An Open Letter from Young Women Who Code to Tech CEOs
Dear Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, Brian Krzanich, Satya Nadella, Jack Dorsey, Jeff Bezos, and other Silicon Valley CEOs:
We are American girls who code. We are Middle Eastern, Latina, Asian, indigenous, black, white, and multiracial and multiethnic. We are immigrants, children of immigrants, and grandchildren of immigrants. We are disabled. We are queer and trans. Our parents are CEOs, janitors, lawyers, nurses, researchers, child-care providers, and from every walk of American life.
We’re writing to you because Google, Facebook, Intel, Microsoft, Twitter, Square, and Amazon are longtime sponsors of programs that teach young women to code — programs that changed our lives. When we were in high school, we decided to try coding. It was scary. Some people thought we couldn’t do it. It was new. People would judge us if we didn’t get it right. But your company gave us wifi, laptops, space, time, delicious food, cool demos, amazing talks, and a chance to meet your team. We came together and made software that never existed before.
We write today because we know Silicon Valley leaders are invited to a roundtable discussion with the president-elect. We know that this political climate is new for you, like coding was for us. We know that people will judge you no matter what choice you make. We know that hurts. We also know your support opened up the door for us to pursue careers in technology. Now we need your support so we can join you in making technology that helps and doesn’t hurt. We’re calling on you to, more than ever:
1. Commit to never censor content because the government (or another company) asks you to:
Social media giants have taken pride in their role in the Arab Spring. Will you resist pressure to censor political content on American soil?
2. Commit to privacy-by-design to counter surveillance
- Build user data privacy into every data transfer
- Continue moving toward end-to-end encryption for all user data, like Facebook messenger has, using the Signal Protocol.
- Minimize user data, once encrypted, stored on your servers.
- Always making hardware more difficult to hack, never easier: Microsoft’s “golden key” to backdoor access resulted in the installation of malicious software onto users’ devices and the robbery of user data. Please share this lesson learned with the world. When we learned to code at your company, when one of us tried something that didn’t work (like accidentally overwriting our random.py file when making an artificial intelligence program for our robot), we tell everyone else so they won’t make the same mistake.
- Make a public commitment to refuse cooperation with government surveillance without a warrant meeting a high standard of specificity and probable cause. The easiest way to do this is to use the most secure encryption algorithms so it is technically impossible for your company to reveal the data. There’s amazing work being done on how to analyze encrypted data without revealing content. We’re engineers, we’re good at what we do, and we can make all user data secure by design (until and unless we find that P=NP).
3. Commit to protecting net neutrality for the next generation
- All of you built successful companies in a world where internet users could pay for faster internet access, but where everyone serving content has been on an equal playing field.
- The new administration is predicted to end or severely weaken net neutrality. We understand the short-term attractiveness of being able to pay for faster content serving. But we got into computer science because we’re inspired by Facebook, which started in a dorm room. Could Facebook have grown and thrived if it had had to pay extra to serve content as fast as MySpace back when only college students were on it?
- You encouraged us to get into tech so that we can innovate. The last 22 years of commercial internet has been a hotbed of innovation, with net neutrality intact.
- Help our country remember that the new administration does not have a mandate.
4. Double-down on your efforts to conserve our environment
When your company helped introduce us to computer science, we learned about the massive amounts of energy needed to keep data centers running, water needed to keep hardware from overheating, and rare earth metals needed to make the amazing little devices we have in our pockets. We also learned about the amazing ways your teams find to save energy, use renewable and clean energy, conserve water, and recycle materials. You helped us imagine a world with both the internet and a healthy environment, and we want to help you make it a reality.
A few super-quick examples of what we want to help you do more of:
- Facebook’s Aquila running on the solar power, needing only enough to run three hair dryers.
- Google’s commitment to reach 100% renewable energy in 2017
- Microsoft being carbon-neutral since 2012, and committing to EU standards for handling electronic waste.
- Intel’s water policy recognizing the United Nations Human Right to Water, including that sufficient water resources are accessible to all communities, that companies are transparent about water usage and conservation, and that companies take responsibility for the impact every stage of their operations has on water.
- Amazon Web Services’ commitment to use 50% renewable energy by the end of 2017, and Mr. Bezos’s investment in clean energy.
We make pretty cool stuff with software and electrical engineering, but no one has been able to invent a machine that reproduces itself, consumes rather than emits carbon, produces oxygen, produces food, cleans itself, repairs itself, and can run for 1000s of years. Nature has made these in endless variations. We call them plants. Keep up the innovation, and let us join you in it, so we can keep them around!
