Elle has a great interview with Aminatou Sow, one of the founders of Tech LadyMafia.
Meet Aminatou Sow, one of Forbes.com’s 30 under 30 in the technology sector along with her BFF and business partner Erie Meyer. The two founded the popular members only listserv, Tech LadyMafia, which allows women across the world (yes, the world!) to discuss anything and everything about what it means to be a woman working in technology. From how to negotiate your salary, to the best programming language to use for your newest project, TLM has the answer.
We chatted with one half of TLM to learn about why the listserv was born, what’s been the biggest surprise since starting, and what she thinks about female competitiveness.
A lot of people do talk about how there’s such a small percentage of women graduating with computer science degrees, and how there’s so much room to close that gap. Is there value in that conversation?
There is a ton of value to having that conversation, but when you have that conversation, you’re also making the women that are already there invisible.
What is something that surprised you when you started TLM with Erie?
I remember when we sent out our first query, like “Hey, join us!” My favorite thing that happened was that I ended up being the most unimpressive, least smart person on the listserv. And that was the best! There were these two women that were applying to be NASA astronauts! I think that it proves the power of networks. The whole point is to not be intimidated by other people. It’s to build a team and learn from each other.
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