The Guía Collective was created to empower women of color & gender-expansive POC leaders in product design, research, and management, fostering equity and excellence in the field.

guía (n) - Spanish for “guide,” one who leads another on a path

Guía Collective is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded by Sarah Lin, a product designer and strategist in social good, who was lucky to be taken under the wings of other women-of-color and allies early on in her career. These experiences shaped her work in product for the past decade, and she saw a need to provide more spaces for WOC and gender expansive POC to receive coaching from those who understood and valued their experience.

Improving diversity in leadership isn’t possible without ensuring the pipeline is accessible, supported, and resourced! Thus, the Guía Collective was born— a safe space and community to gather, geek out about product, and support one another wherever they are in their journeys.

The Guía Collective empowers women of color and gender-expansive POC to grow into leaders in product design, research, and management. We are a community for anyone who believes in diversifying the product landscape through shared experiences and action. Welcome!

Why does it matter? Despite recent progress in women’s representation in leadership, women remain underrepresented across the workplace pipeline and across leadership. Women of color face the steepest climb, with true parity for women of color projected to take 48 years at the current pace compared to a projection of 22 years for white women. Addressing systemic barriers like the 'broken rung,' investing in leadership development, and holding companies accountable are essential for meaningful change. (McKinsey 2024 Women in the Workplace Report)

Lack of Leadership

For every 100 men promoted to management roles, only 82 women of color are promoted, compared to 87 women overall. Women occupy fewer roles as they move up the career ladder in tech. In 2023, only 7% of C-suite positions in tech were held by women of color, and their representation was significantly lower than their male counterparts at every level of leadership. (1, 2)

Unsustainable Timelines

At the current rate of progress, it would take 48 years for women of color in tech to achieve representation in senior leadership that matches their share of the U.S. population. (1)

Broken Pipeline

Women overall hold 47% of entry-level roles, but only 35% of managerial positions, demonstrating the steep drop-off caused by the broken rung​. The broken rung is a systemic issue that perpetuates the leadership gap by restricting women, particularly women of color, from accessing the opportunities needed to climb the corporate ladder. (1)

POC

We have gone with the term “POC,” meaning “People of Color,” as our mission focuses equally on all people of color. While this conversation is constantly evolving, you can check out Why the term “BiPOC” is so complicated, explained by linguists if you’re interested in the history!

Gender Expansive

Gender is personal to an individuals' experience of themself. We prefer to use the term gender expansive, as it widens the scope of gender more effectively. Gender Spectrum defines it as "an umbrella term used for individuals who broaden their own culture’s commonly held definitions of gender, including expectations for its expression, identities, roles, and/or other perceived gender norms." Learn more about gender at The Trevor Project and Planned Parenthood.

Product

“Product” here refers specifically to product work in technology, which includes but is not limited to:

• Product design

• Product research

• Product management