5. Engage in public conversations about how our economy and society can adapt to new technology
Self-driving cars offer opportunities for safety and fuel efficiency. In 2014, driving vehicles was the most common livelihood in 29 states, according to NPR. Some people who drive to support their families are very worried about their future. Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Colorado have shown how new jobs can come with new technology, and computer related jobs in those states have replaced driving vehicles as the most common occupation. Please share how education programs (like the ones you sponsor) help people in the workforce adapt. Lead tough conversations about what everyone needs and how we’ll get to a future with new technology, strong communities, and a healthy planet. You didn’t sign up to lead the country as CEO. But girls who code step up. We believe you can, and must, step up to this pressing need for leadership beyond the walls of your headquarters.
6. Make Silicon Valley the standard for diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity
In an analysis by the Harvard Business Review, companies with more diversity were more financially and productively successful, supporting Mr. Pichai’s statement that: “A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone.” HBR’s research found that homogenous teams ‘feel easier’ and arrive at worse solutions. Diverse teams feel less comfortable, and come up with better solutions because they take more time to consider facts, educate each other, and deliberate. You may have seen these patterns in your own companies. You also know from your companies’ diversity initiatives, ranging from training your teams on unconscious bias to funding online and public school resources to make sure all kids can learn computer science, that building diverse teams requires long-term investment and thoughtful strategy. We need you to share your company’s perspectives on, strategies for, and experiences with diversity with the whole country as we tackle tough problems that will only be resolved by bringing together people with different experiences. We look forward to increased initiatives from your companies so that hopefully one day, the faces behind the technology we use will reflect all those who use it. Since an increasing number of jobs created are in the tech sector, Silicon Valley must be an example to others.
7. Support each other, offer help and ask for help, and LAUGH!
Everything we’re asking you to do here is hard. A group of twenty high school girls who have never met before, and who come from wildly different backgrounds, learning to write our own software together in a few weeks is also hard. When we came onto your company’s campus to learn, our class wrote a community agreement. Each one is a little different, but they always seem to have these three commitments in common. We did hard stuff by supporting each other, offering and asking for help, and laughing every day. Now as we start our careers in college, internships, and new jobs, we keep these commitments and hope you’ll join us in them.
In closing:
In this new political climate, you may be presented with false choices. We’re not sure, but they might sound like a choice between your employees’ visas and protecting your users from censorship and surveillance. Or like a choice between staying quiet about net neutrality and watching a tax handout go to a competitor. Remember that you’re the ones in the control. You all are the ones creating millions of jobs, bringing in billions in revenue, and showing us that healthy businesses and healthy communities thrive together. You all are the ones keeping America great through your numerous outreach initiatives, like sponsoring programs that have introduced tens of thousands of girls to the world of technology and created opportunities for students to bring themselves out of poverty and spread empathy and knowledge to others. We ask that you stay strong, because America, and the world, needs your leadership now. Keep showing the world that business and innovation thrive on the free exchange of information, predictable rules, healthy democracy, diversity of all kinds, respect for the environment, and long-term investment in people. Make choices you are proud of, and we will keep working with you to build beautiful software and hardware that serve people and the planet.
Those of us signed below learned to code, and/or taught each other to code, because your company invested in our future and your future. In investing in programs that taught us to make software, you made a choice that reflected what we know to be true: our futures are bound up together.
Devney Hamilton — Intel 2014 Instructor, Electronic Arts 2015 Instructor
Ilona Bodnar — Intel 2014 Participant, Pixar 2015 TA, Google EP Intern 2016
Madison Star Reyes — Electronic Arts 2015, Student
Michelle Kwon — Electronic Arts 2015, Student
Kristin Beese — Electronic Arts 2015 TA, Google EP Intern 2016
Ashley Gavin — Girls Who Code Founding Curriculum Director, 2012–2014
Terron Ishihara — Google LA 2015 Instructor, General Electric 2014 Teaching Assistant
Thais Laney — Verizon 2014 Teaching Assistant
Suraya Shivji — Intel 2014 Student
Uma Krishnan — Twitter 2013 Student: “Please do what you can to advocate for us, I really hope that the people of the USA can protect our rights during the next 4 years since I worry about the President-Elect’s ability to do so.”
Daisey Arechiga — Twitter SF 2014 Student
Madison Snyder — Google 2014 Student
Mary Karroqe — AT&T 2014 Student
Michelle Chiu — 2013 Student
Maya Goyle — Electronic Arts 2015 Student
Emily Wong — Electronic Arts 2015 Student
Grace Baelen-King — Intuit 2014 Teaching Assistant
Jessica Yeh — EA 2015 Student
Benite Rutaganira — Intel 2013 Student
Naomi Keusch Baker — AT&T NYC 2014 Student
Anna Gassen — Square 2014 Student: “Those of us who have privilege must use it to protect those who are marginalized. We must use our power and opportunity to shield those that the president-elect will try and hurt in these next 4 years.”
