The Adventures of Women in Tech: How We Got Here and Why We Stay

Winner of the Best Indie Book Award for Women in Business and the NYC Big Book Award for Nonfiction Audiobooks.

Featuring eighty interviews with women in tech, discover the opportunities they see, the challenges they face–and exactly why women in STEM are here to stay.

Women belong in tech.

They work in both technical and nontechnical roles. They have different backgrounds, education, and ambitions–not just moonshot product visions or CEO aspirations. They have successful careers, right alongside fulfilling outside lives and families.

Despite what the oftentimes disheartening data might lead us to believe, their success stories are complex, diverse, and achievable.

Alana Karen is a recognized authority on women in tech who regularly speaks at conferences and summits on leadership, DEI, and talent in technology. She is an award-winning leader who has spent over two decades in tech, including supporting billions of queries a day in her Google career.

Through her work, Alana has met hundreds of women working in tech careers–and learned a lot about the realities of STEM jobs and breaking into tech.

Pairing research and data with over eighty first-hand accounts, Alana takes what we think we know and systematically replaces it with what it’s honestly like to join, lead, and thrive in today’s top technology companies.

With intimate stories, insight, and advice, this book answers questions like:

• How did they navigate the “likability problem” and bro culture?
• What skills were most critical to their success?
• How did they overcome obstacles like dealing with harassment?
• What benefits—like flexibility and financial independence—drew them to their career?
• How would they advise others going forward?

A great career book for college students, this is the perfect graduation gift book for students interested in subjects like computer science, information technology, and coding.

The welcomed support in these stories will energize longtime tech innovators and entry-level workers alike. An invaluable resource for leaders looking to improve DEI in the workplace, it demystifies what women need to succeed and stay.

Women belong in tech–and we need to truly look at their stories so we can find the best ways to support each other and the generations of talent to come.

“An outstanding and timely read as we navigate diversity questions in our world and workplaces. These stories from a diverse set of women in tech demonstrate why belonging is so critical in careers.”
–Jonathan Rosenberg, former Senior Vice President of Products for Google

“Being a woman in tech can be lonely. Knowing that others have walked in your shoes makes a huge difference. Alana Karen captures a range of experiences, from women at the start of their careers to women who built the industry from the start.”

–Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and founder of LeanIn.Org