LinkedIn Corp. is often thought of as a tool for employers to find employees and vice versa, but it’s also a company working toward change in the market. Part of LinkedIn’s efforts include a Women in Tech Initiative, a fully funded and supported program is led by two top-level professionals at LinkedIn — Erica Lockheimer and Sarah Clatterbuck are paid to spend 20 percent of their time on the project.

The program helps with efforts to introduce women to tech fields and support those already working in the field. “We designed the program based on how we got where we are and brought professional coaches in. … Once you’ve made that pivot point, you want to give back,” said Lockheimer, senior director of Engineering Growth and the head of the Women in Tech Initiative at LinkedIn Corp.

Lockheimer and Clatterbuck, director of Engineering and key leLad in the Women in Tech Initiative at LinkedIn, were interviewed by Rebecca Knight (@knightrm) and Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), hosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, during the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, taking place at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.

Paying it forward

A recent project in LinkedIn’s Women in Tech Initiative has also been to show high school girls what it’s like to work in tech, including building a full stack application and a full day of shadowing professionals. Despite potentially boring meetings, the first year was a resounding success, with all but one participant deciding to major in Computer Science, and even that one participant switched to CS in their first year.

“Many go in with the perception that it’s head-down coding work, but you have to have a lot of interaction with engineers. So, it’s more social than they realize,” said Clatterbuck.

Intelligent risks

When asked for advice engineers trying to catch the eye of employers, the pair emphasized that it was about standing out and taking intelligent risks, and sharing on their LinkedIn profile.

“Don’t just include your schooling. Tell us about who you are and what problems you want to solve, and what interesting experience you’ve had that may be nontraditional,” said Clatterbuck.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of the Anita Borg Institute’s Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

Photo by SiliconANGLE