Why I Care About Diversity in Tech

1. The quality, relevance, and impact of the products and services output by the technology sector can only be improved by having the people who are building them be demographically representative of the people who are using them. I care about this both as a consumer and a producer of technology.

2. Lucrative jobs and careers in technology are a great economic opportunity, and particularly for a growing lower class in our increasingly inequitable society they can be a transformative one; it simply seems unfair and shameful that this opportunity is not available to a large portion of the population because of systemic social biases and lack of awareness and access.

3. I have very personally felt the overwhelming loneliness, self-doubt, and frustration that often comes with the minority status of a woman in engineering. As much as I can help others get through or avoid those difficult stretches that I myself had to weather, I’d like to. As a bonus, the more women (and minorities) that enter and don’t leave the field, the better it all gets for everyone, including me!