Interview with Gabrielle Tang.

We’re excited to bring you the latest interview in our "Celebrating Women Volunteers: Insights & Inspiration" series, where we highlight women making a meaningful impact through their dedication and efforts.

This week, we’re introducing Gabrielle Tang, the Director at SheSharp Community, an NGO focused on making tech more inclusive. Gabrielle is committed to supporting women and non-binary individuals in the field. Her journey—from self-taught coder to tech leader—offers a unique perspective on how passion and dedication drive change.

Get ready to be inspired by her story!

“Beyond the anticipated value of giving back to a cause and people that I care about, SheSharp has been a catalyst for incredible friendships, career opportunities, and personal and professional development.”

Professional background 

Gabrielle is from Australia and has lived in Amsterdam for six years, where she is building her own business. She also holds a Director position at SheSharp - an NGO based in the Netherlands that offers an inclusive community, events, programmes, and resources that make it easier for women and non-binary individuals to work in Tech. 

Gabrielle's life in Tech began as a teenager when she taught herself to code. After studying and working in software engineering, her non-linear career has oscillated between roles in coaching, innovation, people management, and project management. 

Outside of work, Gabrielle is a big fan of food (cooking and eating out), trying new hobbies like improv comedy, and exploring different places.

Where did your volunteering journey begin? 

— I've always volunteered within the companies I worked for, but SheSharp is the first organisation for which I would call myself an official volunteer. Volunteering for a cause that supports women in Tech was always on my mind, but it wasn't until 2020 that I actually raised my hand and applied to join SheSharp after connecting with one of our founders at a conference. 

How long have you been volunteering, and how has it impacted you personally? 

— Four years with SheSharp, and I've gained so much from it. Beyond the anticipated value of giving back to a cause and people that I care about, I've made incredible friends, found career opportunities, and developed personal and professional skills. The most significant impact is that it helped me see my entrepreneurial interest and gave me the idea for my business, BUD.

What skills do you bring to volunteer work?

— I've always been a generalist—capable of doing many different things but a specialist in a few! So I'm always willing to jump in and try anything. I think this is helpful in an organisation like ours, which operates somewhat like a startup. I think my skill in being able to see and understand the big picture or systems and work out how to make them work effectively has been helpful for designing and pulling together programs and events, as well as helping our organisation grow operationally. I really enjoy creative problem-solving and building, and I love getting to do that with SheSharp. 

“I've always enjoyed helping others and improving situations, so volunteering felt like a natural way to do that.”

What moments have been most rewarding?

— My most rewarding moments are any time that someone in our community tells me that being a part of the SheSharp community has helped them. Even hearing that a personalised welcome message in our Slack made someone feel good is enough to make me feel great. Working out how to best my commitments is an ongoing journey, but generally, having accountability with my team and scheduling tasks has worked well for me.

How do you ensure that your actions and decisions as a leader or role model are in harmony with the values and goals of the organization or community you support or guide?

— This can be tough, and there have absolutely been times where I haven't acted in a way that's aligned with our values or goals, unintentionally. I don't think it's possible to ensure that actions and decisions will always be, but we make the best effort by defining our values, having a code of conduct, and facilitating a psychologically safe environment where others feel comfortable calling you out about it. And personally, I reflect on my actions and decisions regularly.

What challenges or limitations do you encounter in your volunteer work?

— One of our major challenges as a volunteer organisation is that everyone does it alongside a full-time job, and therefore motivation is based on feeling rewarded, and therefore we operate differently to corporations with a different set of expectations of each other and SheSharp. It's fair to have clear expectations of each other, but we choose to operate flexibly, which means we adapt a lot, which can come at a cost to efficiency but allows us to be creative in how we work.

We are limited by our capacity (and funds), and could offer a lot more to our community if we had that, but we aren't in a rush to scale up, as I think that being relatively small and not very professional makes what we do more enjoyable and approachable for our community. Still, we would love to get more funding and offer our community more financial support through things like scholarships and speaker or facilitator payments!

With your wealth of experience and knowledge, how do you approach mentoring and guiding other women volunteers within your organization or community?

— I always want to learn about them first and understand their motivations and interests. Ideally, volunteering should go beyond satisfying your interest in a cause and should provide you with something else just for yourself, e.g., making connections, developing skills, or learning more about the area. Providing support and information about the organisation — our mission, values, and ways of working — are foundational for their success.

One of our founders, Amanda, always says, "We should stop when it stops being fun,"  and I love that because it's absolutely true and helps to ground us through conflict and tough times. Yes, we are working on an important cause, but we also give our time and energy, so we need to enjoy it, and if we enjoy it, we'll be able to do better for our community and mission. 

“Find a cause that you really care about, then find (or found!) an organisation that works on it and aligns with your values.”

How do you evaluate your overall volunteering experience and the impact on your community?

— I love it. I really didn't know what to expect when I started, but I have learned so much through doing it. I would hope that it's had a very positive impact on our community, but it's difficult to evaluate that, especially from an individual level when it's really always about our whole team.

From your perspective, to what extent do you believe your volunteering contributes to positive change in the community and has a significant overall social impact? 

— Increasing representation within the Tech industry is critical for the wellbeing of everyone using the technology being developed and gender equality more broadly. There are so many challenges that I think any initiative working to overcome them has a high and positive social impact.

Any advice for aspiring volunteers ready to invest their time and talents for lasting impact?

— Find a cause that you really care about, then find (or found!) an organisation that works on it and aligns with your values. Reach out to them to see what opportunities they have. Not all organisations can handle more volunteers, though, so if this happens, don't get discouraged and keep looking or trying.

If you are interested in SheSharp, you can take a look at our website for more information. Admittedly, we are still working out how to best bring in interested volunteers, but we would love to hear from you!