Women who Code: Natalia Rodriguez on empowering women to succeed in tech

It’s Women’s History Month. At Cendyn, we are using this opportunity to showcase the female developers building our technology stacks. Inspirational, candid and unique, their stories showcase strong women who are blazing trails in hospitality tech to build a more inclusive and balanced mainframe. Look for their stories throughout March!

Name: Natalia Rodriguez

Title: Software Developer

What was your digital upbringing like? When I was a child, access to computers was very limited, so when we got a computer for the first time at home, I loved learning everything about it.

What was your first tech job? My first job was in the support team of a Colombian bank. It consisted of opening tickets and notifying developers about the defects and errors in the applications. As I was studying software development, I began to get involved in development tasks and to learn about the development life cycle until I had the necessary knowledge to be part of the development team.

What drew you to tech? When I was in high school, I used to be proficient in IT-related subjects, so when I had to choose a career, I did my research on the different branches of technology and I decided that software development was a great career choice for me.

What technologies are you passionate about? I am really excited about a new project that I will be working on this year in .NET Core. I am currently researching and learning about all the new improvements and new features that I can use with this framework.

What inspires you at the moment? I am intrigued by artificial intelligence. I find it very interesting because I think it will change the way we live and the way we see the world in the near future.

What are the biggest barriers for women entering the tech industry and what are your ideas to overcome these? The decision to choose a career is usually influenced by the people we are surrounded by, and since childhood, women are made to believe that they are not suitable for the technology industry.

I am aware that this mentality has been changing over the years, but I think there is still a need to empower women from their childhood and help them to believe in their abilities to succeed and be competitive in the tech industry.

Are you a female coder or looking to get into the mix? Connect with “Women who Code.”