MLT MBA Prep Alumna Erin Teague Shares Tech Career Advice for Women & Underrepresented Minorities
By: Avril Langevine
MLT MBA Prep 2008 alumna Erin Teague was recently featured in an article titled 8 Young Professionals Share Their Work Secrets on Refinery29, a women’s fashion and style website. Erin earned her MBA at Harvard Business School and is now the director of product management at Yahoo. The article notes that “women make up just 26% of the computing workforce,” and Erin’s interview focuses on what drove her to break into the tech sector and advocate for reducing the racial and gender disparities in tech. Check out the excerpt below and read the full article for more on Erin’s career trajectory and her colleagues’ inspiring stories:
Do you feel like the gap is getting any better?
“A lot of companies have been very public about their diversity numbers… That is the first step — acknowledging there is an opportunity to really do better in terms of recruiting diverse talent. Diverse teams make better decisions. They arrive at better solutions, and that impacts your bottom line.
“But, the numbers have not changed. Until that happens, I can’t say that progress has been made, but I think we’re moving in the right direction. There is no quick fix; this issue is so multi-faceted. The core of that issue is around exposure, around access, around what societal norms are being reinforced for young kids.”
What advice do you have for women wanting to enter the tech space?
“Two things: The first is to recognize and embrace your uniqueness. I don’t think the ratios are going to change anytime soon. But, I don’t think it has to be a disadvantage. Being a Black woman, being a woman in general, on a team of all men, means that you are going to have a unique voice. It’s important to embrace that. Also, make sure you never stop learning. Being the unique person in the room, that means you’re a little different, and sometimes that means you might have to prove yourself again and again.”