Actor Jesse Williams and conceptual artist Glenn Kaino have teamed up to create Homeschooled, a new trivia app on Black culture and history. The app, which aims to make learning fun again, features trivia questions in over 50 categories and can be played alone or with friends and family. Trivia questions cover topics like pop culture, history, science, music, geography, and art, with category names like “Growing Up Black,” “Kicks” and “Street Fashion.” There is even a Grey’s Anatomy section with science-related questions, which is a nod to Williams’ role
This article was first published by Thosyn Pax on Medium. The tech industry is known for its fast-paced environment, constant innovation, and high demand for skilled professionals. Building a professional network in this industry is important for career growth and development. Whether you are just starting out in the tech industry or looking to advance your career, networking can help you build relationships, gain new insights, and open up new opportunities. Where I come from, achieving one’s long-term goals, let alone reaching the top, requires strong connections. It has always
This article was first published by Jason Yip on Medium. On 29 Nov 2022, I learned I was being laid off by Spotify, official termination date 31 Dec 2022. This is a rough summary of my job search experience. I started looking the moment I got the same day “urgent” calendar invite on 29 Nov and had set my LinkedIn status to “Open to Work” on 30 Nov. At least 35 positions contacted me first. 25 led to at least an initial chat. The remaining 10 went nowhere after initial contact.
Two Black high school students say they have solved a mathematical mystery that some claim has eluded mathematicians for over 2,000 years. Calcea Johnson and Ne’Kiya Jackson, both students at St. Mary’s Academy, presented their new proof for the Pythagorean theorem at the American Mathematical Society’s Annual Southeastern Conference in Georgia on March 18. The Pythagorean theorem is a fundamental theorem in trigonometry that describes the relationship between the three sides of a right-angled triangle. It is expressed with the formula a² + b² = c². The theorem holds true
AI is becoming an integral part of our society. This is good news in many ways. AI will bring efficiency to many sectors, for example, in healthcare where it is being used to assign patients to care programs based on their needs. However, in 2019, a study revealed that an algorithm used for this purpose in US hospitals was less likely to recommend Black patients than white patients who were equally sick. When AI can’t recognize Black women Algorithmic bias is not only an issue for AI in healthcare, it
The Kapor Center and the NAACP recently shared the findings of their research on the state of diversity in the tech ecosystem. From PreK-12 education to tech venture capital, Black people must overcome various challenges to progress through their careers. The research examined Black experiences at each stage of the Leaky Tech Pipeline, providing insights into the steps we need to take to ensure Black folk can thrive in tech. The leaky tech pipeline PreK-12 For Black students in the PreK-12 educational system, socio-economic disparities and a lack of access to
Companies that report workforce demographic data outperform those that don’t, according to a new analysis by JUST Capital. JUST Capital found that Russell 1000 companies that publicly disclose data on the gender, race, and ethnicity of their workforce by job category more than tripled between 2021 and 2022, increasing from 11% to 34%. Moreover, companies that disclose such demographic data outperform those that don’t by 7.9%. Diversity is good for business A 2015 McKinsey study previously showed that the country’s most racially diverse companies were 35% more likely to have financial returns above their
Spotify has allegedly spent less than 10% of a $100 million diversity fund it launched after its top podcaster, Joe Rogan, came under fire for spreading Covid-19 misinformation and using racial slurs in his podcast. The world’s largest music streaming service announced its $100 million Creator Equity Fund in February 2022 to support the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalized groups. However, Bloomberg News reports that, after its first year, Spotify had spent less than 10% of the money on that work. Riddled with
This article was first published by Zaria Gunn on Medium. As a black female futurist and artist, I spent time working in VR at Google’s HQ in Mountain View. My team, Spotlight Stories was a part of Google’s R&D lab for hardware called A.T.A.P. (Advanced Technologies and Projects) though the workplace had international diversity, the African American woman population was just me. And though I’ve always wanted to be the first at something, I had never imagined that I would’ve been the first black woman in ATAP eight years after
When it comes to job interviews, everyone wants to put their best foot forward. But Black, Hispanic, and younger Americans feel the need to go the extra mile to impress potential employers, according to a study by the American Staffing Association conducted by The Harris Poll. The study found that while the majority of Americans prefer in-person interviews, white Americans (74%) were more likely to opt for in-person interviews over virtual or audio-only formats than Hispanic (67%) and Black (65%) Americans. Hispanic and Black Americans are also more likely to feel
