In the tech industry, less than 5% of the workforce is African-American, and we know the tech sector has a long way to go in fixing diversity issues. The following list is a short intro to just some of the Black Product Designers who are flourishing in Silicon Valley, the corporate world and beyond. They are creating incredible experiences, invaluable products, and are supporting the next generation of designers. Mariam Braimah Mariam is a Product Designer at Netflix. She is also the founder of Kimoyo Fellowship, a design program teaching the skills
Now, more than ever, mental health is making national headlines. Yet when it comes to treatment for mental illness, Black people are at a severe disadvantage. This past year alone, the pandemic, Black Lives Matter and fighting a system of oppression and racism has taken a significant toll on our mental health. However, due to the stigma in the community of seeking help, we aren’t supported in our struggles. When we seek help, it isn’t easy to find providers who understand us, trust us, and relate to our experience. There are
No, I didn’t join an ashram in India. When I was 17, the thought of postponing college for a gap year never crossed my mind. While it may have sounded nice to spend a year traveling, volunteering, and doing other activities to further “personal growth” — for financial and cultural reasons, it was neither a consideration nor a real option. And so, I went to college. After college, I started working a full-time job and did so for the next several years. In that time, I worked many a late-night;
Adyen is hiring on pocitjobs.com Semra Ezedin is a positive, proactive graduate with a passion to motivate and inspire others. While she studied to become a doctor, an opportunity in Spain propelled her on a path to tech, and eventually landed her a unique role with Adyen. We spoke with Semra about her unconventional tech journey, working with NASA and why she chose freedom and flexibility over an overly structured life at Silicon Valley. This interview was edited for clarity. Tell us about yourself I’m Semra, first-born daughter of Ethiopian immigrants.
Tara Reed is a true tech rebel. She’s a Black founder who travels the world working from her laptop, building tech companies and teaching others how they can do the same. Tara runs a multi-million dollar school teaching people how to build apps, without needing to know how to code. Her TED talk went viral, inspiring unlikely entrepreneurs to launch their own businesses. We had the opportunity to speak with Tara about her entrepreneurial journey, Apps Without Code, and her advice to other founders. This interview was edited for clarity Tell us a
Cummins is hiring on pocitjobs.com A Technical Lead at Cummins, Munashe Mugonda’s interest in tech began in Zimbabwe. As a child, she grew up on a farm and always wondered if there was a better way to automate the repetitive tasks that her father did every single day. From a Farm in Zimbabwe to a College Scholar in The US “I’d ask my dad,” Munashe recalls, “Is there no machine that we can instruct to do these things that we are doing over and over again?’ I was always trying
Growing up as a child of immigrants had its struggles. I could see my parents’ difficulty adjusting to a new country, culture, and language. I didn’t want to have the same challenges, so I got into a habit of not mentioning my heritage. While doing volunteer work, I learned a lesson. I shared with colleagues that I grew up in the U.S., but one of them realized I was leaving out vital details, my heritage. With a sparkle in her eyes, she wanted to know all about my home country and its culture. Her
Before it was time for my regular afternoon nap, I scrolled on Twitter to see a statement from Jason Fried, CEO/Co-Founder at Basecamp, about some of the changes that were being made. You can read the article here. As I begin to read through the announcement, I thought internal changes would have meant some changes to their products or team but what I read is something I never saw coming. There are many things I want to point out but let me focus on what sticks out the most. The first
As a Black professional, you need to weigh the job opportunity with the level of racism and discrimination you may encounter in a particular city or country. Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve been offered a great job, but you realize you’d have to move to a city with a largely racist population? Do you decide to go and suck it up as best possible, or do you decline the offer and stay where you are? This type of dilemma is common when you are a Black
As a Latina founder of a social impact company, raising VC money hasn’t exactly been easy. Especially in Chicago, where I’m based, the VC community, while close-knit and easily accessible, is small, homogenous, and focused on later-stage investments. On the startup side, of the 65 Chicago-based startups backed by Chicago-based venture capital funds, only 16 (about 25%) have a non-white founder, and only 15 (or 23%) have a female founder to Chicago Blend. From firsthand experience, the lack of access to early-stage capital compared to the coasts has an oversized impact on underrepresented
