by Uchechi | Oct 24, 2014 | Blog
Thanks for showing up,for engaging and for bringing your voice to a conversation that matters. I’ve been hosting the #yeswecode diversity in tech twitter chat since July of this year, and this is the first time we’re talking about women in tech, specifically.
I’ve wanted to have a chat topic specifically about women, diversity and technology. It’s super important to me, and the past two weeks since the last chat have made it clear that now is the time to do it. Lately, I’ve received tweets from women in tech who have similar questions. They’re asking this: What does it mean to “make it” as a woman in tech? Do any women actually “make it?” Are women part of the tech diversity conversation?
My answer is yes, we definitely are – and need to be – because without us, there’s no voice for the millions of female users around the world who rely on us to influence the tech products they consume.
These questions make me feel like there’s a responsibility (and opportunity) to have the hard conversations, and to do so now.
We know the statistics. The numbers are ugly for everything from funding to sexual harassment. I know we know this. What I don’t know is this:
- What are you passionate about and why are you part of technology?
- How did you get into technology? How can we talk about women, tech and diversity in a way that does not feel alienating?
- How can we be resources for each other? What are you most concerned about when it comes to diversity, women, and technology?
- How can we all engage this very special global moment in technology, where we’re all asking ourselves: What does it mean to have diversity in technology?
- What do women do when faced with self-doubt in tech, and how can we overcome this?
- How can men in technology be part of the conversation, in a way that’s beneficial to everyone?
I want to be clear and say that this is not a conversation about excluding anyone. We are talking about women, but I do believe that everyone needs to be part of the conversation to actually enact powerful and lasting dialogue. There are those spaces just for that, and I totally respect the need for that community.
That’s what I want to talk to you about. I don’t have answers. But, I do know that I want to look back in 5, 10, 20 years and be really proud of myself and all of us now who are having the difficult conversations.
Before participating in the chat (and to find out more about it), please read the guidelines and ground-rules. We are always focused on solutions, and ways to move forward. Come to the chat with ideas, engagement and respect. Be brave, be visible, be you and be kind. Seriously.
I want to hear from you! Over the next few days, I’ll be using this space (the comments section below) to understand how I can best engage about this topic during Sunday’s chat. If you don’t want to message me here, feel free to follow me on Twitter and DM me @uchechi_writes.
Here’s what you need to know:
Who: Anyone interested in discussing diversity, women and technology
What: #yeswecode Twitter chat: Diversity, women & tech
When: Sunday 10/26/14 at 8pmCT
Where: connect with me on Twitter @uchechi_writes
Why?: It’s important! Diversity in tech mean more innovation and better teams.
See you there!
by Uchechi | Oct 24, 2014 | Blog
#YesWeCode Twitter chat guidelines
Thanks for showing up for the #yeswecode Twitter chat, which happens every 2 weeks at 8pm Central Time. I’m excited to talk to everyone and to have you share your experiences . I started this chat a few days before the #yeswecode hackathon in New Orleans because I was participating as a mentor (and local partner via my startup) and wanted to engage the global tech community online before the in person event. I also wanted to hear what others had to say about what diversity in tech meant to them and how we could use social media to engage in meaningful dialogue.
Focus on solutions: By now, we’ve all heard the statistics about the lack of diversity in the tech industry. The questions we’re now asking are: What can be done about it? What’s already being done? Why is it so important? Where do we start? I know that sometimes talking about it get tiring. I know that we all want solutions, stat! This chat aims to answer some of these questions, create engaging dialogue and focus on solutions.
What “diversity in tech” means & why it’s key to innovation: When I say diversity, this is what I mean all of us. Yes, all of us. My family is Nigerian, American, Jewish, Swedish and Mexican. It means each and every one of us. It also means diverse tech skills (it’s not just about coding) and age diversity. It also means gender and sexual orientation. I do believe that your worldview is shaped by all of these things and positively impacts how you approach problem solving. And, innovation is about problem solving.
Rules:
It’s not easy to talk about race, gender, inequality, age, sexuality, etc, and how we all feel about it. After all, being vulnerable can be very scary. It takes trust, faith and the desire to have the difficult conversations that often lead to change. In order to do that, we need some groundrules to facilitate the conversation. Thanks for showing up!
1. Disagree without name calling.
2. Point out where ideas might fail, but also share what you think might work.
3. Critique the idea & not the person
4. Be Brave. Be Visible. Be You. Be nice! Be inspired! Enjoy this time!
Thanks for coming here to have this much needed discussion!
What is a Twitter chat?:
- A live, real-time discussion taking place via twitter messages
- A chat using a specific hashtag (#yeswecode)
- Each participant can contribute to the conversation by adding comments using the hashtag #yeswecode
What to expect from #yeswecode chat:
- an exchange of ideas exploring the digital divide & creative ideas to move forward
- a network of people in the tech (mentors, VC’s, Tech organizations, startup founders, entrepreneurs) space who are interested in exploring topics related to diversity in tech
- a focus on solutions and creative ways to move forward
Format:
- I will ask a series of questions during the hour long chat.
