#DressUpYourTech: Women of Color Belong in the Tech Industry

BTSU 208

Despite rapid advancements in the tech industry, diversity and inclusion continues to lag. The purpose of this workshop is to empower, encourage and expose women of color to career opportunities within the information technology industry; specifically, as a UX/UI designer (user experience/user interface). While African Americans remain underrepresented in technology occupations, women of color have even fewer seats at the table. According to Lisa Winning, tech and media entrepreneur, men hold 76% of technical jobs and 95% of the tech industry is white (Winning, 2018). White male dominance in the tech industry has deterred many women, especially women of color, from pursuing lucrative positions within this growing field. For example, women of color have reported glass ceilings, intimidation and other oppressive behaviors within the tech industry. The lack of exposure to career opportunities keeps women of color in the tech minority. During the "Create Your Own App Workshop", attendees will learn the foundations of curating their own app from a rising senior woman of color, at BGSU. Participants will also experience and troubleshoot the decisions and techniques needed to create a unique user experience. The workshop is designed to demonstrate a beginner’s process in how to curate their own app through processes that a user experience designer takes when designing. Overall, it is important that the tech industry makes diversity more of a prominent piece in work environments. It is vital that the tech industry makes a commitment to diversify the workforce because women of color bring such a unique and powerful perspective that other industry candidates may not have. Tech companies need to embrace diversity of voice and talent in order to continuously impact the millions of worldwide users who interact with their products every single day. * Workshop is open to all