Category Archives: Tech

Hi There Young Black College Girl

Hi there young black college girl
College can be hard and can make your face crack
But YOU GOT THIS!
Have you chosen your major yet?
Hi there young black college girl
Are you still there, what major did you choose?
Pre Law, Math, Sociology perhaps Computer Science
Your parents must be stressing you to become a neuroscientist
Hi there young black college girl
Focus on your school work these boys can wait
Yes I’m talking about after you graduate
At this rate, it will take you almost four years to cross that stage right?
Hi there young black college girl
Put your mind and soul into it so you can create the person you are
Beautiful, Brown, and Highly Intelligent will bring you a lot of hate
Never be discouraged you have everything all right on your plate!

How Do We Get Young Women Interested in Computer Science?

I have always wondered why there more women aren’t involved in computer science. Is it because computer science tends to be more found by men? According to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 1984-1985 academic year, 37% of women were invovled in computer science as undergraduate students. This number dropped drastically as the users of computers at home became more common. Since the historical reasoning and misconception has overturned, it is now time to think about how to take steps towards involving more women in the industry.

While the number of females studing computer, science is at an all-time low, there must be action taken place. We must remember the root of the problem should start at an early age to rectify it. Ways some educators and parents can work to increase the rate of young girls to gain interest in computer science and STEAM related subjects are by:

  • Creating an equal learning enviorment: Since boys tend to talk more in class, it is up to the teacher to make more females students engage and bring them into learning more and having more class-wide discussions. If the teacher does this, it will increase the chances of girls to engage in the subject that matters.
  • Enacting mentotship programs: Most girls that are entering the field of computer science are likely to face way more resistance than in any subject areas. Adults can provide great examples to be strong successful females to thrive in their careers. It does not matter whether the mentorship programs are at high school or college level. If there is a speaker or using female leaders for both educators and parents to give these girls a sense of confidence while pursing a historically male dominate field when giving them role models.
  • Making it approchable: While we are pushing to encourage more girls’ to be interested in computer science and gain momentum, a ton of programs have been created to help them adjust to the field. These programs are SciGirls, Girls Who Code, Girls Inc., Girlstart, and GEMS.

It does not matter whether the operting this at the middle school, high school or even college level these can be pivotal in both encourahing and sustaining young girls to pursue these topics. These young girls should feel like they should be able to fit in and be encouraged to join the male dominate career because theu have to choice to do so if they are encouraged.

Black Women Leaders On College Campuses

On most college campuses it is not common to see black women as leaders or mentors.  According to the American Council of Education, in 2016 only 5 percent of college presidents were women of color, whereas for white women it was 25 percent.Mentorship should be the key for sustaining black women leaders especially those that are in high levels because there are few black women leaders. When a black woman is stepping into a leadership position, they are usually “the first” to carry significant challenges. There are three black women who are “the first” leader or president in a few universities which are:

  • Lily McNair, Ph.D. – the first black women president in 136-years at Tuskegee University.
  • Yolanda Pierce, Ph.D. – the first black women dean in 150-years at Howard’s Divinity School
  • Bernadette Grey-Little- the first black women & black chancellor at University of Kansas.

I believe there is a lack of support for black women leaders even within the black community. It seems like as a woman we do not get the same respect and same support in return as white women. These colleges would rather have a black non-radical male or a black male who would just go with the flow instead of trying to at least accept black women leaders who would love to make a change on campus. Sometimes it is not about gender or color it is mismanagement of funds and professional leadership that males seem that women do not have.

This is a problem because women should feel equalized to do the same thing as males. The three women I have mentioned above make sure they did everything in their might to maintain their job for being “the first” black leader or president If they worried about what others had to say they would not be as successful. These women are a great example for leaders and mentors for other black women college students.

