery.
Learning from this situation that happened this month I must say it is okay to take care of yourself. If you do not know what to do about what you are going through you can always write it in a diary or go talk to a counselor.
We are all human and can easily overwhelm ourselves with distractions, family issues, depression, work, and other problems.
There is nothing wrong with focusing on your mental health or self worth. Take time out for yourself to know that you are valued. Say words of affirmations over your life that are positive. We only have one life to live. How we deal with everything can stress you out to the point where it affects your health mentally and spiritually. Never let life get you to that point where you can not find peace with yourself.
I was getting ready to graduate from college at this time. I remember one of my professors telling us to make sure you got experience before graduating from college. That meant getting an internship.
Trust me I was trying to do that. This my first time experiencing discrimination at it’s finest. We would get all dressed up for career day/job fair day to go around and talk to recruiters from the companies who came to visit the HBCU (Historically Black College & University) I went to. Me and my classmates would go to also pick up free swag and map out who to talk to. One thing a lot of the companies would do was set the bar so high to get an Internship, G.P.A. (3.5 or higher). I did not have a 3.5 G.P.A. with a background in Engineering. We would go to our sister school that was 30 minutes away to get the opportunity to get a chance for an internship. Nobody was asking them for a G.P.A. at all for an internship opportunity.
Experiencing this made me realize that everyone is not treated equally in the workspace. I would be at my career fair disappointed knowing that fact that these companies were not trying to give minorities a chance to make an impact at their company or give us the chance to experience what corporate was like.
I do not get a job offer before I graduated and I deleted to apply for graduate school because I do not want to go back home because I did not like the situation that was going on in my hometown. I did not give up hope on trying to get experience when I got to graduate school. I went to the career fair and met with a few recruiters but this time was different. I got an email from one of the companies saying I was accepted for the internship program. I opened the email up and thought this must be a joke. I got a call from Career Services on campus regarding it. I was super excited to be given a chance finally.
I was listening to my playlist on Spotify and this song came on. Yes, I sure did listen to it. I brought up so many memories of when I wanted to give up on life and what I was going through. I had to take some time to feel grateful of everything that I have overcame.
Pursuing my dreams has always been a difficult challenge with all the obstacles that have been in the way. I am grateful to keep moving up in my career by not giving up.
Here a few examples of obstacles that were in my way and God made a way.
The fears of being able to go into a male dominated field.
Gaining new experience and staying valuable.
Learning to love myself when the job was tough.
Rejection is a part of life and it’s how you deal with it.
Helping other women in my field know that we all winning in this together.
It’s okay not agree what is going on, you have a voice and it needs to be heard.
It’s okay to cry when things get tough and get back on track to the right goal.
Growing can be hard at times in your career and it is hard when you are not treated fairly in your work environment.
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