Women make up just over half of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and their labor force participation rate is almost 78%, slightly higher than before the pandemic.
But women make up only about a third of those employed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related fields, and just 2% of companies founded solely by women were funded by venture capital last year.
Two organizations in San Antonio are trying to boost those numbers, and both are hosting free events this week during Women’s History Month.
At Port San Antonio on Wednesday evening, Women in Robotics in San Antonio will host Leading Women in Tech, a “talk show”-style evening featuring several San Antonio women at the forefront of groundbreaking technological advances in cybersecurity, aerospace, robotics and 3D printing. The event takes place at the Capital Factory, located in the Boeing Center.
On Friday morning at Geekdom, women business founders — and those who aspire to that role — can attend the Women Founders Network’s latest event, “Marketing Strategy: Connecting to your Perfect Customer.”
Leading Women in Tech
Women in Robotics in San Antonio is the only Texas chapter of the international nonprofit. It uses events and online community building to raise awareness and “connect, advance and inspire” women — including students — to consider careers in STEM, said Stephanie Garcia, a business development specialist at Port San Antonio who founded the local chapter.
Leading Women in Tech “is a celebration of Women’s History Month,” as well as a chance for anyone who wants to learn more about some of the groundbreaking work happening in San Antonio, she said.
The two-hour event will begin with networking and a tour of Boeing’s new exhibit at Area 21, followed by speakers sharing the work they’re doing in their respective fields, along with advice on how to break into these industries.
Garcia said local women in STEM-related fields have formed a tight-knit and supportive community and “events like these raise awareness that there are women doing this work.”
Speakers include Bianca Rhodes, president and CEO of Knight Aerospace, which makes self-contained modules that can be loaded into military aircraft, such as mobile medical rooms that can treat patients while they’re being transported. The company employs about 70 people, and Rhodes said she expects that to increase to 115 by the end of this year.
She became only the second woman working at Knight Aerospace when she acquired the company in 2017; the other was the receptionist. Rhodes has been working to change that ever since. Speaking at events like this one helps, she said. “It’s really important to increase women’s awareness about what they can do,” she said. “Especially for younger women, to understand the options available to them.”
Felishia Martinez of LS4 3D Printing will be bringing her young daughter to the event. She’s one of many “mompreneurs” out there, and will be talking about that juggling act, Garcia said.
Get tickets to this free event on Eventbrite.
Women Founders Network
Cat Dizon, co-founder of Active Capital and chair of Geekdom’s Board of Directors said she saw a need for a community of women founders, to help them learn the fundamentals of business, network with one another and get inspired.
“Whether they’re starting out or in a growth stage, we want to offer them resources and build a network,” she said. “We have had so many women join these events, I think it shows that this kind of focused support was needed.”
Launched in 2023, the network is open to all women founders, not just those in tech. This year’s programming is focused on the stages of business growth, leading up to an exclusive Women Founders Network Only Pitch Event at SA Startup Week in October.
Friday morning’s event at the Geekdom Event Center will be led by Angela Bartels, director of marketing at Big Sun Solar. Bartels, who began her career at Rackspace, went on to head up marketing efforts for several San Antonio tech companies.
Future network events include banking strategies on April 26, legal structures on May 31 and a women’s funding fair on June 28.
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Felishia Martinez’s name.
