In 2024, technology is progressing, and AI is becoming more prominent in our daily lives. The industry is growing and advancing before our eyes, but one thing stays consistent: the lack of women in the tech industry. With the career path still being male-dominated, it may seem discouraging for women actively pursuing the technology workforce. For American River College students, the Women in Tech club offers help, guidance and companionship while traversing to reach goals in what could be a challenging field.
The Women in Tech club is for female students who attend ARC and are pursuing a career in tech. Members in the club can join workshops to help with resumes, research opportunities, networking and field trips.
Soraya Amin, president of the WIT club, founded the club in May of 2023 with the goal of creating a space to help women studying technology.
“The tech field is very male dominated and there are a lot of women studying tech at ARC,” Amin said. “We help women with their journey with applications, meetings with counselors while offering field trips and building on the connections we have for our community.”
The club created an Instagram account and a Discord server this year while adding new members into their community. As the club proceeds to grow, polls are being held for meeting days during the week in order to have a better sense of community within the club, according to Amin.
While the club is only for women, the members say they do not hold any malice for men in the tech industry and want to spread positivity throughout the campus.
“We don’t experience much negativity here on campus from male stem majors,” said Sahar Hafiz, a WIT club member. “Usually, they are surprised when they see a woman in the field, but they are supportive and think it’s cool.”
Additionally, the club expressed that it is a fight against the stigma, not a fight against genders.
“You’re hardly encouraged to pursue a STEM or Tech career as a girl, but boys are always pushed into those fields,” Hafiz said. “We are under-represented and want to be treated fairly while being seen as equals.”
WIT has been promoting its club at ARC events such as Club Day and Spooktacular Soiree, hosted by the Women in Stem club, to interact with more students while expressing the need for further representation.
The club is planning upcoming field trips and workshops as the new year approaches with the goal of having a group project of creating apps, according to Amin.
ARC students are the future and with clubs such as WIT, it provides students the skills and connections to move forward with the needed confidence to pursue their future careers.
