This blogpost is a guest article written by a participant of the Civic Tech Sisters program.
I believe that networking and women's participation in various business and technical communities is an important and right step towards personal and professional growth.
In the community, every woman can get some support, new knowledge, useful contacts, and job search opportunities. There are several reasons why I believe women should join and take part in meetings, using all the opportunities to interact with other women within the community:
- Safe and comfortable place. Within the community, every woman can find a safe and comfortable place where she can share her work problems, receive help, and support from other members.
- Support in the personal and professional issues. Interaction with mentors, community leaders, or members of the community can often help solve important professional or personal problems, give an answer to some unsolved issues or find a different vision.
- The search for new opportunities. On the websites of many of the world's women's communities, there is a section with job search and volunteer opportunities for women. Moreover, sometimes within the community, you find useful contacts and people who you can turn to when looking for a new job. Women’s communities often become spaces where women can share career advice and create opportunities for each other, together.
How participation in the community helps personal and career growth: my story
My name is Natasha Shevelyova. For the last 4 years, I have actively been engaged in the development of female communities in Ukraine. I am a Women Techmakers Community ambassador, which is supported by Google and is aimed at increasing the number of girls in the tech sphere. Just 3 months ago, I also started developing a business community for women called WTECH in the Ukrainian city Dnipro.
What value did I gain from being a part of a community and why do I advise each girl to take part in different initiatives within various communities:
- It is a great chance to meet a lot of incredibly interesting people. I’ve met hundreds of intelligent, educated, and talented women from all over the world. I keep in touch with many of them to share information about new work and personal opportunities. Moreover, some of them have become my close friends.
Taking an active part in conferences and meetups, and especially in networking sessions, will help you to widen your network of useful contacts and even make new friends.
- You can participate in different international conferences. As a member of the Women Techmakers Community, I have visited 5+ conferences all around the world. Visited Google offices in Berlin, Warsaw, and Prague. I have also met people who drive the development of Women Techmakers Communities from the Google side. This is an incredible experience that has allowed me to advance in my personal and career development, to develop my soft and public speaking skills.
- It is a wonderful opportunity for career growth. Many employers in Ukraine pay attention to your life off work. An active social position, participation in international conferences, public speaking in Ukraine and Europe are indicators that show you are an intelligent and concerned person. Employers always paid attention to that part of my CV where I point out my active involvement in the development of the community.
Every year there are more and more different communities in the world. Below you will find information about the most famous and interesting ones.