In 2018, Emily Marwedel was at a UC-wide conference for IT staff when she and colleagues there began to think about starting group that would support women working in IT at the UC Davis main campus and UC Davis Health.

“Even though we're separate campuses, we had a lot of shared goals in terms of supporting women in technology,” said Marwedel.

Marwedel is a senior service desk analyst with L&S IT, where she handles calls and tickets with technology-related questions for faculty and staff in the college. She also supervises the UC Davis undergraduates who staff the service desk. 

That year, Marwedel and her colleagues at UC Davis and UC Davis Health co-founded the Womxn in Tech group. The group started as place for women in IT at both campuses to meet and talk about their work. They shared opportunities and insights that could help each other. 

They held meetings and social events with guest speakers from across the two campuses who could offer valuable insights. The group created opportunities to meet and talk about the work and even what’s possible in the future career-wise. 

“I believe it’s been more about building connections and sharing valuable information that benefits everyone,” said Marwedel.

Joining Womxn in Tech across UC

Today, Womxn in Tech at UC Davis is dedicated to ensuring that issues surrounding women in technology are reviewed and discussed with a focus on making continuous improvements towards equity. The group is a one of 17 chapters of the UC-wide Womxn in Tech that create an inclusive space for women in IT across UC campuses.

Marwedel remains a leader of the Womxn in Tech group at UC Davis. This year the group received an official campus designation as an employee resource group from the UC Davis Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This designation comes with additional resources the group can use to provide additional opportunities to their members.

“We've been successful in creating a supportive environment for people who might be interested in advancing their career or starting a career pathway in IT,” said Marwedel. 

Supporting women to reach leadership in IT

While the group is mostly tailored to IT staff, Marwedel said that everyone interested in learning more about the field is welcome to take part in its events and presentations. There is an email list and a Slack channel. 

“It's also for allies, so it's for anyone who's interested in supporting women in technology,” said Marwedel. “We’re excited to meet new people and work together to build a supportive community.”

She said that the group’s priority is to support women in reaching leadership roles in IT. Right now, she said, campus data shows a good number of women in IT departments but fewer in leadership roles.

“We're looking at skill building and career opportunities that will support people who may want to pursue that career path toward leadership,” said Marwedel.

She said that one of the benefits of helping to lead a group like Womxn in Tech from Letters and Science is the opportunity to meet and interact with so many different people who have so many different perspectives.

“L&S is good about creating learning opportunities for the staff and faculty and I think it’s important for everyone to take advantage of these opportunities,” said Marwedel. “By joining various groups and discussions, you can contribute to creating a more inclusive environment on campus.”