Technology-related fields are undergoing massive growth and a surge in jobs creation; however, women have been historically underrepresented, denied access, and/or under acknowledged in these fields.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of United Nations Women, recently encouraged developers to include women in the transnational, technological visions that will impact humanity across the globe (using drones to deliver medical supplies; leveraging existing mobile networks for e-commerce; tracking migration via blockchain, etc.).
Despite such encouragement, it’s not yet clear how the trends will play out: the World Economic Forum, for example, speculates that gender inequality will likely be exacerbated by technology. As part of Women’s History Month, we reflect both upon the tides of history as well as projected futures: let’s take a look at a few local initiatives designed to equalize the playing field.
Women in Tech at CUNY – A partnership between Cornell Tech, the City University of New York (CUNY), and industry partners, WiTNY seeks to increase the amount of women in these fields. They offer “Winternships” and other opportunities designed to boost participation.
Lesbians Who Tech is a national organization that seeks to create tech community, while increasing and highlighting the presence of queer women.
Black Girls Code – Seeks to “grow the number of women of color working in technology and give underprivileged girls a chance to become the masters of their technological worlds. ” With chapters in NYC, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., the organization runs various coding, robotics, and programming classes.
Other Resources
There are many more resources about the above topics, and beyond – Black Women Talk Tech; People of Color in Tech ; TransHack ; TransTechSocial; Latinas in Tech; and others.