Karen Kauffman — eBay 2014 Student
Anusha Chillara — EA 2015 Student
Whitney Choo — Microsoft 2015 Teaching Assistant
Riley Shanahan — Intel 2014 Student
Aura Barrera — eBay 2014 Student
Ming Horn — Twitter 2013 Student, Facebook iOS Intern 2016, Facebook SWE Intern 2017, KhodeUp Founder
Francesca Colombo — AT&T 2013 Student, Google EP intern 2015, 2016 Facebook SWE intern 2017
Vivian Zhang — eBay 2014 Student
Selina Sotomayor — Google LA 2015 Teaching Assistant
Sarah Spikes — Microsoft 2015 Instructor, Google SWE 2010–2012, Facebook Intern 2009
Dianna Urzua — Intuit 2014 Student
Cassiel Moroney — Intel 2014 Student
Hayley Howell — Electronic Arts 2015 Student
Kendall Lewis — Facebook 2016 Instructor, Intuit 2015 Instructor, Adobe 2014 Instructor
Lucy Berman — IAC 2013 Student, GWC San Francisco Intern
Rayna Kanapuram — Google 2015 Cofounder CodeNation, Cofounder Girls Who Code Club
Neha Gupta — Electronic Arts 2015 Student, Amazon TA 2016
Tiffany Nguyen — Google LA 2015 Student
Emily Koagedal — SF Twitter 2015 2015 Student
Christine Pham — eBay 2013 Student
Zaire Johnson — Intel 2013 Student, SWE Intern Pinterest 2016
Helen Denisenko — Goldman Sachs 2013 Student, Goldman Sachs TA 2014
Mingyuan He — Intuit 2014 Student
Kristen Beck — Intel and Google 2013 Instructor
Annie Xie — Intel 2014 Student
Christy Yuen — Moody’s 2015 Student
Sabrina Bergsten — Viacom 2015 Teaching Assistant, Goldman Sachs 2014 Student
Adhayana Paul — EA 2015 Student
Angel Yang — Honest Company 2015 Teaching Assistant
Olivia Orrell-Jones — The Honest Company 2015 Student
Alana Palmerini — CUNY/AOL 2015 Instructor, Apple Employee
Grace Tan — Electronic Arts 2016 Student
Stacy Phan — Pixar 2015 Student, General Electric 2016 Teaching Assistant
Savvy Gupta — Amazon 2016 Student: “Please do the right thing, and work to respect the ideals that America was built on: equality, freedom, and opportunity for all. We all thank you.”
Audrey Thompson — Microsoft 2015 Student, IBM 2016 Teaching Assistant
Shweta Sankaranarayanan — Microsoft 2015 Student, BaseHacks Founder
Kelsey Maass — AT&T 2015 Instructor
Mei’lani Eyre — AT&T 2015 Student, Adobe 2016 Teaching Assistant
Sophy Peng — Amazong Lab126 2016 Student
Kari Bancroft — Facebook 2014 Instructor, Lead Instructor Ada Developers Academy
Sarah Stiles — AT&T
Christina Chou — AT&T 2015 Student
Zoe Ravitz-Dworkin — Pixar 2015 Student, 42usa Student
Ashley Flores — Amazon 2016 Student
Sara Daqiq — Microsoft 2016 Instructor, Square 2015 Instructor
Allison Wedman — Microsoft 2016 Student: “Coding is very important to girls that want to make a change. I personally go to an all girls high school and I see all the potential we have as a whole and no one can take that away from us.”
Rifa Safeer Shah — MasterCard 2014–15 Student, Microsoft 2016 Student
Emily Ahn — Intel 2014 Teaching Assistant
Erica Ramirez — Electronic Arts 2015 Student, Teaching myself how to code.
Alana Shine — Amazon 2014 Instructor
Kelela Mo’o — Electronic Arts 2015 Student
Stacy Gee — Facebook 2015 Instructor, Twitter 2014 Teaching Assistant
Cieara Pfeifer — Electronic Arts 2016 Student
Anona Gupta — Pixar 2015 Student
Hoda Eldifrawy — Microsoft 2016 Student
Emily Lo — Microsoft 2015 Student
Elyzha Abella — AT&T 2015 Student: “[The program you sponsored and that I participated in] is such an eclectic program that’s changing the face of technology for girls all over the world. For me and other young women of color, it encourages us to have passion in enhancing our computing skills and building connections.”
