Michelle D. Jackson is the president & CEO of PR Solutions LLC, a business consulting firm specializing in strategic marketing and public relations. She is also the founder of i.Invest Competitions and executive director of LifeSkills Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to youth and youth entrepreneurship.
When the history books are written about the impact of COVID-19 on the New Orleans workforce, the stories will depict a community thrust into chaos — jobs lost, careers dwindled to uncertainty, and a once-thriving tourism and hospitality industry flattened by stay-at-home orders.
Fast-forward two years after the first case was discovered in the city, add two hurricanes, a tornado and rising crime, and the local workforce faces immediate challenges. Heavily driven by hardworking mothers, sisters, daughters and wives, the city’s job market has seen unprecedented shifts that have led more women to pursue jobs in different fields other than hospitality — particularly tech.
“New Orleans is known for its growing tourism industry, but the city is also a great place to build a tech ecosystem,” said Kelvin Gipson, director of Delgado’s Workforce Development IT Division. “COVID-19 forced working women to re-evaluate their career choices, which increased interest in IT fields. Women are the bedrock of the city’s growth; when they invest in themselves with improved education, certifications and professional development, we all win.”
According to the 2020 Status of Women in Louisiana report, the state is last in the United States for what women earn on average compared to men – 69 cents to the dollar. Black and Latina women are worse off – they make on average 47 cents and 53 cents, respectively, compared to White men. Approximately two-thirds of minimum-wage workers are women, and they rarely fit the stereotype of being young people in entry-level jobs. Half are over 25, many married with some amount of higher education. Most are working full-time to provide for their children and families.
“It’s exciting to see more women in tech in the New Orleans area,” said Jessica Jackson, an information systems trainer at Ochsner Health Systems and recent graduate of Delgado Workforce Development IT’s Scrum Master program. “Women bring a unique perspective to the field, and our voices need to be heard.”
STEM occupations in Louisiana are projected to grow 18.3% through 2024. According to the Pew Research Center, women in STEM fields make higher wages than women in non-STEM fields. In 2019, median earnings for full-time, year-round workers aged 25 and older in a STEM job were about $77,400. The comparable median for workers in other non-STEM occupations was $46,900.
Earning a tech certification differs from earning a tech degree in several ways. First, tech certifications are often taught in a non-credited course that does not require a college degree. The course introduces students to tech skills in a short, hard-charged training cohort, and the fee is typically considerably less expensive than a college course.
“At Delgado, working adults and individuals looking to shift careers can take a virtual certification course with night classes for IT skills like Scrum Master in less than a week. Or they can register for courses like IT Fundamental, AWS Cloud Foundations and Cybersecurity and earn a certification in less than four months,” said Gipson. “Our fees vary, but rarely do they exceed $400 per course, which includes the cost to take the final certification exam.”
Local Women Earning Tech Certifications
“Although most of my students are men, women are starting to move more into the tech field,” said Lakitha Johnson, Delgado IT instructor and certified SAFe® 5 Scrum Master and Network + practitioner. “More women realize that all tech jobs don’t require building computer hardware. The leadership skills they possess in areas like data organization and project management translate well in the IT world.”
Johnson shares similar experiences with other women seeking promotion and new opportunities by completing certification coursework.
“Although I’ve been an independent consultant for more than 15 years, when the pandemic hit it was a serious reminder to assess my marketability in and outside of New Orleans,” said Desiree Young, principal consultant at VentureWalk and a recent student of Delgado’s tech certification program. “As a Black female with a STEM background, I knew my experience as an engineer and project manager could be strengthened. Seeking technology certifications was the most effective way to remain attractive to the marketplace.”
“Because of my tech certifications, I have been more than able to double my salary and build a network of practitioners,” said Sunny Jordan, an agile coach and contractor with the Louisiana Health Department. “Due to COVID, I felt that it would be best to take my career into my own hands. By doing so, within three months, I was trained and ready for a new career.”
