In the Winter of 2022, our team at Goodshuffle Pro participated in Break Through Tech DC’s Sprinternship program after Co-Founder, Andrew Garcia, sought to get involved in tech-based DEI programming. The success of this program only further inspired our Co-Founder, Andrew Garcia, and his team to seek opportunities to dedicate resources to DEI efforts in the tech industry. Through our close relationship with Break Through Tech and the incredible work the Sprinterns completed during their Sprinternship, Andrew was introduced to the Champions Fellowship program, hosted by Gender Equality in Tech (GET) Cities. 

This experience has provided many powerful tools for Goodshuffle Pro’s DEI efforts, but let’s first step back and answer:

• What is GET Cities?
• What is the GET Champions Fellowship?
• Powerful lessons from the GET Cities program
• What’s next for GET Cities and Goodshuffle?

What is GET Cities?

GET Cities is an organization created to increase the representation of women in tech through the development of inclusive tech hubs in cities across the United States. Andrew was referred to the GET Cities Champions program by the coordinators at Break Through Tech DC as a way to further his and Goodshuffle’s commitment to further diversifying their workforce. Andrew says, “It seems to me that the best way to build the type of company I want to be a part of is to deeply understand the people and perspectives within. One way to go about that goal is to more deeply understand the biases and challenges people have to push through every day.”

What is the GET Champions Fellowship?

The GET Cities Champions is a program designed for forward-thinking tech leaders seeking to increase and deepen support for women, trans, and nonbinary employees within their companies. The goal of the program is to increase the pool of talent in each tech leader’s company in an effort to transform the tech industry’s hiring practices as a whole. The program consists of virtual training and curriculum, executive coaching, and invite-only hiring events over the course of 12 months. Both the GET Cities organization and the Champions program are working to give leaders a space to think critically about themselves and their role within the industry. The program allows them to find and grow strategies that make sustainable impacts on diversity and inclusion efforts.

Andrew has completed the training sessions and has learned a lot about the issues facing diversity within the tech industry. He notes that “a company of diverse perspectives and communication styles is the fastest way to grow the whole team. The faster the people within a team grow more knowledgeable, the faster the company will grow.”

“I’ve witnessed a massive underrepresentation of women in tech throughout my career, and me being in a position to make a change on that front makes this a top priority,” Andrew shares. “I feel extremely lucky to have been surrounded by forward-thinking and welcoming colleagues throughout my career, but realize that’s not the case for many minority engineers and I intend to be a part of the solution, creating opportunity for others,” he continues.

Powerful lessons from the GET Cities program

Andrew notes that the training and educational sessions have been great opportunities for him to learn more about the history of DEI in tech. The GET Cities program provides strong educational resources via reading materials, conversations with other tech leaders, and the ability to think critically about the problem at hand.

When it comes to what changes Andrew wants to make moving forward thanks to his learnings through the GET Cities program, he says that he would like to see “a more formal mentor/sponsorship program for early-career women to help build out their networks. Business is all about relationships, and growing those relationship networks is a powerful thing that Goodshuffle Pro’s senior leadership can help with.”

This goal to offer mentorship within Goodshuffle Pro is one reason that 1:1 coffees and lunches are so heavily encouraged across teams and seniority levels at Goodshuffle – to ensure everyone has an opportunity to expand professionally in terms of both advice and social networks.

What’s next for GET Cities and Goodshuffle?

Since the Sprinternship program in January 2022, Goodshuffle Pro has been proud to bring back two of our Sprinterns as full-time Software Engineering interns! Veda Singireddy and Mary Redpath are students at the University of Maryland, and we are excited to continue supporting their professional growth within tech. With the success and connections made through the Sprinternship program this year, Andrew says that he looks forward to “continuing to participate in Break Through Tech (DC)” and that he’s “curious to see what other programs are referred or recommended after the GET Cities program finishes.”

We are proud to be a part of programs that take such a strong stance on improving diversity and inclusion within the tech industry and pride ourselves on being leaders within the tech industry for helping take a step forward to solving issues like these.

Want to join a fast-growing team in tech? Explore the open positions on our careers page and apply now!