Paving Your Road to Silicon Valley

The tagline ‘diversity in tech’ is everywhere we turn these days. This renewed focus of increasing the representation of underrepresented groups, specifically racial minorities and women, is opening the doors for a pipeline of opportunity for black talent. However, for many, the road to Silicon Valley may be one that is full of ambiguity and fear of the unknown. This can grow from the belief that many doors are closed, or that ‘diversity in tech’ simply equates to STEM-based occupations such as engineering and programming.

[RELATED: 10 Career Resources for Women in STEM]

In order to gain more understanding on these matters, BlackEnterprise.com recently connected with Facebook Inc.’s legal powerhouse, Bari a. Williams,  who is knocking down doors in Silicon Valley with her legal prowess, innovative ideas, and commitment to diverse talent. This legal eagle is currently Counsel at Facebook Inc., on the Global Infrastructure & Operations team. Her career, personal journey, and insights will be of great value to those interested in joining the leadership ranks of Silicon Valley, as they begin to craft their own personal blueprint.

BE: What are the many hats that you wear every single day?
Williams: I’m a woman who wears many hats and has many passions – attorney, wife, mother, daughter, community servant, proponent of diversity, and sports fanatic. In that order. I say that attorney is first because I find that being an attorney makes me better at all of the other things that follow on the list. That training helps me navigate difficult situations and advocate for myself, my family, and my community. It’s a large part of my identity. I am not just an attorney, but a strategic thinker, and I pride myself on finding a hole or a need and finding a creative and productive way to fill it.

A few of my proudest moments in my career, particularly at Facebook, don’t just stem from deals that I’ve closed, but from recognizing a need and filling it outside of my Legal role – most notably in the Supplier Diversity space. Advocating for diversity hires is another, and seeing the fruits of that labor with new hires just in my department has been very rewarding. I have a chance to

work on various passions of mine in one place, and that’s awesome. I’m in a moment where I feel fulfilled in every facet of my life – the work I’m doing, community service, family – and I’m savoring that.

How would you describe the journey of your career in the legal and tech industries?
In one word: perseverance. The other key component is strong mentorship. I have one in particular, Ed Goines, who has been a huge resource. I came out of law school a few months before the crash of the stock market in 2008, knowing that I wanted to do transactional work. So, just the fact that I didn’t want to do litigation was different. Having to navigate that space as a black associate in a large law firm was difficult, particularly because most of the connections that I had were litigators, and I knew I wanted to stay the course with transactions and commercial work. But I’m not someone that balks at the word “no.”

The biggest lesson I’ve learned in my career is to stay the course, and that I’m my own best advocate. Ed reminded me of this when I was hesitating on raising an issue, and he said, “If you don’t, who will? No one will fight for you like you will.” I appreciated being reminded of that, because as an attorney I negotiate passionately for my client, and Ed was reinforcing that I need to do the same for myself.

(Continued on next page)

What is it about your current role that makes you feel fulfilled and purpose driven in the work that you do?
Working to support the internet.org and Connectivity Labs initiative is personally rewarding because the mission is to connect the unconnected. The initiative’s goal is to provide Internet access to those in unconnected areas, primarily in third-world countries, and this can increase access to education, capital, grow businesses, and inspire folks. More than that, it will benefit people that look like me, and I love that. I’m all about providing access and opportunity, and this project will do that in a tangible way.

How has the experience of being a black woman in tech been for you?
Complicated. It’s always

interesting navigating a space in which people don’t expect to find you. This isn’t exclusive to tech, but I find it to be most prevalent in this industry. You don’t often find a woman advising engineers, and you don’t often find black employees doing so in this space either… so to find one who is both is surprising to people.

What is so interesting about navigating this space is that a lot of the opportunities are word-of-mouth. By the time a position is posted, with smaller tech companies, and even some larger ones, hiring managers and teams have a candidate in mind. As a black woman, some of those spaces and places haven’t been accessible to me because I may not have known the right people to get in before a position was posted. This is why I’m an advocate of making sure to diversify my network and friendship circle. Not only do you learn more and are exposed to more, but there’s an unspoken entrée to access that you wouldn’t otherwise get. I find that we often have this problem due to insular networks.

