Great article! If you're from a group that's already well represented in tech are wondering what you can do to help: You don't have to be a minority to connect students to role models who look like them! There are a bunch of great tech conference talks available for free online, which put faces and voices to potential role models. You can find the relevant ones of those talks and share them with kids who'd be interested in their subjects, to make them aware of the work done by those who might inspire them.
Kids can have a favorite actor, or a favorite author, or a favorite athlete, without ever needing to meet the person. Anyone who influences what kids see and read can help push things toward a world where they look up to their favorite programmers, as well.
Senior software developer at Amazon Web Services. I work on the AWS Serverless Application Repository and AWS SAM. I’m passionate about writing quality software and teaching others how to do the same.
Location
Seattle, WA
Education
BS Computer Engineering, Minors: CS and Math
Work
Sr. Software Development Engineer at Amazon Web Services
Great article! If you're from a group that's already well represented in tech are wondering what you can do to help: You don't have to be a minority to connect students to role models who look like them! There are a bunch of great tech conference talks available for free online, which put faces and voices to potential role models. You can find the relevant ones of those talks and share them with kids who'd be interested in their subjects, to make them aware of the work done by those who might inspire them.
Kids can have a favorite actor, or a favorite author, or a favorite athlete, without ever needing to meet the person. Anyone who influences what kids see and read can help push things toward a world where they look up to their favorite programmers, as well.
This is a really useful tip! I'm going to try this with women I mentor. Thanks!