Embracing My Identity in Tech

UXR Julia Meriel shares her personal story about claiming her identity as a woman, person of color, and an LGBTQ person working in tech.

Hello, world! I’m Julia, a user experience researcher inspired by design, and doing good. I’m powered by coffee, an invigorating exercise, and meaningful conversations. I volunteer as a writer with Hexagon and my home chapter is in Toronto. Today, I’m sharing with you my journey as I began to embrace my identity in tech, as a queer, female, first-generation Filipino-Canadian.

Me on the right, chatting with a student at a lunch and learn for Canada Learning Code. Photo by Lorraine Chuen.

I was a fresh graduate entering the tech world as a UX intern. I had a UX certificate from a local strategy firm, and experience from a UX class, a research entrepreneurship, and my thesis on human-computer interaction. I was (and still am) so excited about UX, especially when I realized it married my interests and that it had applications across varying fields.

I was set to start right out of school, but I had a hard time being confident in what I knew about UX. Was it enough? Am I supposed to be here? I was uncomfortable, and had thought it was because I was new. That wasn’t the case—my discomfort was with my identity as a person of color, a woman, and a member of the LGBTQ community working in tech.