For as long as she can remember, Jamesha Fisher liked to figure out how things worked. Fisher, a former Googler who is currently a “DevOps security pirate” at CloudPassage (where she helps keep automated infrastructure up and running safely), credits her father, who worked in electronics and construction, for instilling in his daughter an early interest in taking things apart and figuring out what makes them tick.

Fisher’s budding passion soon turned towards pulling computers apart. High school classes trained her in both computer mechanics and Linux and security programming, then she went on to earn a degree in security engineering at DePaul University. The opportunity to learn just as the Internet was really taking off was unparalleled, Fisher tells Fast Company, and she says she never thought much about the fact that she was a “double minority” (both female and black) in a world dominated by white men.

Fisher’s education and career path are an exception to the rule. The numbers still indicate that women are underrepresented in the information and communications technology sector. Thirty years ago, women earned 37% of all computer science bachelors degrees, and that number has fallen to 12% today. Statistics from the National Science Foundation show that about 25% of those employed as computer scientists are female, while women make up about 17% of the engineering profession, and only one in five software developers is female.

When she landed a coveted internship at Google in Boston, Fisher moved through her work learning as much as she could. It was impactful, Fisher says, because, “postcollege graduation in 2009 meant being unemployed, [Google] gave me an edge and tons of networking connections.”

It wasn’t until Fisher landed back at Google, this time in the Bay Area, that she started becoming aware of something she couldn’t easily pull apart to figure out. “It was just kind of back of mind, the way people treated me,” Fisher explains, pointing out that she didn’t see it as a challenge. Rather, she says, it was a “systematic stigmatism that is very under the radar.” Fisher confesses that when someone would question her credentials, she would second-guess herself. Then she thought, “I wonder if they would have asked a dude? Would you tell a dude that that they’re not capable of learning another language?”

Fisher is quick to point out that no one ever overtly said they didn’t support diversity. “But culturally, when it comes up, people don’t know how to deal with it.” People do tend to seek out others like themselves, even when we know that diverse teams are more innovative and productive.

Fisher admits that when she first arrived in Silicon Valley, she felt like “the odd egg,” and that can make it hard for anyone to find mentorship. Additionally, she observes, “Most minorities are in lower-level positions like contractors or support positions. So when she was asked to take on a leadership position herself, Fisher not only questioned whether or not she wanted to take the step up, but she also wondered if they chose her because of her credentials, or if they wanted her because she was also a minority.