DID YOU KNOW

Did you know that Latina in tech make just 58 cents for every dollar that a white man makes? And that we make up just 2% of the tech workforce? That means in a lifetime, Latinas in tech lose approximately $1.3 million. Since today is Latina Equal Pay Day, I wanted to share a bit about my tech journey, having been in the tech industry for now approximately five years and working at Tok for were close to four years. One of the biggest lessons that helped me close my own gap going from a 50k a year salary well into the six-year salary was realizing that execution work isn't what's going to get you promoted. It's really strategy and leadership. At some point into my account management role, my direct leader had left the company and this really opened up an opportunity for me to step into more of a leadership role. I wasn't stepping into her exact position, but um, just trying to move along the account, really gave me that opportunity to show up a lot more strategically and partner with our product and engineering teams who in the past I wasn't too confident speaking on those topics, but this really forced me to put myself out there and really give them answers about the status of the account. This is really where everything shifted for me. I went from being execution focused where in the past I was focused on deadlines, getting things done on time, sending things out to clients on time to being business impact and strategy focused. I was surrounded by incredible female leaders, which I was so blessed with. My direct manager, my accountant, our leader as well, KO. They always had my back regardless of whether I was right or wrong. Having leaders like that, mentors like that around you that uplift you and encourage you to share your voice anyway, was really critical to increasing my confidence. It also served as inspiration for me back to the stat about how we only make up 2% of the tech workforce. And seeing these incredible women and people of color in the tech space uh leading the way that they do, made me realize that I could also do the same. It could be at Tok, it could also be in my own company. Um and that's what brings me to my with my app called. I really want to take everything that I've learned and use it to help people like me that come from marginalized communities and empower them to reach their highest potential. with is to empower and enable marginalized communities by closing those accessibility gaps, allowing city commuters in big cities like New York to transition in between their plans from where they are to to be, both literally and figuratively. You have to remember that Latina equal pay day isn't just about the paycheck, but it's also about the opportunity gap. With Bara, I'm building something that helps close both. Building something that helps us move more freely and confidently through our plans and enabling us to show up as our best version.