At CodeOp we help companies to hire and train women, trans and non-binary tech talent from diverse backgrounds. Our partner Bumble’s Director of Engineering, Aideen Farell, shares how we came together to create a tech training program called Bumble Tech Academy.
To build the Bumble Tech Academy, we knew that there were certain things we needed to get right.
First, we needed to find the right partner. CodeOp was the perfect fit for us as we needed a partner that was absolutely committed to the concept as much as we were.
We also had to make sure that our framework had enough training and support to build confidence in the participants and it was also important for us to provide full and continued financial support to the participants from the outset. Unfortunately, a career change can be financially impossible for some of the most talented people out there, and we wanted to absorb most, if not all, of that risk.
Sure, it’s a company-wide risk, but we have to take risks. Any change that has happened throughout history has involved some level of risk. Someone has had to decide to go against the grain, take a chance and put their money where their mouth is.
” We had preliminary discussions with quite a few Bootcamp providers; however, CodeOp really stood out. Their goals were entirely aligned with those of Bumble. They had a vision of long-term collaboration and growth. They were really supportive in designing a bespoke bootcamp that truly met our needs. The partnership is the perfect match, and we feel lucky to have found them. “
Bumble Tech Academy was a success for many reasons, but two, in particular, stand out to me.
First, we were showing trust in women. We’re showing that we trust that external factors have prevented women from pursuing those careers in the past and that it’s not a biological factor; it’s an external sociological factor.
One of the other reasons that people don’t transition or don’t take careers in tech initially is representation. From the very beginning, we have been ensuring that what we were representing was a woman-led organisation with women engineers who really wanted to change the engineering landscape for the better.
Also, I feel like the women felt more supported and more trusted. There are companies that have scholarships for specific coding camps or courses. However, as we know, the main issue is stability. So with this initiative, what we’re doing is empowering them to make sure that they are able to do that transition.
“We trust that anyone who actually wants to transition into tech can do it”
We started with eight women in the first edition and have been impressed with their growth throughout the process.
It’s been great to see the confidence grow: to see someone who came in on day one with no experience of software development then even just leaving CodeOp with a fully functioning Android app.
During the onboarding, they were presented with the product world maps of the various teams. At that stage, some of them already had a preference for what tracks they wanted to go down. We had several wanting to become backend developers and Android developers.
We took everyone’s input into consideration, and then balanced their presence across the different teams, depending on what they wanted to focus on, the needs of the team and their preferences.
” We have been impressed at every stage of the process: during the interviews, we were impressed. When we saw the bootcamp outcomes, when we saw the projects, we were impressed. “
It has been our first time hiring junior developers
Since it was the first time, the challenge was creating an onboarding process and documentation targeted specifically at them. We saw it as an opportunity for our existing senior engineers to become mentors and work toward the engineering management track.
We were also very careful to set the expectations within the various teams, especially the teams that were absorbing the trainee developers. We share those expectations with the participants and the entire organisation.
We gave presentations to the pods about imposter syndrome so that they were very aware of watching out for that. We reiterated to the teams the goals within the organisation in terms of the organisation’s culture and how they’re a huge part of the process. And that the part they’re playing is really important when it comes to changing the gender disparity in tech.
” We learned that the existing engineers really, really wanted to extend their own skill sets. They are glad for the opportunity to mentor and be given some kind of direction. That’s worked out really well. “
After all, initiatives like Bumble Tech Academy are how we ensure more diversity in tech.
It starts with trusting women: making sure your entire recruitment process considers the different behaviours of men and women in a male-dominated industry. From the values the company is sharing externally to the way job descriptions are written to interview processes, making sure it is not just coming from a homogenous source and actively looking to recruit outside of the normal channels.
You need to say, ‘We recognise that you’re different, and it’s good that you’re different. And here’s how we’re going to support your differences. If you want to be an engineering manager in this technical organisation, here’s the support we will give you to do this.’
For true diversity, we need to embrace the fact that people interview differently. They have different time commitments; different feelings about what it is to be committed to a job; different outlooks, different cultures, etc. So true diversity means welcoming everybody, and looking for culture add, not culture fit.
“Instead of asking these people to lean in, we need to move toward them.”
For the full scope of the Bumble Tech Academy and key results, download the case study here.
