Happy Hump Day {{first_name | Toaster}} 🐪 ,

Women in tech do not need more advice; they need access.

Despite years of DEI initiatives, mentorship programs, and “lean in” messaging, women are still leaving tech at alarming rates, with 50% leaving the industry by age 35. The issue isn’t whether women can articulate their value, build strong networks, or push for opportunities. They do this (often repeatedly) in rooms where they’re still not fully heard.

Women are often over-mentored and under-sponsored, while men continue to hold the majority of leadership positions and decision-making power in tech. Which means they also hold the keys to opportunities: promotions, resources, introductions, projects, visibility, and influence.

Allyship that stays theoretical doesn’t move the needle. Real allyship or ‘championing’ women looks like advocating for them in rooms they’re not in, opening networks instead of gatekeeping them, recommending women for opportunities before they ask, and challenging bias when it shows up at work.

Decision-making power is still disproportionally in favour of men, especially in senior leadership, hiring, and promotion decisions. The responsibility for change can’t rest solely on those with the least structural access to power. You can read more on why we need men to be part of the solution in the Digital Journal op-ed written by our CEO, April Hicke, here.

All of this led us to build the Toast Champions Program - a structured sponsorship initiative pairing women in tech with senior leaders across North America, when men are trained to open doors for women in ways that can aid their career trajectory.

The impact has been measurable 90% of the women who participated in this program reported progress toward career goals, 30% were promoted or moved into new roles within 9 months, and 41% accessed new opportunities directly through Champion advocacy. By the end of the program, men reported their confidence in advocating for women jumped from 27% to 92%.

This year, our Champions cohort will be part of a controlled study with Harvard researchers to further validate that male sponsorship works. We’re building our fall cohort and are looking for leaders who are ready to actively advocate for women, not just support them from the sidelines. Specifically, we are looking for men who:

We’ve learned that there are a lot of men who want to support women; they’ve just never been taught what effective sponsorship actually looks like in practice. If you know men in your organization (or broader network) who would make strong Champions to women in tech, we’d love for you to encourage them to apply for the program here.

The future of tech will not be built by half the population.

Team Toast 🥂

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