I Promise I am Not Done…

I promise I am not done…
I am not done with school
It is one of my rules to get my masters, will you?
I will pray to my pastor so that all this work will get done faster
I promise I am not done…
I get scared sometimes being the black sheep in my classes
I push my glasses far up the bridge of my nose to take a look at everything close
These white students can sometimes be gross, but I never get out of my character
I promise I am not done…
When in doubt I would go talk to my professor, advisor or perhaps the dean
They should not shock this is a PWI that I have attended right?
Racism and Sexism still exist but with just a minor twist
I promise I am not done…
I will survive these long night shifts doing homework or studying for a test
I will try my hardest to be the best
Just so I can give my parents a big fat kiss on the cheek.
And say I am a GEEK but I, sure enough, DID IT!

I Know I Am A Black Woman…..

I know I am a black woman…
It does not mean that I cannot be as smart as a man
It does not mean that I am not worth the job offer
It does not mean that I cannot be an overachiever
I know I am a black woman…
I can bring my all to the table and WOW you
I can make it my choice to learn everything and more
I can be a great co-worker
I know I am a black woman…
The color of my skin should NEVER decline my job position
My gender should NEVER have to be a choice for me to be hired or not
My talent is what should surprise you,
My GPA or Degree should be able to WOW you
I know I am a black woman…
I have every right to be mad if I get declined from a job due to my skin color or gender
I have every right to NEVER let any male co-workers shame me either is on my work or telling me I should not be here
I have every right to stand ten toes and never fall!
I know I am a black woman…
I will encourage other women of color to pursue their dream
I will make sure I succeed
I will… BE THE BEST ME I CAN BE!

 

Google Will Focus On Diversity Efforts On Black & Hispanic Women

I find it amazing that Google has now decided they want to increase the diversity in the company! Especially by hiring more black and Hispanic women into the Google team. We all know it is very difficult to get women of color to be hired in the tech industry! But that thanks to Google’s new diversity chief Danielle Brown, Google is planning to make women or color an “intentional focus”. Brown joined Google about 2 years ago, in replacing the former diversity chief James Damore. Damore was fired because he was using harmful gender stereotypes and unconscious bias training towards gender and race instead of talent. Since Brown is the new diversity chief if Google, she insists that she is going to work on centering and focusing on bringing in more women of color into the team. I think this is a great advantage for women of color to come in and take their chances to be apart one of the biggest tech company in the U.S.

Out of about 56,000 people who are employed at Google in the U.S in 2017, there were 544 black women who were hired which went up from 348 in 2016. As for Hispanic women in 2017, there were 945 women employed which when up from 566 in 2016! These numbers will increase drastically within the next few years of course if more women of color get involved with tech. Google will retain and further educate more women of color who is into Tech. This is a great advantage for women of color who interested in tech or IT but do not have enough skills in their pocket.

I think this is a great opportunity that has happened in the past year not because Google is hiring more women of color but because the number of women of color is being employed every year! I have always wanted to work with Google, now I really see myself at least sending in an application and not being rejected because of my gender or race! Do you think this a great opportunity? Have you ever thought about working for Google?

Black Women That Is In Tech: Follow Them On Twitter

To my concern, I think it has been a problem that every black woman that is on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat does not know that there are other Tech women influencers on these networks. According to blackwomentech, there are roughly about 200 black women in tech that you can follow on twitter. Many of these black women are innovators, college students, young professionals or founders who are under the age of 25. I think these women either just do not know about these women or do not want to follow them. When you follow these women, they usually share great information, news, ideas and tips related to inclusion, images, a celebration of diversity in tech and the elevation of underrepresented groups. As a college student that is about to be out in the real world, I should be up-to-date with other active users that are into tech on social media platforms where in this case the social media is Twitter.

If you are on twitter, I highly encourage you to follow at least of few of these 200 black women. Since there are 200 different tech black women on twitter, I will only list 10 that I find interesting based on their Twitter bio and share the link to the webpage that has all 200!