Rahul Syal — Verizon 2015 Teaching Assistant , Google EP intern 2016, Google SWE intern 2017
Maryam Khatoon — Microsoft 2016 Student
Rajul Bothra — Verizon 2015 Student
Courtney Wong — eBay 2015 Teaching Assistant, Google EP Intern 2016
Baolinh Nguyen — eBay 2015 Student
Amanda Harris — Pixar 2015 Student, Pixar Teaching Assistant 2016
Grace (Nanqiao) Yu — eBay 2015 Student, UCLA Daily Bruin WebDev Intern
Alina Osaula — AT&T 2015 Student, CS Major
Julia Chmyz — eBay 2015 Teaching Assistant
Laureen Torres — AT&T 2014 Student, Verizon 2015 Teaching Assistant
Emma Stanton — Verizon 2015 Student
Rihab Mahmood — Prudential 2015 Teaching Assistant
Raquel Levy — Prudential 2015 Student
Lindsay James — Prudential 2015 Student
Stephanie Ly — eBay 2015 Student
Eehita Parameswaran — Google 2015 Teaching Assistant, Google Anita Borg Scholarship 2015, Microsoft Intern 2016
Elizabeth Hau — Amazon 2014 Teaching Assistant
Rebecca Karol — AT&T 2014 Student
Mary DuBard — Lockheed Martin 2015 Teaching Assistant, Google EP Intern 2016, Facebook Intern 2017
Nishita Sinha — Verizon 2015 Student
Shannon Yan — Square 2015 Student, Founder of CS with Shannon
Jia Yin Huang — Electronic Arts 2016 Student
Sophie Huang — Microsoft 2016 Student
Mehak Vij — Prudential 2015 Student, NCWIT New Jersey Award Winner: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. I plan on taking every single shot possible :)”
Yaqueline Guadalupe Romero — The Honest Company 2015 Student
Madeline Grey — Verizon 2016 Teaching Assistant
Esmeralda Leon — eBay 2015 Student
Roxanne Wellington — Intel 2014 Student
Stephanie Tam — Intel 2014 Student
Pavitthra Pandurangan — Verizon 2015, Interned at startup Need Done, future intern at JP Morgan
ChanChan Mao — Electronic Arts 2016 Student
Alejandra Sanchez — Intel 2014 Student
Areeta Wong — Twitter 2016 Student, Organizing Hackathons: “Thank you.”
Jade Edwards — Square 2016 Teaching Assistant, Intel 2014 Student, Microsoft 2015 TA
Erin Woo — Twitter SF 2016 Student
Rutu Samai — eBay 2015 Student: “Thank you for your support thus far and we know your help can continue to change the world.”
Vickie Cheng — MSMU LA 2015 Teaching Assistant, Microsoft Intern 2016 and full-time Software Engineer 2017
Disha Srivastava — Twitter SF 2016 Student
Meagan Barillari — AT&T 2015 Student
Arshi Jujara- GE Software 2015 Student
Gina Condotti- eBay 2015 Student, GWC Club Leader
Ashley An — MSMU LA 2015 Student
Almas Zainib Ahmed — eBay 2015 Student
Kellie Banzon — MSMU LA 2015 Student, GWC Student Ambassador 2016
Haylee Jane Monteiro — Google 2016 Student
Ashleigh Forbes — Verizon 2015 Student
Angela Li — Square 2015 Student
Lindsay Chan — Twitter 2013 Student, Ford Motor Company Intern
Jesslyn Tannady — Student
Ashley Zhang — Electronic Arts 2016 Student
Samantha Steinbrecher- Twitter SF 2016 Student
Saani Borge — Twitter 2015 Student
Lindsay Neubauer — Goldman Sachs 2014 Instructor, Google Engineering Intern 2009 2010
Malia Smith — Electronic Arts 2016 Teaching Assistant, SF Twitter 2015 Student: “Coding has changed my life, giving me a direction and a purpose in life that I didn’t know was possible. I didn’t know that as a woman I could be have so much potential to change the world. Please don’t let President-Elect Trump take this potential away. My future, and the future of thousands of girls and women around the nation, is in your hands. Thank you.”
Jessica Chen — AT&T 2015 Student
Gabriela Joseph — GE Digital 2016 Student
Betsy Alegria — Moody’s 2015 Teaching Assistant
Amy Sorto — Goldman Sachs 2014 Student
Elva Osorio — AT&T 2015 Student, Posse Scholar : “Courage Snowden!”
Daniela Leguisamo — AT&T NYC 2014 Student, TYWLS Tech Explorers founder
Labanya Mukhopadhyay — Amazon Lab 126 2016 Student, Founder of nonprofit organization Hellobots
Annabel Lee — Amazon 2016 Student, Coding With Kids Instructor
