Damilola Awofisayo is in a league of her own. The young hacker, who was born in America but spent part of her childhood in Nigeria, has learned to use technology to solve societal problems. Awofisayo fell in love with computer science at high school and was keen to help run hackathons. However, after several unsuccessful attempts to take part in hackathons, she decided to take things into her own hands. Now a Duke University freshman, Awofisayo is the founder of TecHacks. The all-female and non-binary student virtual hackathon aims to
Remember the summer of 2020? Tech companies were posting Black squares on Instagram and mass hiring diversity consultants. Fast forward two years, and tech leaders are publicly delighting in the waning of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). We know it is easy to feel discouraged, but that’s where POCIT comes in! On our recruitment platform, you can find a whole gamut of roles for people of color in tech. Whether you’re a developer or business analyst, marketing genius or design boss, here are some of the many companies that want to
A holistic career accelerator platform for indigenous founders, Natives Rising, has received extra funding to help support and grow the number of indigenous women graduating college with STEM degrees. The non-profit organization, co-founded by Danielle Forward and Betsy Fore, is on a mission to close the racial gap, which sees only 0.6% of scientists and engineers from a Native American background break into the industry. According to a recent National Center for Education Statistics report, a small number of Black and Indigenous women – approximately 4% – end up leaving
Design engineer Lisa-Dionne Morris is the UK’s 41st Black woman professor, an achievement she describes as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” After working in the industry for over a decade, Morris was able to kickstart her professorship after joining the 100 Black Women Professors NOW initiative, which aims to help Black academic women navigate and manage their careers. Morris’ promotion to Professor of Public & Industry Understanding of Capability Driven Design within the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds marks the first professorship of the program. The program, which
Every year Forbes releases their long-awaited list of young innovators shaping the world today. The annual list serves as a positive reminder that young people are working to change the world, which makes the future look not so bleak. This year’s North American list featured a handful of Black women in tech who are on the verge of making it big – so let’s meet some of them. Kalina Bryant – Founder of UnapologeTECH Kalina Bryant is an example of someone who wears many hats and wears them all well.
Black-owned education-focused foundation, HEPH, has been awarded a $1.2 million grant to support its commitment to learners. The grant, which has been provided by the How We Learn Fund, was awarded to founders Steve and Sheila Conner to help advance the development of STEM-related studies for Black and brown children starting with the Chicagoland area. What is the HEPH Foundation? Founded by Steve and Sheila Conner, the HEPH Foundation is named after Hephaestus, the Greek god that made tools for the gods. The educational foundation’s mission is to transform disengaged
Kickstarting the festive season, the latest interactive Google Doodle celebrates the life and accomplishments of self-taught engineer Gerald ‘Jerry’ Lawson, also known as ‘one of the fathers of modern gaming.’ Lawson, who passed away at 70, was one of the first prominent African American figures in the game industry. As chief hardware engineer for Fairchild Semiconductor, Lawson steered the development of the first home video gaming system with interchangeable game cartridges. Encouraged to experiment Lawson was born in Brooklyn in 1940. Encouraged by his parents to experiment, Lawson grew up
Dai Time is the definition of #BlackGirlMagic. The 16-year-old content creator with her own content company has recently bagged her show on Snapchat, where she interviews well-known celebrities from Shaquille O’Neal to Jada Pinkett Smith. The Georgia-born entrepreneur discovered her passion for media and presenting at a very young age and followed in the footsteps of those before her to create her online entertainment platform, DT Entertainment, which highlights the impactful young people are doing worldwide. After being selected to join Snapchat’s accelerator program, Dai Time has turned her passion into profit
According to a new Senate report, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are failing to moderate online extremists adequately. The report, released on Wednesday, called on federal law enforcement to reevaluate its response to the growing threat of terrorism and extremism. The Senate has called out social media platforms for failing to stop the spread of violent and anti-government propaganda online, which has increased over recent years. Harmful extremism circulating online Recent incidents have led many to question the violent consequences of social media, which has seen more
Jermaine (Jupiter) Murray, also known as ”The Job Father,” is paving the way for Black people in tech by using his LinkedIn page to help professionals secure jobs and recruiters diversify their hiring practices. According to recent reports, Black representation in tech is barely improving, with Black professionals only making up approximately 13% of the industry. Additionally, only 7% of Black people can break into high-tech, proving that the tech industry has an issue embracing and retaining Black talent. The recent layoffs have also shown how precarious Black people’s jobs
