Apr 17 2019

Latin Women in Tech: Inspiring Female Engineers at Facebook Share Their Unique Paths Abroad

By Meta Careers
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One way Facebook helps bring the world closer together is by making sure our teams are made up of a diverse group of people from all walks of life. We believe having diverse perspectives is critical to building products that can be used by billions of people around the world, no matter where they are from. When it comes to diversity in tech, we recognize there is progress to be made in growing the number of women in the industry, especially those who are from different cultural backgrounds. Latin women are among the under-represented groups in tech, and we’re committed to helping close this gap through education, representation, and a shared passion among our team members.
Meet three of Facebook’s female engineers who moved from Latin America to the U.S. to build their careers. Here, they each share powerful stories of how they found their voices and discovered their strength as Latin women in tech.

‘It’s important to uplift other women in tech, especially young Latin women.’

“I was born and raised in Colombia, and I moved to Florida to study industrial engineering. During my first internship, I quickly realized the field was very male-dominated. That’s when I knew I wanted to be an engineer. I wanted to show up for women in tech, especially Latinas. I’m proud to say that since I graduated, I’ve been an engineer at several of the top tech companies. I’m particularly excited about my role at Facebook, which gives me the opportunity to drive impact on a global scale.
Cindy G., NPI Materials Manager, Sourcing Operations Engineering, Facebook
In my current role as a NPI Materials Manager for Sourcing Operations Engineering at Facebook, I’m challenged everyday. But my personal challenge is to get more Latinas involved in tech. I lead several outside initiatives to mentor Latinas and combat this issue, including working with high school kids in Colombia, exposing them to new technologies, and getting them excited about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). One of the biggest obstacles Latinas face is that we don’t always voice what we want. I’ve found that when I speak up about my needs instead of staying quiet, I get better results. I’ve applied this at Facebook by actively recommending women for roles, but I know we could all come together and do a better job of voicing out this need. We’re stronger when we support one another, and I think that’s when we’ll start to see a noticeable difference in bridging this diversity gap.” —Cindy G., NPI Materials Manager, Sourcing Operations Engineering, Facebook

‘Despite major setbacks, I didn’t give up on my dreams to work in tech.’

“Growing up in Argentina, I would watch Friends and dream of living in the United States. I got my first computer when I was four years old and soon after knew I wanted to work in tech. While at university, I would take the latest technology and play around with it for hours to understand how it was made. I decided to major in systems engineering, but as time went on, I found myself very unhappy. I dealt with a lot of sexism and politics, and the experience was so negative I ultimately left the school. But, I didn’t allow myself to give up. I reminded myself I was capable of achieving my dreams. And it was my dream to work at Facebook.
Florencia Z., Production Engineer
I was so excited when I received an offer to be a production engineer at Facebook in Menlo Park. However, in Argentina, you’re required to enter a lottery system for a visa and I didn’t get selected. I was heartbroken. My dreams of moving to America and working for Facebook were over. But, to my surprise, Facebook didn’t give up on me. It turns out that Facebook takes care of everything for a relocation, including obtaining visas. Despite the extra time and resources it would take, they tried again and I got accepted. Right away I understood how Facebook truly values their team members. I now work as a production engineer on the Security team in credentials management. My advice to women who are facing similar issues is to be strong and don’t give up, because it will be worth it. And then, you’ll be able to help other Latinas who want to follow in your footsteps.” —Florencia Z., Production Engineer

‘Facebook empowers me to be a confident, Latin woman with a voice.’



Lara S., Software Engineer
“While I was studying computer engineering in Brazil, Facebook came to my university’s campus and I interviewed for an internship. Soon after, I relocated to Seattle to join the Save for Later team as an intern, and a year later I received an offer for a full time position in the same office. The first six weeks in Bootcamp was an amazing experience for me because I was able to meet so many different people on various teams and choose which kind of projects I want to work on. I love what I do now as a software engineer on the internationalization team. We improve and create new translation tools to ensure Facebook company content is available in many different languages.
It’s interesting to see the cultural differences between women in tech in Brazil and the U.S. In my personal experience, the tech industry in Brazil consisted mostly of men who liked to code games, so the opportunities available to me as a woman wasn't as visible as they are to me in the U.S. Because I didn't want to focus on games, I felt I wasn’t in the right place and decided to pursue a tech career in the U.S. At Facebook, no matter the office location, women are all treated with the same respect with our own ideas, values and opinions. We don’t have to be like other people, which is why diversity is so important. Every person can bring a different perspective to work and make a real impact. I would tell other Latin women interested in tech to remember you have a lot of value to provide, especially because you are Latin and a woman, so use that to help you feel confident and empowered coming in to this environment. And the great thing about Facebook is that there are lots of other people who have been in your shoes, so you’ll always have people around for support.” —Lara S., Software Engineer

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