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Thriving as a Woman in Tech

Alina Vrsaljko is a current Tech MBA student at Stern. Within Stern, she is part of the Stern Women in Business Club‘s board. Before starting her MBA, Alina gained professional experience in Digital Strategy Consulting at McKinsey in Europe and in multiple roles at Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Germany and Singapore. She holds a BSc in Business Informatics and a MSc in Management. 

Introduction

45% minorities, 9% LGBTQ+, 57% international students and 55% women – those are not target scores from exemplary studies on what ideal diverse teams should look like, but those are the actual numbers of the Tech MBA at NYU Stern. When I met my classmates for the first time, I was amazed by the number of strong women in the program. This was not at all what any of us had expected when signing up for a Tech focused MBA, but we LOVED it – both male and female classmates. In the picture below, you can see a small part of our amazing group of women in the Tech MBA.

Being the only one

Coming from a Tech industry background, I’ve gotten used to being the “only one”-the only woman in the room.  And even though my colleagues and clients meant well, there were certain situations where I could feel the impact of what it means to be the only person of a certain group in the room. And this did not just happen to me – a recent Women in the Workplace Study by McKinsey and LeanIn.org shows that “32% of women in technical and engineering roles are often the only woman in the room at work” (2022). This is one of the reasons why I believe the makeup of this year’s Tech MBA is so special and important – the more we normalize women thriving in Tech, the easier it’ll be for young women to imagine themselves in those roles.

Why is this even relevant? 

Throughout my career, one big factor I’ve considered when deciding on a next career move was around female empowerment – will this decision help me advance further and will this have an impact on women in the industry? Maybe that’s also why I specifically picked the Tech industry as an 18-year-old girl to start off my career. I believe it’s time that all of us start making a difference. Especially in Tech but also in leadership in general, women are still heavily underrepresented – in the US, still only 1 in 4 CEOs is female and even only 1 in 20 CEO’s is a black woman (LeanIn, McKinsey, 2022). Thus, I believe us as MBAs, and hopefully all future leaders, need to push further for equality to achieve the equal world we aim to live in. Another reason for focusing on gender equality is that diverse teams make better decisions (Harvard Business Review, 2016) – no matter whether that’s in business or politics. Additionally, especially in Tech, having diverse representation will matter even more than ever. With Artificial Intelligence solutions on the rise and tech firms not having a diverse employee body, those new algorithms are full of unconscious biases that will need to be resolved (Forbes, 2020). Thus, I am proud to be part of an MBA program that is educating so many women in Tech, sets us up with the tools to excel in the industry, and educates allies who are aware of gender equality issues and who will actively create an impact in this field.

When thinking about how to thrive as a woman in Tech throughout your MBA experience, there’s three main areas to leverage:

1. Role models: I can’t stress enough the importance of strong role models for your career development – I am still thankful to all the amazing role models in my previous positions who I am still in touch with. NYU Stern will also help by connecting you with strong, successful women – I was lucky enough to have met a few of them at multiple events hosted by NYU Stern, from Elizabeth Elting (see picture below) who was listed on FORBES’ list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women, to Rama Akkiraju, who is leading NVIDIA’s AI/ML efforts after being responsible for IBM Watson for the past few years.

Those women are living proof that it is possible to break glass ceilings in all kinds of industries, and an MBA at NYU Stern allows you to connect with and learn from them. Additional events to connect with women are now also happening all over New York – and for every industry. Especially for Women’s History Month, companies like Google and Amazon have held great events around women in tech that were free to join for students.

2. Network within Student Community: Besides external speakers, who often can act as inspiration, the Student Community at NYU Stern is full of strong and ambitious women to network with. Starting from the Fall, Tech MBA students will get to interact with all full-time students and there are multiple opportunities to engage with fellow students. For example, I’m part of the Stern Women in Business Club’s Board for Alumni Relations. This involved connecting with a lot of female MBA alumni, and allowed me to network within the SWIB community to further build out my network. Of course, the small class size of the Tech MBA and the close connection to the smaller sized Fashion and Luxury MBA also allowed to create a close-knit network already in the summer. I’m sure I’ll carry my network of strong NYU women throughout my career and can’t wait to see what all of them will accomplish.

