Breaking Down Barriers for Latin American Women in Tech
Tags: Latin America, Economic Development, Codingbootcamp, Women In Tech, Laboratoria

Breaking Down Barriers for Latin American Women in Tech

Women’s Global Development and Prosperity at USAID partners with nonprofit digital bootcamp provider to diversify tech industry in the region USAID Follow Dec 21, 2020 · 4 min read

A coach explains a technical concept to a group of students in Lima. / Catalina Kulczar-Marin, Laboratoria

Women worldwide face barriers to economic empowerment. These barriers intensify in sectors such as the technology sector that employ primarily men. The White House-led Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative, the first whole-of-government approach to women’s economic empowerment globally, works to break these barriers through U.S. Government activities, private-public partnerships, and an innovative W-GDP Fund at USAID.

With W-GDP support, USAID is partnering with Laboratoria, a nonprofit social enterprise that provides digital skills training for underserved Latin American women, in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.

Since 2014, through its six-month bootcamp Laboratoria has trained over 1,800 women as web developers and UX designers to close the gender gap in tech. Laboratoria has built partnerships with companies across Latin America, and thus far has helped over 77 percent of its graduates secure jobs on the tech teams of more than 600 companies, often tripling their previous salaries. Laboratoria’s holistic approach encompasses community, post-training employment, and corporate engagement.

A student works on a coding project in Lima. / Adriana Samanez, Laboratoria

From Plan B to Plan A

Some Laboratoria students are college-educated but were unable to find a job in their field or wanted to change career paths. “Laboratoria is often a Plan B,” said co-founder Ana Martinez.

To help students with this transition, part of the bootcamp focuses on providing professional counseling support services and helping students develop core skills such as stress management, public speaking, and effectively dealing with conflict in the workplace.

“Laboratoria is a safe place where you can make mistakes — and [those mistakes] are valued,” said Raquel Canales Concha, a Laboratoria alumna now working as a web developer at an IT and software development company in Santiago, Chile.

Due to COVID-19, the bootcamp has been operating remotely and aims to become fully remote in the long-run. The students have shown great resilience amid the pandemic, said Laboratoria co-founder Herman Marin.

“Because of the training and their potential, [our students] have an openness to learn, which becomes a great asset to any company or any business,” Herman said.

Juanita and her squad showcase their project in Brazil. / Courtesy of Maria Carolina Rosatto

The Power of Sisterhood

Juanita Solano studied biotechnology in Brazil, but because the country lacked the infrastructure and resources, and the sector was extremely male-dominated, she was unable to find a job. She thought that there may be more opportunities in the private sector and the tech industry. Juanita participated in Laboratoria’s 2019 cohort and felt empowered by the community of strong women in her training.

Now, Juanita is an Android web developer for one of the largest energy companies in Brazil. She is one of five women on a team of 16, and says that her company is trying to change its culture as they realize the value of diverse perspectives.

“It’s been more than the job, more than the knowledge in technology,” said Juanita. “Rather it’s being a part of this network. For me, this has been the most beautiful thing.”

Employment and Corporate Engagement

Laboratoria helps companies develop their own diversity policies and offers corporate training courses to strengthen opportunities for women in tech. Laboratoria trained over 9,000 employees through its corporate training program, focusing on re-skilling employees in tech literacy and innovation.

“We want to have a system-level impact,” Ana said. “We want to change the economy and everything around that [by] working with companies. We [help] influence conversation and the way they train their employees.”

Businesses respond best when they see a return on investment. According to Herman, “the transformation really comes when we explain the potential of that diversity in the output of business. If you can connect the why, they see that diversity is strategic for business growth.”

Innovative partners such as Laboratoria play a crucial role in development, promote fair and decent work opportunities for women, and advance women’s economic empowerment globally.