Closing the network gap

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend and participate in techaWare 's very first NYC event, “Women, Wine & Tech,” an event that brought together hundreds of women and allies to raise visibility of the variety of careers, not just hands-on technology, within the industry to help equalize the imbalanced proportion of women. Given that over 70% of jobs are landed through networking,?the need to?connect and engage with professionals?is clear. But what happens if you’re already at a disadvantage with your network?

The “network gap,” or the advantage one has based on who they know, includes:

1.??????Where one grows up

2.??????Where one goes to school

3.??????Where one works/worked

In a robust study by LinkedIn, the network gap, results in a 12x advantage to gaining access to professional opportunities for those who grow up in affluent areas, attend high-ranked schools and land roles at large, well-know organizations. Unfortunately, this disparity has continued to widen throughout the pandemic, particularly for women and people of color as we learn to balance hybrid ways of working.

I once read that 8 in 10 adults fear stigma that their upbringing in lower socio-economic background will negatively impact their career. While I was originally fearful, I have evolved into unapologetically sharing my story in hopes of impacting others. Growing up sharing a one-bedroom apartment with my older brother and mother, paid for by a Section-8 public housing voucher, I didn’t have access to any role models for networking. I went to public schools for the majority of my life, and even after a full academic scholarship to university, there was never a class on “Networking 101.” I then when on to land my first job through a paper-based application at a small company that no one had ever heard of. Taken collectively, I’d estimate that my access to professional opportunities was lower than those in a higher class.

After grasping the importance of networking, years of practice and more recent acknowledgement of the network gap concept, I am now a confident networker – I approach others and remain approachable. I ask questions and I offer coaching, connections, advice, and any other needs the other party may have, without any personal agenda nor request in return. Then, I follow up to cement the connection. One might say I’m now “a natural” at this, which is what it has become a key topic when mentoring others, especially first-generation college students, women, people of color and those from other disadvantaged groups. The earlier one can become proficient at networking, the more opportunities one can open up for themselves.

Have you experienced the network gap? If so, how are you supporting the generation from circumstances such as yours? If not, where can you lean in to help lift up the next generation to bridge this gap and its compounding effects?

To learn more about the mission of techaWare, click here.

Thank you Thank you to Nicci Townsend , one of techaWare 's founders, for gifting me the opportunity to support the event, to my long-time mentees, Lizete A. , along with Chris Parker , Valentin Guerin , Mina Shahmirzadi and Katelyn Tsai for allowing me to use their likeness in this post.