Latinx people are underrepresented in the tech industry, making up only 6% of the workforce at large US tech companies.
Just 1.7% of women in tech identify as Latina and less than 1% of leadership in Silicon Valley are held by Latinas.
Angelica Lozano-Romines has been keenly aware of this for years, and joined the Rewriting the Code Latinas de RTC—an enrichment network for Latinx women in tech—to help level the playing field for underrepresented groups. Despite the hurdles stacked against her, Angelica Lozano-Romines (Mexican, Choctaw, Mississippi Choctaw) has carved out a career and passion in helping uplift more Latin and Native women in technology.
Along with serving as an Operations and Systems Strategist for the organization, she’s a mentor.
“I joined Rewriting the Code Latinas de RTC to help women like myself get the opportunities they deserve but are rarely given,” Lozano-Romines tells ESSENCE. “I know my journey wasn’t a linear one to breaking into the tech industry, so I know others can benefit from having a community of support.”
She earned her master’s degree in educational leadership from Oklahoma University this past spring after taking a few pauses to focus on her family.
“This is the third stab at my grad program because I was a senior in my undergrad when I got pregnant, leading me to put my academic goals on hold.”
Lozano-Romines said she joined the workforce instead of returning to school immediately after the birth of her first child. A few years later she returned to school, but soon found she was pregnant with her second child. She said she was ready to put her academic aspirations on hold yet again, but COVID hit and changed her perspective.
“As a Latina, I didn’t see women like myself in the tech spaces I wanted to be in, so I prioritized just finding viable work instead of pursuing my passion. But when I had the time to be at home, I leaned all the way into my education and be a full-time student. There was a complete mindset shift and gave myself permission to pursue those goals and build a community along the way.”
This applied not only to her career, but her hobbies as well. A self-described gamer nerd, she began creating content on Twitch in 2018 and found that the streaming platform was not only enjoyable, but a viable career pathway. She fell so deeply in love with the medium, she co-founded the Indigenous Alliance on Twitch, which aims to unify, cultivate and amplify Indigenous Twitch streamers’ voices, which she says is a way for women like her to monetize their passion.
Recent data shows beginner streamers can make $50–$1,500 per month, mid-tier streamers can make $5,000–$30,000 per month, and top-tier streamers can make $100,000–$200,000 or more per month.
“I’m a small content creator, but I’ve done quite a bit on the platform in helping some creators along their paths because I know where it could lead.”
One of the pillars of her mentoring is letting her mentees know she’s no different from them.
“My story has been something I’ve had to collect myself to be able to share because it is trauma-filled,” she shares. “It’s not easy navigating a white-male dominated field as a Latina woman but luckily, with my grad program and therapy, those experiences got me to a place to use my experiences to empower others.”