Jugo CEO hopes her story will lead to more women of Asian descent in tech field
The COVID-19 pandemic opened a new era of workforce digital communication, from board room to chat room and beyond, and this week, a new virtual workspace program launched.
Amy Kim, who was born in South Korea and has been in the tech industry for 25 years at companies like Microsoft and Google, is the CEO of Jugo, a new virtual reality events company.
"One of the biggest challenges that organizations have seen in the last two years is although employees have been productive, they don't feel engaged with the organization," she said.
Jugo is redefining virtual meetings by breaking out of the traditional 2-D environment and making the work experience more immersive and engaging.
"It really is an individual like yourself sitting in a virtual room, but also your peers or your colleagues or your organization sitting in the room," Kim said. "They're together, but they're actually joining from their location virtually."
Launching the program has been exciting for Kim, who is one of the few Asian women in tech leadership.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 30% of women working in tech, Asian women make up about 16% of that number, while Black and Hispanic women account for 9% and 8%, respectively.
"I developed a career in software sales in a tech company because there were no Asian women selling software, and I said to myself, why not?" she said. "And sometimes when you prove or disprove a phenomenon, then that becomes reality. So I would love to see more women in tech. I would love to see more Asian women in tech so that we can normalize and standardize this and this becomes the norm."
Kim has overcome barriers along the way.
"There are stereotypes about about Asian women being submissive," she said. "Clearly I don't fit that profile."
She also has advice for those who hope to follow in her footsteps.
"I think, as an Asian American that was not born in the United States, that to get to the level that I have, it did take a lot of hard work," she said. "I really encourage people to be persistent and not lose hope."
Jugo is available right now to companies who want to take part in virtual meetings.
Kim hopes to expand the programs for consumer use in the future.
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