Since we launched this community five months ago, we've had an influx of new members joining our community, and we are 900+ members strong today! Hopefully by now, those of you who are seeing this blog post are already actively engaged in our community activities and building valuable new networks. If you're a guest visiting us for the first time, here's a couple of stuff we think you should know about this family that we call the Diversity and Tech Community! :)
1. We are a public platform owned by Microsoft.
That means EVERYONE gets to be involved! The Diversity and Tech Community lives on the Microsoft Tech Community, but we absolutely welcome anyone external to Microsoft - customers, partners, students and so on - to join the community and participate in conversations about diversity and inclusion. We aim to provide a safe, inclusive and welcoming platform for people to share thoughts and exchange ideas about diversity and inclusion, and ask that members be respectful of one another.
2. Get access to the Community Mentors Program and participate as either a mentor or mentee.
Mentoring is super valuable - it always helps having someone to be your check-and-balance on how you're doing professionally (and personally!). Having a mentor can help you navigate the challenges of transitioning to a new industry, taking on a new role or finding ways to keep your A-game at work. Being a mentor provides you the opportunity to shape someone's life, and inspire them to do things and take on new challenges that they never thought they could before. We are wrapping up Cycle 1 of the Community Mentors Program with our first batch of mentor/mentee pairs, and are excited to kick off Cycle 2 in July 2018! Check out the Community Mentors Program tab for more information.
3. Learn about resources you can leverage to educate yourself on diversity and inclusion
Our Diversity Goes Local section features stories and event spotlights about awesome diversity and inclusion projects that our members are doing around the world. Whether it's STEM classes for girls in New Zealand, or a conference about racial equality in Seattle, we have you covered on what's happening around the world and invite you to share your events/stories too! We also feature in-person events that you can go to and meet others who are passionate about diversity and inclusion just like you!
4. Find your inspiration through real-life stories of people of all backgrounds working in tech through our Be Inspired section.
Read the personal stories and career journeys of IT professionals of different background, and learn about what enabled them to pursue their passion in technology.
5. Women IT Pros - connect with your tribe! Men are welcome too :)
We organize monthly group Skype calls where women IT Pros get to discuss about top of mind issues pertaining to women in tech, and how we can build inclusive workplaces and get more men allies onboard. Want to join in? Click the User Group tab for more information about the schedule and available timeslots!
Ultimately, this is YOUR space and we want you - yes, all of you wonderful Diversity and Tech Community folks - to own this space. Let's connect and together we can shape the world into becoming a friendlier, kinder and more inclusive place.
