I will fight bias and discrimination against women in tech by...
i) Ensuring that I recommend that women Tech build network for tips, job help,support and also finding mentors and champion in the tech ecosystem. Mentors are people outside the organization who help you professionally and internal champions make sure you get visibility in the technology space.
ii) Making sure that the women have confidence and willingness to speak up, exercise their freedom and not be intimidated in the challenges that erupts in the technological world.
Iii) Be ready for barbs that is aggressive remark which will tend to demoralize and incapacitate the women folk in tech but one will not give room for that. The only weapon to defend against irrational hostility remark on gender is a good sense of humor. Deflect gender jabs with a laugh or a smile and do not let them deter your ambition and make you feel small because it is assumed that tech is only for the male folk.
I will champion women in tech by...
i) Systematically sustaining the effort from schools, universities and workplace through funding any project in tech in order to encourage women in technology even from primary school using the “Catch them young” slogan, to inculcate the zeal and willingness to venture into technology and to discard the notion that tech is only meant for the male folk.
(ii) Encouraging the female students in universities and Secondary school by creating tech clubs, organizing competition between universities,with a mind blowing prizes to be won, with this,female, ladies and girls will grab the opportunity especially now technology has taken over the world. Doing so makes the women self confident without being bias by anyone, making the women feel naturally part of the technology industry instead of feeling like a stranger or minority in the ecosystem such that women are valued in their work place.
(iii) Diverse policies which regulates the tech office should identify by each rung of the ladder and eliminate them. Women often do not have network that reach far enough up in the hierarchy, so it is harder for them to get a sponsors to help them develop their career. Equal paternity and maternity leave would also help as family life would not be seen as something women have and men do not have.
I will commit to educating myself about...
Just as the saying goes, anyone who stops learning is old whether at age 20 or 80, and anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young and this can be achieved through:
(i) Reading articles and making research on daily basis, learning new thing in the technological ecosystem each day.
(ii) Enroll in seminars, workshop and joining the communities for recent updates in technological field.
(iii) Watch documentaries, listen to news about current update on IT world, find some bloggers that inspires you and fill your mind with ideas and thought and follow suit.
My advice for fellow allies to support women who code is ...
(i) Women should build profile, share their accomplishment and network with other tech leaders.
(ii) Recognize gender bias, tackling bias unconscious or not is a great start, women need to be supported because we need to understand that it is not women issues alone, its everyone issue.
(iii) Encouraging them to speak up when the need arises, take control of their career and be positive about it.
Finally, i will advice women who are yet to start making impart with their lives to start now. Now is the time to break free against all bias.
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