When I finished my coach training, I was fired up. I believed I could coach anybody, about anything.
And technically, I could. But marketing 101 taught me a hard truth: when you try to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one.
So, I asked myself where I wanted to focus. The answer came right away: women in tech.
Where it started
For 11 years, I was the only woman on the executive team at the edtech company I co-founded. We grew revenue fast. From the outside, it looked like success, and in many ways it was.
But in that boardroom, I often found it hard to speak up. I second-guessed myself before sharing ideas. I wondered if my voice carried the same weight as the voices around me. Being the only woman in the room is lonely in a way that’s hard to explain unless you’ve felt it.
I saw the gender gap from the other side too. We truly wanted a diverse, inclusive development team. It was a stated goal, and we worked at it. Yet over 11 years of growth, only 15% of the software developers we hired were women. And hiring them was only half the battle. Keeping them was just as hard.
👩🏻💻 That number isn’t unusual. Across Canada, the share of women in tech has barely moved in two decades, from 21% in 2001 to 24% in 2023. Good intentions alone clearly aren’t enough.
Why I chose this niche in 2020
When I started my coaching business in 2020, choosing women in tech wasn’t a strategy I worked out on a whiteboard. It was personal. I knew exactly what these women were up against, because I had lived it, and I had watched it happen on my own team.
Today, most of my clients are women in tech. And the pattern I see again and again is this: it’s not a competence gap. It’s a confidence gap.
Women in tech became my focus, but they’re not the only women I work with. Many of my clients lead in finance, HR, nonprofits and beyond. The rooms look different, but the pattern is the same: talented women doubting whether they belong at the table. If that sounds like you, whatever your industry, my door is open.
What happened on last week’s call
Last week, I hosted our monthly group coaching call for the Women in Tech Rising Collective, and it was the highlight of my week.
We talked about what’s on everyone’s mind right now:
✔️ How to spot opportunities in a volatile tech market
✔️ How to get the visibility you need to be considered for promotion
✔️ How to handle the pressure of working long hours
✔️ The healthy habits that protect your energy, so you don’t burn out
What struck me most wasn’t the advice. It was what happened between the women on the call. One person would share a challenge, and someone else would say, “I’ve been there. Here’s what helped me.” You could feel the relief in the room.
That’s the power of group coaching. You get support, but you also get to be support. You realize the struggles you thought were yours alone are shared by other smart, capable women. You feel seen and heard, often for the first time in a long time.
It’s the community I wish I’d had when I was the only woman at the executive table.
Your invitation
Maybe you’ve thought about coaching but one-on-one sessions aren’t in the budget right now. That’s exactly why I created the Women in Tech Rising Collective.
For $33 USD a month, with no minimum commitment, you get live monthly group coaching with me, a six-stage curriculum to build your confidence and leadership, an accountability buddy, and a private community of women who get it.
🔥 Doors to the next round open soon. Join the waitlist today to get first access and priority for hot-seat coaching.
You don’t have to be the only woman in the room anymore.
Let’s rise together.
–Anna
