When Women Come Together
Our story begins the same way so many stories of women coming together do. We started as a few women gathering to share experiences, frustrations, joys, and friendship. As women in the tech/startup industry working in business functions (people, operations, marketing…), we were used to being surrounded by men—feeling siloed and isolated. Our collective excitement and relief upon gathering was instantaneous. And naturally, after only a few lunches, someone said, “Hey! We can’t be the only ones. There are women doing what we’re doing at companies all over Ann Arbor. Why aren’t we all talking to each other?”
So we each invited a colleague or two, met to form an official group, and Shine & Rise was born. Shine to represent the ways we shine on and support each other, and Rise to represent how we lift each other up.
From a founding group of 10 people in the Fall of 2019, we have grown organically with each member inviting colleagues, friends, and acquaintances. Shine & Rise is now an organization of over 200 women working at tech/startups in southeastern Michigan. Turns out our founding few were not alone by any stretch.
The tech industry is dominated by white men. (This is not news to ANYONE.) Even tech giants like Google and Facebook, with their seemingly unlimited resources and neverending runways, make minimal gains in diversity year after year. Startup hotspots popping up all over the midwest, like Ann Arbor and Detroit, are not immune to the homogeneous teams and bro culture stereotypically characteristic of silicon valley tech, but we know it is never too late to make a change.
Shine & Rise’s mission is to cultivate connections that elevate and bolster women and gender nonbinary people in tech, with the vision of:
the advancement of ideas & perspectives from diverse individuals
expanded access to the tech ecosystem for women and other underrepresented groups
engagement & retention of systematically overlooked and underutilized talent
As we approach our two-year anniversary, we plan to shine our light even wider and brighter. The 2021 new year has brought new ideas and a fresh perspective. Shine & Rise’s founding team, along with a newly established Leadership Committee chaired by Ashanté Clemons, Claire Small, Kelsey Cavitt, and Thressa Nichols, are hard at work to make an impact in 2021.
We wouldn’t be here without the continued dedication and support of all of our members. The new Leadership Committee is a way for members to formally contribute to the work Shine & Rise is doing. Committee members commit to leading a quarterly project in line with Shine & Rise’s mission and objectives. Members are welcome to serve over multiple quarters, but with everyone’s busy day jobs, we expect to bring on new committee members throughout the year. If you are a Shine & Rise member and interested in serving on the committee in the future, please contact us at hello@shinerise.org.
If you are a woman in Michigan working at a tech/startup or interested in breaking into it, join us! You can apply to become a member of Shine & Rise here.