It is Latinx Heritage Month, a time dedicated to honoring the impact and influence that Latinx Americans have made on our society and culture. In the tech culture, Latinx professionals continue to be underrepresented. This has prompted change-makers to organize into really impressive groups and communities. Our team has compiled a list of our favorite online tech communities specifically for Latinx talent.

These digital communities target Latinx professionals and offer a place for individuals to connect with each other, find companies that offer an inclusive environment, and review resources to help advance their careers.  Read our takeaways below and get involved!

Techqueria

This Latinx-focused community has more than 16,000 members in total and about 10,000 users in their Slack community. Their target is professionals who have at least three years of work experience and work in product, design, or engineering. Anyone can access the resources, message boards, and free virtual events on the site. There are also chapters set up in several cities for members to interact locally. 

The job boards are where Techqueria really shines. If you are a member of the community, you can set up a job dashboard to upload your resume and keep organized. You can search for jobs by categories, keywords, location, and type of job. The board is mostly tech or IT jobs, many of them remote. The job listings are very comprehensive. Aside from the usual job description, required experience, benefits, and company culture, there are three questions that each employer must answer. These are: 

• Tell us about the interview process for this job.
• Tell us about your diversity and inclusion efforts.
• Do you have an active contract with ICE?

Techqueria has a firm policy to not partner with companies that are known to work with and support ICE. There are lists of companies that do work with ICE linked on the site.

TLDR: 

• Geared at all Latinx in product, design, or engineering roles
• Focused on professionals with 3 to 5 years of experience
• Large slack community
• Job boards
• City chapters

Code2College

This site serves female students in six major markets, including Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Charlotte, and Denver.  Code2College has provided opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) industries to 1,041 minority and low-income high school students. 76% of the students are black or Latinx and 53% are female.  

Code2College also vows to place 200 black and Latinx women into STEM roles by the year 2024. They concentrate on the identification, recruitment, preparation, and workforce placement of women who have the talent and potential but lack the access to pursue these types of careers.

The program features after-school coding instructions with a full-stack web application curriculum, technical portfolio development, professional development workshops, and summer internships. These components are experienced in progression so that students build on what they’ve learned. Code2College partners with many national companies to hire candidates for their internships. 

TLDR:

• Focused on female high school students interested in STEM jobs
• Located in six major markets including Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Charlotte, and Denver.
• Three progressive programs featuring coding, portfolio development, and professional development

Mujeres on the Rise

Mujeres (women) on the Rise is an online platform dedicated to the empowerment and support of Latina women. The goal is to assist women with the resources they need to achieve their dreams, regardless of where they come from, where they are, or how impossible their aspirations may seem.  The site stresses it is a safe place for women to ask for help, make connections, and dream big. 

This platform is unique in that some job-seeking services are offered for sale. Job seekers can pay $187 for a custom resume or $79 for a resume critique. You can also pay for personalized career coaching, business consultation and  a self-paced resume course. All of these services are provided by the owner of the site, Melba Tellez.

The blog is chock full of tips and advice for job seekers. There is an Etsy shop for branded office items. Although the mission says that this site is a place for women to connect, there are no message boards. The Instagram account, however, has more than 6,000 followers and the TikTok account has 32,000 followers.

TLDR:

• Focuses on Latinx women’s careers (beyond tech roles)
• Stresses empowerment 
• Offers job-seeking services for a fee
• Job-seeking advice in a blog
• Active Instagram and TikTok accounts

Code2040 

Code2040’s mission is to “mobilize the largest racial equity community in tech to dismantle the structural barriers that prevent the full participation and leadership of Black and Latinx people in the innovation economy.” They propose to do this through events, training, early career programs, and mentoring programs. Code2040 wants to equip Black and Latinx tech professionals with the tools, connections, and care they need to advocate for and achieve racial equity in the tech industry.

Their main concentration is on their Fellows program, where Black and Latinx college and graduate-level computer science students intern at a top tech company and engage in racial equity advocacy work. 

Code2040 partners with these tech companies to expand their racial equity initiatives. The organizations receive hiring support from the Code2040 staff, participate in anti-racist manager training, and receive crucial data and feedback from the Code2040 Fellows on their experience working for their company. 

TLDR:

• Focuses on Black and Latinx tech students
• Striving for dismantling barriers in the tech industry
• Fellows program and career accelerator programs for college and graduate tech students 
• Works directly with tech companies to build their racial equity initiatives

Jopwell 

Jopwell asserts they are the “first and leading diversity and inclusion technology company.” Their mission is to both represent Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals and empower employers to build more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces.

The site features an extensive career advice blog, virtual events with partner employers who offer tips to navigate the job search process, and a job board. The site promised to walk applicants through the job search and interview process when they apply to one of the jobs on the job board. The listings are mostly comprehensive and the employer profiles are very informative. Some of the hiring partners on the site right now are American Express, Coursera, and Moody’s Corporation. There are also campus partners like Citi and Morgan Stanley who are specifically hiring for entry-level tech positions. These partners have pledged to diversify their workforce and build a more inclusive work environment. 

TLDR:

• Focuses on Black, Latinx, and Native American tech students and professionals
• Partner with hiring organizations to hire a more diverse workforce
• Virtual events featuring the job-seeking process for partner organizations
• Job board

ColorStack

On the front page of their website, ColorStack says they are “Leveling the playing field for Black and Latinx Computer Science students.” They’ve organized their programs into three initiatives. The first is ColorStack Family Slack, where more than 1,000 Black, Latinx, and Indigenous tech students come together in a Slack community to interact and support each other. 

The next program is the ColorStack Career Camp. This is a three-weekend virtual boot camp designed to equip college students with the knowledge, resources, and community to assist in the after graduation job hunting process. 

ColorStack Sprout is an intensive 10-week program that helps students having difficulty deciding if tech is the right career for them. The lack of inclusion in the industry causes many students of color to abandon their dreams of working in the tech industry. The intent of this program is to increase the retention and success of Black and Latinx college Computer Science students by giving them a supportive community and the tools to rise above the rest. 

TLDR:

• Focusing on Black and Latinx tech students
• Large Slack community 
• Career boot camp for college students
• Program to help students decide on the tech industry for their career

Latinas in Tech

Last but not least, Latinas in Tech aims to connect and empower Latina women working in tech. Their strategy is to partner with top technology companies to create safe spaces for learning, mentorship, and recruitment and where Latinas are well-represented throughout all levels of the organization.  

Latinas in Tech features professional development, recruiting, and mentorship opportunities. You must create a profile to access most of these services, including the job board and talent pool.  However, there are free webinars available. There are also 20 chapters around the globe where Latinx professionals can connect with others locally. There is also a yearly national summit where attendees can learn and feel empowered among their peers. 

TLDR:

• Focuses on Latinx women in tech
• Partners with tech companies to create a more inclusive culture in their organization
• Create a profile to access the job board and to upload resumes
• Free webinars
• Local chapters around the world.

Connecting with others in the tech community can be just the boost you need to take that next step in your career. Of course,  Lady Bird Talent is here for you as well. Take a look at our current opportunities and reach out if anything sparks your interest. We are all in this together!