Tracey Welson-Rossman, Founder/CEO of TechGirlz and a contributor for HuffPost, talks about how technology isn’t just coding. Like ice cream, technology comes in many different flavors (just like the 31 flavors of Baskin Robbins!). The full article was originally published on Huffingtonpost.com.

We have a severe workforce shortage in the technology industry with 1 million jobs forecast to remain unfilled by 2020. And – like it or not – we also have a competitive and relevance issue. Products and services are increasingly focused on the problems of a minority of the population – white, affluent males. By engaging more women and ethnicities, the tech industry can both meet its workforce needs while expanding its appeal and becoming more competitive.

But those 1 million jobs are not for coders only. The tech industry needs to fill a broad range of jobs that sustain the sector as a whole. And if you cast the net wider to look at tech-enabled jobs in careers like agriculture, teaching, aviation, etc.; then the need is even more pressing and more diverse. By narrowing our definition of technology, we narrow the field of candidates. Instead, we need to raise an entire generation of non-technical technologists. Or, to bring it home, we need 31 flavors of technologists.

If we focus only on Silicon Valley or only on female coders, we miss the mark. And the fallout from missing that mark is more than just roundtables and harassment trainings…it’s empty seats, lost productivity, and product teams developing with blinders on. We cannot afford to get this wrong. We need more non-technical technologists.

Check out the various flavors of our free, tech-based workshops and choose one of the TechShopz in a BoxTM to share with middle school girls in your local community!