Tech is still a male-dominated field, with women making up only about 31% of the workforce at major tech companies. When it comes to leadership roles, women are even less represented, holding just 29% of executive positions. Our mission is to close this gap and create a balanced 50/50 gender representation in the tech industry.
For many women eager to break into this field, the path isn’t always clear. They attend expensive conferences, leave inspired, but without the practical skills and connections needed to make the transition.
You want to work in tech but not sure where to start?
I get it—I’m someone who studied public health in undergrad and found myself becoming a “corporate girlie” in tech back in 2016. Now through the Fifty50 Initiative, we’re creating a new blueprint that empowers women by providing practical skills, networking opportunities, and guidance to chart their paths in the tech industry.
Starter Pack
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〰 [Career Pivot Series] Pivoting to tech without related experience
〰 [Hired Girl Summer] Job hunting series in a tough market
〰 [Public Health to UX] Wha is UX research and how do I break in?
Online Education
〰 [LinkedIn Learning] Foundation UX courses I started my journey with
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〰 [Mixed Methods]
〰 [NN/g UX Podcast]
〰 [Awkward Silences]
〰 Brave UX - [audio] | [video]
〰 [Design Better]
〰 [UX Radio]
〰 [The World of UX with Darren Hood]
〰 [Quantitude]
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〰 [Don’t make me think], Steve Krug
〰 [The Design of Everyday Things], Don Norman
〰 [Moderator’s Survival Guide], Donna Tedesco
〰 [Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights 1st Edition], Steve Portigal
〰 [Just Enough Research], Erika Hall
〰 [Think like a UX Researcher], David Travis
〰 [Measuring the user experience], Tom Tullis and Bill Albert
〰 [Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries], Steve Portigal
〰 [Universal Methods of Design, Expanded and Revised: 125 Ways to Research Complex Problems, Develop Innovative Ideas, and Design Effective Solutions], Bella Martin and Bruce Hanington
〰 [User Research: A practical guide to designing better products and services], Stephanie Marsh
〰 [It’s Our Research], Tomer Sharon
〰 [Research Practice], Gregg Bernstein
〰 [Quantifying The User Experience: Practical Statistics For User Research], Jeff Sauro and James Lewis
〰 [List of 100 behavioral design books]
Newsletters
〰 [The UX Life Chose Me Newsletter] - Monthly newsletter focused on User Research and ReOps
〰 [User Weekly] - Weekly newsletter looking at whats happening in User Research
〰 [NN/g Newsletter] - weekly newsletter from Nielsen Norman Group
〰 [UXinsight newsletter] - monthly newsletter that features UX research articles, templates, conferences, events & trainings
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〰 [🚨Layoff Guide]
Pathways into UX Research
〰 [Google Coursera Course - UX Professional Certification] (There is a program specifically focused on UX research and gives an extensive overview of research types, methods, and walks you through the process with best practice recommendations)
Job boards
Most UXR jobs are posted on LinkedIn
〰 Relevant search terms include: Design researcher, UX researcher, user researcher, user experience researcher, research lead, UX consultant
〰 Search terms for related / more specialized roles: Qualitative researcher, quantitative researcher, mixed methods researcher, research scientist, survey methodologist, ethnographer, anthropologist, service designer
〰 Most UXR Slack groups mentioned above have a #jobs channel
〰 [UX Job Board]
〰 [Remote UXR Jobs]
〰 [Yuno Juno]
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〰 Global UX Compensation Transparency Project - [please add your data here!]
〰 [Ten Rules for Negotiating a Job Offer]
〰 [UX Salary in Silicon Valley video from Aona Talks]
〰 [State of User Research Report] (Global, 2020)
〰 [Design salary repository] (Global, ongoing data collection)
〰 [Zebra People Salary Report] (London, 2020)
〰 [Measuring U Salary Calculator]
Negotiation - bridging the gender pay gap for women
〰 [She Negotiates: Resources](https://www.shenegotiates.com/free-resources)
〰 [Ask for It: How women can use the power of negotiation to get what they really want by Linda Babcock & Sara Laschever (book)
〰 [Everything I learned to negotiate my salary] - YouTube video, specific to tech industry