Introducing LinkedIn Women in Tech (WIT) 2.0

I am honored to lead the Women in Tech (WIT) program at LinkedIn. WIT is an employee-led effort that challenges the gender imbalance among software engineers and other technical roles. What started back in 2015 as a grassroots effort has grown to a well-organized team that is invested in improving the experience of women in technology at LinkedIn.

So how did it all get started? 

History of LinkedIn Women in Tech (WIT)

In 2015, motivated by the significant gender gap in the tech industry and experiencing the effects of gender disparity first hand, Erica Lockheimer (VP of Engineering - LinkedIn Learning, Talent Solutions, and Glint) decided to take matters into her own hands and tackle the gender imbalance head on. She teamed up with some of LinkedIn’s most accomplished, respected, and talented female tech executives to create and build LinkedIn’s WIT program from the ground up. 

Since then, the WIT team has accomplished a tremendous amount these past 6 years. Some of the highlights include: 

• Creating LinkedIn’s High School Trainee Program - A program that aims to inspire the next generation women to study computer science and related fields.
• Hosting 350+ women throughout 7 WIT Invest cohorts - An internal program that focused on accelerating the growth of women in Engineering, Operations, and Product at LinkedIn.
• Hosting 20 WomenConnect events - WomenConnect is a platform for women in technology & allies to come together, connect with one another, exchange best practices and build meaningful relationships.  
• Partnering with organizations outside of LinkedIn (like TechWomen with the U.S. Department of State)
• For the past 6 years, LinkedIn has sent hundreds of our employees to Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC). One of our biggest highlights is partnering with AnitaB.org to take the hiring event virtual in 2020. Through our partnership, GHC attendees at all stages of their careers were able to directly connect with companies hiring on LinkedIn, increasing opportunities for them to be discovered and hired. 

LinkedIn WIT Today - Introducing WIT 2.0

With the momentum we saw and the impact WIT had made at LinkedIn, it has become clear that the community wants more, and our next chapter needs to focus on growth and scale. In close collaboration with leaders across LinkedIn’s Engineering organization, we launched WIT 2.0, the next evolution of WIT@LinkedIn.

• A New Structure: We’ve extended our WIT Leadership team to all Engineering organizations and locales to increase impact and accelerate gender diversity. We achieved this by establishing a hub-and-spoke model where a centralized WIT Core team drives Engineering-wide opportunities and WIT Branches focus on locale- or organization-specific opportunities. 
• Expanded Leadership Team: With the hub and spoke model, we also introduced Organization, Locale, and Program Branch Lead and Co-Lead positions. These Leads and Co-Leads are selected through an application process, serve 1 - 2 year terms, and allocate 20% of their time towards WIT. They are responsible for building out their leadership teams, driving initiatives, and encouraging female and male allies to get involved with the WIT community. 
• Male Allies: We’ve always encouraged our male colleagues to get involved with WIT, and are proactively bringing more male allies into the fold. Our vision is to have every male engineer at LinkedIn be a WIT ally. 

I’m excited for this next chapter of WIT at LinkedIn, and hope to continue sharing what we learn with the broader WIT Community. Together, we will move forward towards a more inclusive and equitable future in Technology!

Follow our LinkedIn WIT page to stay in the loop and join us on our journey of creating change! 

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