This Streamer Is Working to Give Latina Women Access to Tech Gaming Careers – Essence

Latinos are underrepresented within the technology industry, making up only 6% of the workforce in large American technology firms.

Just 1.7% women within the tech industry discover as Latina, and in Silicon Valley, Latinas hold lower than 1% of leadership positions.

Angelica Lozano-Romines has been well aware of this for years and has joined Rewriting the code Latinos from RTC—an enrichment network for Latina women in tech—to help level the playing field for underrepresented groups. Despite the obstacles that stood in her way, Angelica Lozano-Romines (Mexican, Choctaw, Choctaw of Mississippi) has carved out a profession and fervour for helping advance more Latina and Indigenous women in tech.

He serves because the organization’s operations and systems strategist and mentor.

“I joined Rewriting the code Latinos from RTC to help women like me get the opportunities they deserve but are rarely given,” Lozano-Romines tells ESSENCE. “I know my path to getting into tech wasn’t linear, so I know others can benefit from having a community of support.”

This spring, she earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Oklahoma after taking several breaks to give attention to her family.

“This is my third attempt at postgraduate study as I was in my final year of my undergraduate degree when I became pregnant, which forced me to put my academic goals on hold.”

Lozano-Romines said she joined the workforce as a substitute of going back to school immediately after the birth of her first child. She returned to school a number of years later, but soon found herself pregnant together with her second child. She said she was ready to put her academic aspirations on hold again, but COVID hit and altered her perspective.

“As a Latina, I didn’t see women like me in the tech spaces I wanted to be in, so I prioritized finding meaningful work over pursuing my passion. But when I had time to stay home, I focused solely on my education and being a full-time student. It was a complete mindset shift, and I gave myself permission to pursue those goals and build community along the way.”

This not only applied to her profession, but additionally to her hobby. As she describes herself, she began creating content on Twitch in 2018 and discovered that the streaming platform was not only enjoyable but additionally a profitable profession path. She fell in love with the medium a lot that she co-founded Native American Alliance on Twitchwhose goal is to unite, cultivate, and amplify the voices of Indigenous streamers on Twitch. As she says, it’s a way for girls like her to monetize their passion.

Last data shows that beginner streamers can earn anywhere from $50 to $1,500 monthly, mid-level streamers can earn anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000 monthly, and top streamers can earn anywhere from $100,000 to $200,000 or more monthly.

“I’m a small content creator, but I’ve done a lot on the platform, helping some creators on their journey because I know where that can lead.”

One of the pillars of her mentoring is letting her mentees know that she isn’t any different from them.

“My story is something I had to hold onto and share because it’s so fraught with trauma,” she says. “It’s not easy to navigate a white male-dominated field as a Latina, but thankfully, through my graduate program and therapy, those experiences have led me to a place where I can use my experiences to empower others.”