How finding my tribe shaped my career and why I’m committed to becoming that support for others.♦I sat across from a young woman last month who couldn’t have been more than 24, who told me she was thinking about leaving engineering. She was brilliant, Technical, sharp, and thoughtful.
But somewhere between her entry into the tech sector and her early days, someone made her feel like she didn’t belong there.
I recognized that feeling immediately.
Because I started as an engineer, too. Back when that world wasn’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat for women. I remember the meetings where my ideas landed differently when I said them versus when a male colleague presented something similar.
I remember the networking events where I was often the only woman in the room, and not in a powerful way, but in a way that made you hyperaware of every word you said. I remember thinking, more than once, that maybe this wasn’t built for people like me.
But here’s what changed everything: I found my tribe.
The People Who StayedNot everyone discouraged me. Yes, there were voices that questioned whether women belonged in STEM, voices that made the path steeper than it needed to be.
But there were also people who were thoughtful and cooperative, who believed differently. Who saw my work, not my gender. Who invited me into conversations, opened doors I didn’t even know existed, and most importantly, treated me like I belonged there.
That support wasn’t loud. It was quiet, consistent, and reassuring.
These people became more than just colleagues. They became my tribe.
The kind of people who knew my strengths before I fully believed in them myself.
They pushed back on the assumptions in the room. They made space for different perspectives. They built something I didn’t see coming: they built the evidence that a woman’s voice mattered in engineering.
What I didn’t realize then was that I was learning something far more valuable than any technical skill.
I was learning what it looked like when someone believed in you enough to create space for you. I was learning how support actually works, not through grand gestures, but through small, consistent choices. Through showing up. Through believing first, and letting their belief become your foundation until you could build your own.
Identifying The Crack In The SystemYears into building my career, I realized something: the crack in the system, the place where the assumption that women aren’t suited for STEM lives, wasn’t something to accept. It was somewhere I could shine my light.
I started asking myself a question: What if I became the person for someone else that my tribe had been for me?
What if every woman I met who was thinking about leaving or maybe doesn’t feel like she belongs here didn’t have to feel alone in that decision?
That’s when CodeGirls began.
CodeGirls is a project close to my heart, a place where young women can learn real, industry-ready tech skills that will help them in their careers.
It’s a transformative women’s empowerment initiative that equips young women with industry-ready coding and business skills to help them build careers and achieve financial independence. Since its inception, CodeGirls has delivered 2,000+ trainings, achieved a 70% placement rate, and helped graduates reach an average monthly salary of 55K+, with its work spanning Karachi, Skardu, and South Africa.
And alongside that, something even more essential: a community that believed they belonged there from day one.
Because here’s what I know now: the missing piece was never whether women could code.
Women can code.
Women have always been able to code.
The missing piece was the tribe.
The people around you who make space for your growth. Who see your potential before you’re finished. Who believe in you when the system doesn’t.
Through CodeGirls, we’ve watched this transformation happen over and over. We’ve seen women come in uncertain, often having been told by culture, by family, by the world that this path wasn’t for them. And then they work anyway. They build. They lead. They are breaking the stereotypes and proving most men wrong about women’s inclusion in tech.
The Ripple Effect of Believing in WomenI think about that 24-year-old woman across from me, and I think about thousands like her. Every time a young woman decides not to leave engineering because she found her people, that’s everything.
Every time a woman realizes that belonging isn’t something she needs to earn but something she gets to build with others, that changes the trajectory of her entire life.
The system hasn’t changed overnight. There are still cracks, still assumptions, still voices that question whether women belong in spaces built for technical thinking and leadership. But what has changed is this: more of us now know better. Who know what it feels like to be believed in.
Who are determined to be that belief for someone else.
Networking isn’t about collecting business cards or climbing the right ladder. Real networking is about finding your tribe. The people who see you. The ones who make space. The ones who believe in you enough to pull you into conversations you didn’t know existed.
And once you find them, the next step is simple but profound: become that person for someone else.
That’s the work CodeGirls does. That’s the work we’re committed to at Genetech Solutions, too.
That’s the work that happens every time a woman who made it decides to open the door for another woman who’s just beginning.
The cracks in the system are also the places where light gets in. I hope you can benefit from my learnings.
Over to YouI’d love to hear about your experience when you started, struggles you encountered, the mentors who believed in you, the tribes you’re building, the spaces you’re creating, and the doors you’re opening.
And if you’re looking for a way to open a door for another woman, consider sponsoring a CodeGirl. Your support helps a young woman gain industry-ready tech skills and move toward a career in the technology industry.
You can also hire a CodeGirl and give a talented woman the opportunity to put her skills to work in the industry.
If you’d like to chat about how we can support more women in tech and entrepreneurship, I’d be glad to help.
If you made it this far, we’re probably thinking about the same things. Follow me on Medium so you don’t miss what comes next: medium.com/@shamim_rajani
Shamim Rajani, COO @ Genetech Solutions | 20+ years in tech | Sharing insights on AI, tech, business, and empowerment.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn, Substack, and Twitter
♦When Women Believe in Women, Everything Changes was originally published in Code Like A Girl on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.