#IlLookLikeanEngineer, is the social media response to the sexist reactions to a female on a billboard for her technology startup in San Francisco. As an African-American female engineer, I am not surprised when most of my co-workers are white males. I have often been the only female in a meeting and I have been mistaken for the secretary. What did surprise me was the reaction when I posted a picture for #ILookLikeanEngineer. I received hundreds of likes, many comments of support, congratulations, and many didn’t know what I did. From this post came potential collaborations, consulting opportunities, and chances to help people in my sphere of influence that now knew what I do.
Press around an issue or movement is wonderful because it is often a catalyst for change. A lot of great movements throughout history leveraged press to get things moving. Women are often hesitant to promote themselves. So, let’s keep the momentum and awareness of #ILookLikeanEngineer going by highlighting the accomplishments of phenomenal innovative women in technology.
Being in this field, I am in the position to know many outstanding technical minds within my personal network. My goal is to provide AWARENESS to the great work they are doing and to INSPIRE other women to see that they can do ANYTHING. So, enough from me let hear from these amazing engineers.
Press around an issue or movement is wonderful because it is often a catalyst for change. A lot of great movements throughout history leveraged press to get things moving. Women are often hesitant to promote themselves. So, let’s keep the momentum and awareness of #ILookLikeanEngineer going by highlighting the accomplishments of phenomenal innovative women in technology.
Being in this field, I am in the position to know many outstanding technical minds within my personal network. My goal is to provide AWARENESS to the great work they are doing and to INSPIRE other women to see that they can do ANYTHING. So, enough from me let hear from these amazing engineers.
Name: Olubunmi 'Boomie' Odumade
Title: Co-founder of Nexercise a digital fitness app
Education: Bachelors Mechanical Engineering University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Master Computer Science
University of Wisconsin Madison, Wharton MBA
Accomplishment you are proud of: Receiving $25,000 for winning Power Moves Pitch Competition during Essence Music Festival and being featured in Essence magazine
What advice would you give to other women aspiring to excel in technical fields? Network! It’s easy to feel alone as women in technology. However, there are lots of resources (Women2.0, FemTech, GirlsWhoCode, etc) and places where we can feel that there are others like us and talk about our struggles. Tech is still male dominated and there's still work to be done but it’s nice to see that we are definitely making progress.
Share something unique thing about you: I’m a salsa addict. I am doing a performance tonight
Last concert you attended: Charlie Wilson with Kem
Title: Co-founder of Nexercise a digital fitness app
Education: Bachelors Mechanical Engineering University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Master Computer Science
University of Wisconsin Madison, Wharton MBA
Accomplishment you are proud of: Receiving $25,000 for winning Power Moves Pitch Competition during Essence Music Festival and being featured in Essence magazine
What advice would you give to other women aspiring to excel in technical fields? Network! It’s easy to feel alone as women in technology. However, there are lots of resources (Women2.0, FemTech, GirlsWhoCode, etc) and places where we can feel that there are others like us and talk about our struggles. Tech is still male dominated and there's still work to be done but it’s nice to see that we are definitely making progress.
Share something unique thing about you: I’m a salsa addict. I am doing a performance tonight
Last concert you attended: Charlie Wilson with Kem
Name: Carol Politi
Title: CEO TRX Systems which delivers 3D location indoors
Education: Bachelors Electrical Engineering University of Maryland College Park, Masters Electrical Engineering Johns Hopkins University, MBA University of Maryland College Park
Accomplishment you are proud of: Cracking the challenge of delivering indoor location without infrastructure. This is a difficult problem since there is no access to GPS. We developed algorithms to deliver indoor location and have been issued 8 patents to date and a number more are in process.
What advice would you give to other women aspiring to excel in technical fields? An engineering degree is a great degree to have regardless of what you want to do. It is a great resource to learn how to solve problems and it opens up a world of possibilities for a wonderful career
Share something unique about you: Balancing a family with two kids and a startup
Last concert you attended: Darius Rucker
How to connect: Twitter Linkedin Facebook
Title: CEO TRX Systems which delivers 3D location indoors
Education: Bachelors Electrical Engineering University of Maryland College Park, Masters Electrical Engineering Johns Hopkins University, MBA University of Maryland College Park
Accomplishment you are proud of: Cracking the challenge of delivering indoor location without infrastructure. This is a difficult problem since there is no access to GPS. We developed algorithms to deliver indoor location and have been issued 8 patents to date and a number more are in process.
What advice would you give to other women aspiring to excel in technical fields? An engineering degree is a great degree to have regardless of what you want to do. It is a great resource to learn how to solve problems and it opens up a world of possibilities for a wonderful career
Share something unique about you: Balancing a family with two kids and a startup
Last concert you attended: Darius Rucker
How to connect: Twitter Linkedin Facebook
Name: Arnita Hayden
Title: Senior Product Manager, Sprout Social a social media management tool for businesses
Education: Bachelors Computer Engineering Howard University, Masters in Systems Engineering MIT, MBA MIT
Accomplishment you are proud of: Being a mentor in the Technovation Challenge. Coaching four high school girls on creating mobile phone app prototypes, writing business plans, and pitching their business plans to a panel of venture capitalists; exposing them to the future and potential in high-tech careers.
What advice would you give to other women aspiring to excel in technical fields? I think it’s good that people are bringing up the issue of under representation of women in technology fields. Don't be afraid or intimidated by what you hear in the media. It is still very much possible to excel.
Share something unique thing about you: I am very social. I am not the typical engineer stereotype. I like to go out and be in book clubs and am generally extroverted
Last concert you attended: Made in America Music Festival in Philly featuring Miguel, Beyonce, and
Macklemore
How to Connect: Linkedin
Title: Senior Product Manager, Sprout Social a social media management tool for businesses
Education: Bachelors Computer Engineering Howard University, Masters in Systems Engineering MIT, MBA MIT
Accomplishment you are proud of: Being a mentor in the Technovation Challenge. Coaching four high school girls on creating mobile phone app prototypes, writing business plans, and pitching their business plans to a panel of venture capitalists; exposing them to the future and potential in high-tech careers.
What advice would you give to other women aspiring to excel in technical fields? I think it’s good that people are bringing up the issue of under representation of women in technology fields. Don't be afraid or intimidated by what you hear in the media. It is still very much possible to excel.
Share something unique thing about you: I am very social. I am not the typical engineer stereotype. I like to go out and be in book clubs and am generally extroverted
Last concert you attended: Made in America Music Festival in Philly featuring Miguel, Beyonce, and
Macklemore
How to Connect: Linkedin
Further Reading & Resources: www.sb.com, ww.women2.com www.hackbrightacademy.com www.girlswhocode.com www.thefemtechproject.org, www.womenwhotech.com/resources www.PowerMovesnola.org
http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/03/ilooklikeanengineer-aims-to-spread-awareness-about-gender-diversity-in-tech/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/08/03/isis-wenger-tech-sexism-stereotypes-ilooklikeanenginer/31088413/
This is not an exhaustive list but a few resources for women in technology. If you are aware of a resource please share in the comments section.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/03/ilooklikeanengineer-aims-to-spread-awareness-about-gender-diversity-in-tech/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/08/03/isis-wenger-tech-sexism-stereotypes-ilooklikeanenginer/31088413/
This is not an exhaustive list but a few resources for women in technology. If you are aware of a resource please share in the comments section.
RSS Feed