Earlier in my career, I was interviewing for an HR position and I asked about the company’s work with diversity and inclusion. The response I got was formulaic—like she was reading something from the employee handbook. It was clear they had discussed keeping up with “the conversation” but there was no passion for inclusivity and no buy-in for the measurable impacts it has on business success. I see this a lot. Companies understand that there’s a huge cultural shift happening. Business success has become inextricably linked to company values —look at Patagonia’s earnings or
Alexa’s always had a problem understanding commands from varying accents, however, what’s worrying is her reluctance to learn and improve. Alexa terrorised my Nigerian mother-in-law by refusing to grant any of her requests until she had asked at least five times, the fifth time in a forced British accent. I was amused at first because I have a dark sense of humour, but it got personal when Alexa repeatedly refused my husband’s requests. I’m Ugandan with a British accent. My Nigerian husband has a Nigerian accent, speaks English excellently, Yoruba
My Experience Working With A Startup in Silicon Valley It was a beautiful, sunny day, and I decided to join my team for lunch. Most of us worked remotely, and I didn’t go to the office that often. We waited outside for another team member, so we could all walk to a local restaurant. The marketing manager, whom we’ll call Sally, was rapping a Cardi B song and said the word “nigga” three times without flinching. The co-founder stood right next to her and didn’t say a word! It was
I am often asked during interviews to share my experience as a Black business owner in the Startup world. You know, how I got started, how I’ve gotten this far. My go-to response is to explain that I have had many positive experiences, some negative, and I consider myself to be a business owner who happens to be Black — rather than a Black business owner.Yet, I have had to admit to myself that I am somewhat offended by the question. And perhaps more offensive than the question being asked
“Should I have a career in tech?” Up until about a year and a half ago, this thought had never crossed my mind. This all changed when I became the marketing manager of 23 Code Street, a women’s coding school. I read and learned a lot about tech, completed our web development course and became fascinated by the industry. When I heard about YSYS’s and Color in Tech’s Immersion program- I applied straight away and fortunately got awarded one of their scholarships! I spent one week in Los Angeles in
Across the board, facial/human recognition tools have proven to be erroneous when it comes to accurately identifying dark skin colors. These errors show up in two ways: I. The product mistakes people with dark skin for something/someone else. II. The product is unable to detect dark skin I. Product Mistakes People with Dark Skin for Something / Someone Else Google Photos Google Photos is a platform that provides users with a place to organize, manage and back up their personal photographs. It uses machine-learning technology to categorize photos with similar
Sitting in my African American Psychology class, I was introduced to Design Experience and Thinking in a guest lecture Skype session by Shayna Atkins, product consultant and founder of Atkco Inc and The Queens Brunch. Probably 5 seconds after the terms rolled off her tongue, I was on her website and searching for anything I could find on this topic. Naturally, I came upon user design experience and instantly fell in love with the idea of solving problems by meticulously crafting experiences in a collaborative and dynamic process. I saw
Abstract.com VP of Engineering, Rukmini Reddy, shares the pivotal events that helped shape her path and underpin her leadership philosophy. Originally published here. Yes, I said bad-ass. I went from being just another Indian school girl being taught in a convent, to being a VP of Engineering for three incredible companies in Silicon Valley. While having twin boys who are now 5. So, yeah. I lean into my badassery because I have worked very hard for it. Courage is one of my core values. But it wasn’t always that way.
Originally published here by Frauenloop Over the past three years of training women at FrauenLoop to enter the tech industry, this question comes up again and again. Between my female mentors and students, I’ve heard the doubts and insecurities from women with high voices, women with children, women wearing headscarves, women with accents, women with brown skin, women who have female partners, women without valid passports, and women worried about finding work because their faces or figures no longer suggest they are thirty-two. “Is this a good company?” FrauenLoop students
Welcome friends 👋 I had the opportunity to run an interactive workshop this year at Afrotech Fest 2019 in collaboration with Cynthia Mukendy from African Gist. The purpose of the workshop was to brainstorm and create a library for individuals of the African diaspora in the UK who are currently working or interested in Tech. Things that we covered during the session: Forums/communities that cater to individuals currently working or interested in tech. Inspirational people in tech of Black/African/Caribbean descent. Local organisations / business that support with funding / co-working space / mentoring
