The technology industry has long been male-dominated, but females are rising to take on the roles as well.

It wasn’t always her plan, but Julianna Rusakiewicz is finding success in the field of technology.

“A professor at my graduate school sort of made a side comment that I was really good with computers, and that was sort of that first spark, that spark that kind of ignited a path in working with computers and working with technology,” Rusakiewicz said.

Rusakiewicz hails from an arts background, where she said she experienced a lot of financial instability.

“You’re sort of looking for your next gig or figuring out different ways, different side hustles, different ways to finance your art,” Rusakiewicz said. “Working in tech has provided me with a stable work experience.”

Rusakiewicz learned how to code during a 20-week boot camp and began her first role as a web developer at a marketing firm in 2015. She then moved to the company she is at now, 2U/edX, where she was a software engineer for about five years before being promoted to her current role as director of engineering.

“I’ve definitely worked with colleagues who devalued my position or my experience in the world or didn’t want me contributing as much to the conversation, but I’ve been really fortunate at my current company to be in a culture that is incredibly inclusive and diverse,” Rusakiewicz said.

Alongside other panelists, Rusakiewicz recently spoke on women rising in tech during HV TechFest. In it, she shared some statistics saying women make up about 33% of the overall tech workforce and 25% of technical roles.

“There’s a lot of room for improvement, but I think one of the things that I called out, too, in the panel is thinking about women in tech, that includes user-experience roles, creative roles, project lead roles, quality assurance roles,” Rusakiewicz said. “There’s a lot of opportunities to get women in the tech space, being a part of that conversation, so we can start to create much more inclusive technology as we move forward.”

For women looking to get into this industry, Rusakiewicz said it’s key to know your worth, stand up for yourself and don’t be afraid to pass on a job if the culture doesn’t feel right.

“If we continue to make it clear that we want to work with companies who value us, then more companies will inherently start to cultivate that value or create a space that values all voices in the room,” Rusakiewicz said.

She added that networking at events is also important for the growth of women in the tech industry.

“Being connected is integral to building that community,” Rusakiewicz said.