- The question format will look something like this: Q1: Why is diversity in tech important to you?
- You can respond by clicking Reply or using A1(as in Answer 1) and type in the rest of your tweet, making sure you don’t forget the hashtag (#yeswecode)
- I’ll keep the questions going during the hour, and ask each one after a round of answers have received.
- I will retweet your posts as long as they fit the guidelines (see below)
- you can also feel free to click “reply” to any tweets by me or other participants you want to respond to
Introducing yourself & sharing your ideas:
- At the beginning, I’ll ask everyone to introduce themselves & their work
- You’ll have a chance to say something like this: Example intro tweet for you & your company: We build wearable tech @(companyname) & we’re also looking to mentor tech startups #yeswecode
- At the end of the chat, I’ll give everyone a chance to mention any upcoming events they have. For example, your tweet might look something like this: @yeswecodehack happens Jul 3-6 @Essence #yeswecode
- The chat will be ongoing, so if we don’t cover something you want to discuss today, let me know and I’ll see if we can fit it in during another chat.
by Uchechi | Oct 10, 2014 | Blog
Topic: Can social capital support diverse tech entrepreneurship?
Date: Sunday October 12,2014 8pmCT
Thank you for showing up, for trusting and for engaging in these conversations. The next diversity in tech #yeswecode twitter chat happens on Sunday September 28th at 8pm Central Time. Please connect with me on Twitter to stay updated. I am so inspired by all of you.
If you’re reading this, I hope you can join us for the next one. If you missed the first chats, you can read more about them here. Before participating, please read the guidelines so you know what to expect and how to best participate.
During the last chat, we talked about VC funding and how it can be a barrier to tech entreprenurship. But lately I’ve been wondering, does it have to be? What if they there were creative ways we could all support diverse tech startups, including bootstrapping companies. Does lack of VC funding have to mean the end? What if social capital could help bootstrap tech entrepreneurs until we all got the venture capital resources we all need to go big.
Think about it! Remember the last time you smiled to yourself after your blog post got retweeted, favorited, liked or shared? It felt pretty awesome now didn’t it?
Finding backing for your project, idea or blog post is essential because it validates what you are already doing and gives you the momentum to keep going.
The truth is, we’re not all VCs and we might not all find VC funding to help us get to market. But, we all have social capital–the ability to invest in ideas with our social media networks and connections. So, what if we could use it and leverage it to support diversity in technology?
For the next chat, here are some questions to think of:
- How can social capital help bootstrapping startups get to market before receiving VC capital?
- Are there specific ways to leverage social capital towards generating more users and sales?
- How can we leverage social capital in positive ways, without it becoming more of a popularity contest?
Bring your thoughts and your great ideas. This conversation needs you!
by Uchechi | Sep 25, 2014 | Blog
Creating a diverse VC pool to support diverse tech entrepreneurship
Sunday September 28th at 8pm
Guests: Rob Lalka, J. Anthony Miguez & Hank Torbert
Thank you for showing up, for trusting and for engaging in these conversations. The next diversity in tech #yeswecode twitter chat happens on Sunday September 28th at 8pm Central Time. Please connect with me on Twitter to stay updated. I am so inspired by all of you.
If you’re reading this, I hope you can join us for the next one. If you missed the first chats, you can read more about them here. Before participating, please read the guidelines so you know what to expect and how to best participate.
Creating a diverse VC pool to support diverse tech entrepreneurship
These days, it’s hard to talk about the startup tech space without also talking about diversity and efforts to help bridge the digital divide.
From initiatives like Google’s Made With Code to Van Jones’ Yes We Code, more and more organizations are using tech education to bring more diversity to technology.
But, what about those of us in the tech space whose needs are more related to startup funding than tech education? As a tech startup co-founder, I definitely have a personal stake in the subject.
In 2013, 2% of VC funding went to women-led startups, while the majority of the funding went to white male led companies.
Here’s the thing: To me, diversity in technology has never been about a numbers game. It’s been more connected to opportunity and access for all tech entrepreneurs, especially if you don’t fit the stereotype of the 20 year old Stanford CS major.
- It’s about older tech entrepreneurs who are interested in starting companies, but wondering if there’s space for them.
- It’s about anyone who never went to college, who wonders how much a degree matters.
- It’s about non coders who want to bring their UX Design or Information Architecture skills to the table, but aren’t sure if there’s space for them in the startup world, especially as non coders.
- It’s about saying that all of us, yes all of us, need to be creators & users of technology products if we are to be at the forefront of tech innovation.
In order for us to get there, I believe we need access to tech skills AND startup capital – including a diverse pool of Angels and VCs – to support an equally diverse pool of entrepreneurs.
During this chat, we’ll discuss unique ways we can find financial support for tech entrepreneurship. We’ll be joined by VCs and startup mentors, so you don’t want to miss this one.
Bring your thoughts and your great ideas. This conversation needs you!
