Thanks to a partnership between two tech-passionate Founders, small businesses and startups nationwide will have a unique opportunity to benefit from a technical intern program this summer. Sue Harnett, Founder and President of Rewriting the Code (RTC), and Brooke Markevicius, Founder and CEO of Allobee, connected and found common ground in their passion for supporting women in tech.
Harnett’s organization, Rewriting The Code, is a non-profit dedicated to supporting and empowering women studying for a career in computer technology. The partnership with Allobee, a platform designed to connect business owners to an underutilized workforce of experienced, professional women seeking non-traditional work, was a natural progression after they initially connected.
On the heels of a negative internship experience, Allobee’s Founder received an email that would lead to the partnership. Harnett decided to reach out after she spotted a feature on Allobee and Markevicius in The Triangle Business Journal.
The pair scheduled a Zoom call, and during their virtual meet-up, they found common ground. They both love tech and head up organizations created to support women in their careers.
Women in tech internship
Together, Markevicius and Harnett developed a program to place RTC’s pool of outstanding, vetted female tech students in internship roles with employers through Allobee. The women had no trouble finding quality candidates. After receiving more than 200 applications for the internships in just three hours, finding businesses that would like to hire an intern is crucial. With the interns beginning work in one month, the deadline to get matched is quickly approaching.
“This Summer Cohort is an exciting opportunity for the future female tech grads in our program,” stated Harnett. “An important goal of RTC’s is to open the doors of possibility to our students. We want to introduce them to overlooked positions in computer science and tech for post-graduation. I hope employers take an interest in helping to launch the careers of these women, by allowing our students to hone their skills and gather real world experience in the field while completing their studies.”
Breaking the gender gap in computer science
Women continue to make up a small percentage of the technical workforce. This small percentage has stayed steady for almost 15 years. Only 2 percent of Hispanic women, 6 percent of Asian women, and 3 percent of African American women are in computing-related jobs.
“I’ve seen the gap, not just in the traditional workforce, but also in the freelance space. There are very few women with technical skills beyond simple website development. I want to change that,” said Markevicius. “The best skill I learned was how to code. I have a huge passion for getting women into technical roles.”
Determined to improve experiences for startups and entrepreneurs in need of technical talent, Markevicius and Harnett figured out a way to make internship experiences smoother and more accessible for employers and interns alike. “Our program is unique in that our interns will receive ongoing support while working on their projects, and the employers will have access to support from start to finish as well,” added Markevicius. “We’ve ensured that the price point is attainable for small businesses and startups with options available for part time work.”
Internship overview
Allobee will match interns to clients, manage the administrative side of hiring a paid intern. Internships will be 100 percent virtual with interns and employers located across the US. Rewriting the Code’s team will have visiting mentors throughout the summer. They will set up community discussions and events with the needs of the intern in mind.
More than 80 percent of women applying for internships expressed a desire to work on social impact or tech-for-good projects. Work on a single project will take place from mid-May through mid-August 2021. Those interested in hiring a summer intern should fill out Allobee’s Client Application to get started.
In addition to technical interns, Allobee will also be offering non-technical internships with women in their network. Those seeking interns in this category can apply here. Non-tech internships will range from social media to Facebook and Google Ads to copywriting. Allobee announced their raise of $500K back in January. In Q2, they are finalizing collaborations and partnerships to round out the experience for our experts and clients. In addition, will announce an advisory group.
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