That said, the journey has afforded me many opportunities. Tech companies have many needs, and often can’t scale as fast. So, the ability to work in the tech space and to fill gaps when needed has increased my skill set, and differentiates me from someone who may have just a straight legal experience.

In addition to my legal deal work, I’ve been able to create trainings for my departments that have increased productivity and efficiency, a new sub-group with Supplier Diversity, and to advocate for diversity hires and join the employee resource group leadership team. All of those experiences make me a better attorney, create additional work streams, and will help me reach my long-term professional goals of running a commercial legal team.

What do you believe are some of the misconceptions surrounding STEM vs. professional services in the quest for more diversity in tech?
I think there’s too much focus on STEM positions – your PMs, engineers, designers – because we know there are very finite numbers for those of us entering those majors and pursuing those roles. However, there is a plethora of general

and administrative and professional roles that could be filled at tech companies. I’m talking law, marketing, community engagement, public relations, finance, strategy and partnerships, etc. Those don’t require STEM degrees, and there are tons of liberal arts degree holders and those with JDs, MBAs, and BAs who could fill those roles. I think if we look for talent through that prism, there is more opportunity while we continue to build the STEM pipeline of talent. The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive – we can focus on STEM roles and professional roles and build the pipelines.

(Continued on next page)

When people discuss diversity in tech, do you feel that race or gender should be more focal? 
I think that’s an individual perspective that will be unique to each person you ask, and depending upon their life experiences. From where I sit, I’m black before I’m a woman, if that makes sense. My experiences are mostly colored by my ethnicity and my culture more so than my gender. The intersectionality adds complexity, for sure, but for the most part my experiences have been due to my race, and things that wouldn’t happen to me if I were a woman of other race. To that end, I personally feel that race should be more focal, because when you historically look at beneficiaries of affirmative action and/or any focus on diversity, it’s predominantly white women.

The problem is that when people think of the black workforce, they think of black men, and when they think of women in the workforce, they think of white women. That means there is no real place for us. However, from my experience, we (black women) tend to have more opportunities when the focus is on race versus gender. All that said, I think focusing on race would ultimately yield better results.

What are considerations that black talent should make when embarking on professional interests in the tech industry?
Think strategically about what you have to offer the industry, no matter the discipline, and how can you best articulate that. That goes across the board, from the first glance of a résumé to how you present yourself in an interview. How can you add value and solve your

boss’ and department’s and company’s biggest issues? Part of the beauty of black talent in the tech industry is also recognizing ways in which we utilize the technology differently. Because of that modified use, we can note ways to improve it, or make it more efficient for certain audiences – create new features and functions. Demonstrate how you can help make a better product, because that’s what it’s all about in the end.

What are three tokens of advice that you would give to black professionals interested in integrating into Silicon Valley?
1. Cultivate relationships in networks outside of your norm. Those are invaluable in tech, because a lot of opportunities are known and given based on who you know, and who knows you. The circle can sometimes be insular, so you need to make sure you make the effort to diversify your network and foster those relationships.

2. Be willing to do things you haven’t done before. A lot of tech companies, even the large ones, bootstrap a lot of things, so even though it may be large, there is a start-up mentality. Your job duties will change, and you have to learn to embrace that and roll with it. It adds to your résumé, and provides a way to distinguish yourself.

3. Show initiative. If you have new ideas, speak up. I’d even suggest this as an interview strategy. People who demonstrate innovative ideas and ways to problem-solve stand out. Also demonstrate and offer ideas on how you’d solve some of the company’s biggest problems. It shows that you know their business, you did your homework, and shows you’re a thinker.

4. Be your authentic self. The beauty of the tech industry is it affords that luxury, and that will enable your ability to really contribute.

What is a “random trivia factoid” about working at Facebook that the BlackEnterprise.com readers would find interesting?
There is a good number of HBCU alums here, which people may not expect. Morgan State, Howard, FAMU, and Coppin State all represent. Surprisingly, no ‘SpelHouse.’ While I went to UC Berkeley, I have a very soft spot for HBCUs, as my mother and grandmother are HBCU grads, so I love to see them here.