3. Allies: Finally, a concept that is gaining much more popularity is involving allies that do not identify as women. The great part about women’s engagement within NYU is that non-women identifying students are also asked to participate in a range of events. There are specific events like “Bring your Ally to Work” where all students discuss issues that women in the workplace have experienced to raise the awareness of discrimination, or “Real Meals” where an ally hosts a dinner at their place and invites women to listen and learn more about what discrimination currently still looks like. Additionally, our SWIB conference this year is also centered around the topic of Active Allyship. NYU Stern promotes a policy of equality that can only be achieved by working together and aiming as one for a more equal world and I’m proud to be a part of this effort.

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The Role of Clubs in the Tech MBA

Steven is a current Tech MBA student, specializing in Financial Instruments & Markets and Management of Technology & Operations. Prior to Stern, Steven was at Deloitte in tech consulting where he was implementing financial software to complete full cycle digital transformations. At Stern, he is involved in OutClass and enjoys connecting with classmates.

Club involvement has been a significant part of my experience at Stern. I am currently a Vice President for Careers and Conferences in OutClass, an Assistant Vice President for Resources in Cellar, an ally in Stern Women in Business, and a member of the Management Consulting Association, Private Equity and Venture Capital Club and Stern Adventures. The first thing to note is that a lot of these clubs have lifetime membership. The professional clubs offer an abundant amount of important information including job opportunities, networking and trainings that can be leveraged in the future. I highly suggest joining any clubs that you have an interest in so that you can utilize these invaluable resources.

Affinity Clubs

The club that I am most involved with is OutClass, our LGBTQIA+ affinity group. In my leadership position, I have been heavily involved with connecting employers that are recruiting for diversity and inclusion initiatives to queer MBA candidates, and have organized multiple firm-sponsored queer networking events including cross club collaborations. OutClass has been one of the most important clubs that I have been involved with and has significantly enhanced my experience at Stern. This club has allowed me to meet classmates from all the different MBA programs (EMBA, Part-Time Langone MBA and Full 2-Year MBA) outside of the focused MBAs. I have also built a community in OutClass that has been instrumental in some of my deepest connections at Stern. I have seen firsthand how within this community, everyone really strives to help each other out to achieve the utmost success. With this group we have attended professional conferences such as ROMBA in Washington, D.C. (Stern had the highest representation of queer students out of any graduate school!), happy hours, group workout sessions, dinners, mixers with other schools and alumni, marched in New York Pride and have so much more to come, including a trip to Miami.

Professional Clubs

As for professional clubs, these clubs help students with securing summer internships and full time offers. They offer bootcamps, casing prep and competitions and a wealth of learning opportunities. The goal of professional clubs is to help students  prosper in whatever field they are recruiting for. In most of these clubs, MBA2s will lead sessions and help the other cohorts by sharing their experiences going through the same processes in the previous year, and giving advice on how to prepare for or learn about an industry. Overall, the interview preparation, job opportunities and connections that these clubs provide is outstanding.

A particularly special event that I went to recently was the kickoff for ‘Allyship in Stern Women In Business’ (SWIB). Coming from the tech sector, where women are disproportionately represented, it was incredible to see that my Tech MBA cohort was the largest representation. Everyone went around to state their various reasons of why they showed up as an ally, and it was impressive to see why everyone supported more women in leadership positions and how they would support these initiatives when they returned to the workforce.

Overall, I would recommend joining any and every club that you have any interest in. Both professional and social clubs offer a magnitude of knowledge, fun, connections and networks. These affiliations will last a lifetime and you never know when you will want to leverage any aspect from the membership. You will always be able to decide what events you will want to attend or how much you obtain from the relationship, but you will not have the opportunities unless you get involved.

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Leadership Opportunities at Stern

Before I joined NYU Stern’s Tech MBA program, as an aspiring manager, I always wondered what opportunities would the school provide for me to grow as an impactful leader? How would these compare to the two-year MBA program? And, how do I prepare to arrive at school so I can best leverage these opportunities?

After completing almost a full year in the program, there are a number of opportunities I participated in that helped me strengthen my leadership & management skills while making the most of the program. I hope you consider participating in these as you choose to pursue your own Tech MBA!