  • Qiana Patterson(@Q_i_a_n_a): Her Twitter bio says “proving that there is no conflict between doing well by doing good in the world – one ride out a time with @hopskipdrive | Alum of @USC MBA | @UW | @UCLA”
  • Afrohacker(@Afrohacker): Her Twitter bio says “#WIT | Software Eng | Data Sci | Food connoisseur | Sports fan | Sorting has put me in Slytherin mostly bcos I write Python”
  • Aisha Bowe(@arbowe): Her Twitter bio says “Co-Founder and CEO at @STEAMBoard a technology solution company, closing the achievement gap.
  • Angela Benton(@ABenton): Her Twitter bio says “Tech Pioneer. Founder of 1st accelerator for Minorities @NewMEAccel. Also: Author.Cancer Survivor.Mom.
  • Rizell Bob(@RizelBobb): Her Twitter bio says “#blacktechtwitter SoftwareDeveloper @vesonnautical Boston University student. @hack_diversity @code2040 @hubspot @resilientcoders @skillist @mltorg @formlabs”
  • Brown Girls Tech(@BrownGirlsInTech): This is an organization the Twitter bio says “We empower & connect brown girls by preparing them with the skills/resources to start a career in tech, build a startup and/or pursue entrepreneurial ventures.
  • Candace Hicks(@candance2xs_): Her Twitter bio says “Program Manager @ Microsoft. Creator & Innovator. IG: Candace2xs_”
  • Jenna Wortham(@jennydeluxe): Her Twitter bio says “Black Bill Gates in the making. Staff writer @NYTMag & co-host of Still Processing. Co-author of “Black Futures” with Kimberly Drewm, One World 2019″
  • Kiki Oniwende(@KiKiOniwinde): Her Twitter bio says “God | Founder @bypnetworkapp – connecting black talent globally | @SkyUKScholar | @Google #poctech ambassador | #TeamGB #FloridaGators Athlete | @WEFShaper”
  • Nikita T. Mitchell(@NikitaTMitchell): Her Twitter bio says “Infinitely curious business strategist, speaker, and writer. Tech employee by day. Editor of @abovebottomline by night. Subscribe to http://abovethebottomeline.com”

All these women and many more have their own purpose in the tech world. These women give great tips, share different information regarding black women in tech or just tech, and even inspire other women to get involved in tech. Like I mentioned if you are a young black woman or college student that is going into the tech industry, I highly advise you to follow these women on Twitter to get a better look of different tips and look at what they have to say about being a black woman in tech. Most importantly if you have any questions or need further advice you should private message them, do not be scared have fun and get to know more women that are just like you!

I said I would leave a link that has the list of all 200 women and what is listed in their twitter bio. https://blackwomentech.com/

Women In Tech: A Untold Poem

We know that it is already hard to be a woman in tech
To think us women in tech can be a total wreck
It is not as easy to get a job like every other career
We try to be so hard to fit in or adjust in the field
It seems like being a women in tech cannot go as right as it is for men
We may bend our back to become good at coding, data analyst, engineering, or even mathematics
We do not want to be slacks
Its something about these men, I guess they think we might crack
Are they scared that we can hack, cause that might be a big fact
But as women in tech, we rule!
Look at all the women we have discovered
They just want to uncover all other intelligent young black women
We can do anything we put our minds to and then we can celebrate
Even though we carry a lot of weight!

Why is There Not As Much Diversity in The Tech Industry

Since the tech industry was rained by mostly white men when other races try to include them self in the field, they were turned down due to the skin of their color. This has been a problem for a long time, it has changed over the years, but the industry still lacks diversity. You’re probably wondering why should you care if there is no diversity a why is diversity important? Many companies tend to not want diversity in their companies because they feel like women or men of color in the industry is slowing the bar.

Most companies fail to realize that having a diverse team can bring people with different backgrounds will bring different perspectives, better alignment with users or customers, and improve better in problem-solving. When it comes to having different perspectives, having different approaches from everyone on your team, the team is less likely to get stuck in the same spots. We tend to think that we can be our targeted audience so we will automatically think we can understand our users. It can only be true to a certain extent if we have a diverse team our chances are easier to align with. Diverse teams bring a set of perspectives which can improve problem-solving and can go further than that. Diversity on teams and in tech is highly important!

Research has shown that diversity improves not just the overall team but can also cause each member of the team to produce better results. It will also improve an increase in customers empathy to allow better customer build, and more quality products. If many companies focus on diversity it will help increase the quality and size of the talent pool for who is more likely to get hired. If companies do not focus on diversity it will be a huge mistake to not improve on it!