Kathryn Finney is empowering women looking to be leaders

Kathryn Finney, founder and managing director of digitalundivided, has become a major source of inspiration and guidance for women by taking it upon herself to increase intersectionality in the giant industry of tech, where very few identities are represented.

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Digitalundivided is an enterprise that seeks and trains tech entrepreneurs who fit the demographic most lacking in the tech industry — black women. Finney’s support of these women is an effort that can be appreciated by anyone who would like to see more diversity in the workforce.

As Finney says, “you can’t have innovation without diversity.” Her passion is to find urban entrepreneurs of diverse identities, as she believes that within this underrepresented demographic lies a wealth of ideas and knowledge that tech-enabled companies need in leaders. Women helping women in the workplace is a fairly new concept, and until recently, it’s becoming more widespread for women like Finney to use their success to empower their fellow females.

Digitalundivided is an incredible example of how one smart, passionate woman can pave the way for hundreds more, as shown by the many black female-run companies that have flourished under her guidance. It is my hope that more women out there of Finney’s pedigree and influence follow in her footsteps to give back to the aspiring women of their own respective fields.

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As a young woman myself, it is both exciting and reassuring to see someone working for the betterment of conditions for women in these traditionally male-dominated spaces. Although I do not intend to lead a tech company one day, I do intend to demand respect from my male and female colleagues in whatever industry I land in. By taking a page out of Finney’s book and proudly owning my identity as a successful woman, I will get there.

Finney’s struggle of “choosing a side” between being black and being a woman is one that should not exist. By vocalizing her refusal to confine herself to one cleanly packaged identity, she encourages others who occupy multiple identities to embrace them and withdraw as much originality from their identities as possible. It is under this concept that Finney believes the tech industry has begun to change, albeit slowly and not without difficulty. I cannot wait to see where Finney’s efforts to include women in the tech game go, and hopefully, intersectionality in all industries won’t be far behind.

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