  1. Cohort Leader Opportunity: Early in the academic year, Stern gives a taste of what winning an election must feel like, haha! Jokes aside, students elect a cohort leader who serves as a liaison between the administration and your Tech MBA class.  
  2. MBA Admissions Graduate Assistantship: Into the second semester, Admissions Committee selects 3-4 candidates as the face of Stern’s Tech MBA program. These students regularly mentor, guide and serve as ambassadors for both the aspiring MBA students and the admitted students. *wink* they’re the best *wink* As a GA, I have loved talking with so many of you about your journey to business school!
  3. Professional Club Opportunities: There are a number of professional clubs which provide important board positions for the Tech MBA students. Every year, 1-2 students get elected to executive positions within Stern Tech Association, Management Consulting Association, Data Analytics Club, and more. This serves as an excellent opportunity to shape the experience of Tech MBA students for next decade, especially given how the Tech MBA is still relatively new.
  4. Fun Club Opportunities: In addition to professional clubs, Stern also has a lot of special interest and affinity clubs. I personally am closely involved with Stern Football Association, Stern Follies, South Asian Business Association at Stern and Stern Comedy Club. So, spread your wings and find where your affinity lies – most clubs reserve a leadership position for Tech MBA students, which is a great way to get even more involved.
  5. Orientation Leader: Each year, the Office of Student Engagement recruits 4 Orientation Leaders who work to enable a smoother transition for the upcoming cohort. Personally, the Orientation Leaders were real gems when it came to guiding my initial exploration through the program after moving to New York from India last year. I am thankful for their wisdom, and the it seems like a really fun position!
  6. Miscellaneous: Apart from the aforementioned formal opportunities, Stern’s diverse, EQ-centered community continually presents other platforms to rise up and shine as a community leader. Just last semester, when we were struggling with Finance, some knights in shining armor rose up to use their professional experience to guide us in our projects :). Additionally, students who went through the Fall recruiting process and have their job secured have been hosting casing practice and mock interviews for those of us doing just-in-time recruiting in Spring. Even in small groups, Stern students show their leadership and commitment to helping fellow students.

To summarize, not only are there a ton of opportunities available for students to explore, you will also be able to create your own opportunities as you navigate through this amazing journey at Stern.

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5 Ways for Tech MBAs to Meet Other MBAs at Stern

If you’re admitted and decide to join Stern’s Tech MBA cohort, you should be careful not to only focus on mingling with your close classmates. Instead, find ways to reach out to the broader MBA community. While I’m not disregarding the importance of developing sustainable relationships within the Tech MBA class, the nature of the program will offer plenty of opportunities to do so by default. That being the case, here are five ways that I’ve made the most out of the Stern community by networking with other students in the various MBA programs. Remember, Stern has several other MBA programs including but not limited to the full-time program, fashion and luxury specialized program, part-time evening classes, and dual degree students.

1. General Interest Clubs

Most clubs are open to any MBA students and if there is a common interest, you can bet there is a club created for it. There are even a few leadership opportunities for Tech MBA students specifically in some of the technology-oriented clubs. Here is a list of all of the clubs that Stern has to offer.

2. Case Competitions

Several case competitions will float through your email inbox throughout your year at Stern. Case competitions are a great way to put your new business school knowledge to work while collaborating with other students at Stern. Most competitions even have a pretty substantial monetary reward! If you’re not familiar with case competitions, check out this Poets & Quants article on them.

3. Alumni Networking Events

Before mentioning alumni events, I feel as though I should mention is this first: don’t target recruiting events strictly as a way to network with your classmates. Recruiting events are designed to help students learn about companies, not students. Similarly, the pressure and competitive mindset of certain industries may make recruiting events high-stakes and stressful for attendees. On the contrary, alumni events are set up specifically for networking and meeting current and former students. Most alumni who come to these events have open arms and ears and are looking forward to meeting you. You can see a list of upcoming alumni events here.

4. Elective Classes

When the fall semester rolls around, Tech MBA students are viewed as second-year MBA students from a registration perspective. That means your classmates in electives will be composed of students from the full-time program who have known each other for at least a year. Make an effort to form class groups with students outside of your Tech MBA cohort and sit next to people you haven’t met yet. Here is a full list of elective classes.

5. Happy Hours & Social Events

Finally, the obvious one. Happy hours and social outings are often held at the end of the week, which happens to be Thursday in business school. Even if you don’t drink alcohol, your classmates will happily welcome you to these events. One of the most notable events is Beer Blast, which takes place every Thursday night, often following another great event called Stern Speaks. These events attract students from every program and are a great way to connect after a long week of classes.

I hope these five ideas help you make the most out of your year at Stern. It will fly by, so make sure to take advantage of as much as you can while you’re here!