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COURSE OBJECTIVES
In fall quarter 2016, I took the course INFO 102: Gender and Technology at the University of Washington. At first glance, I decided to attend this class just to satisfy the University of Washington's Diversity requirements without expecting that I will be so intrigued by the topic. Throughout this class, I learned to recognize, reduce and redistribute the real world problem: lack of diversity and women in today’s tech world.
My four primary objectives for the class:
1. Explores the social hierarchy of gender in information technology field
2. Acknowledges the importance of diversity in team’s productivity and innovation
3. Challenges predominating perspectives about gender stereotypes in the information technology field
4. Have a greater understanding of pathway to pursue in technology-based career
Surprisingly, the class went beyond my expectations by giving me opportunities that I would never encounter; moreover, providing me with significant life lessons of how to be successful as a woman in technology. The well-organized flow of the class helps to present comprehensive and diversified viewpoints of multiple industries which interconnected to information technology: travel industry, health care, gaming, cybersecurity, and business. After finishing all the lectures, lab sections, readings, guest speakers' keynotes, my website captures all the major takeaways and inspirational moments of the class. Hope this website will help to reignite your passion towards technology in spite of your gender, ethnicity, culture, and even thoughts. Strength lies in differences, not similarity.
Enjoy,
Yin Yin
In the real world information technology sector, diversity of roles improves specification of job and further stimulates the productivity of the production.
Diversity also helps improves the effectiveness of the solution. When a group has different mindset, people will think in a variety of ways; while, a group of the same mindset will think in an identical way will tend to get stuck in the same place. In the article "Diversity Makes You Brighter," a study showed that any group of the same race, were not as successful as one that had a mixture of ethnicity. Like-minded people are more likely to follow their partner solution rather than brainstorm and challenge the mainstream. This type of "trust" can be hazardous because of the only one kind of thinking might not be the best answer to the problem.
The Randy Rule from the NFL being forced to interview at least one minority candidate. The Randy Rule helps the company try to get rid of their preconceptions and exposes their minds to see that some of the minority candidates are notably qualified. Some fun facts showed that companies with more woman as executives had been proven to have a higher profitability.
In one of the lectures, Ms. Laura teaches us about "Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance," (a quote by Vernã Myers). It means understanding that each is unique, and identifying our individual differences. The difference in our race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or even a pure opinion. I remember, one of our distinguished guest speakers, Mel DePaoli, a personal branding consultant, once highlighted the "diversity in the thought process,” and mentioned that diversity is an integral factor to a successful venture.
In a diversified workplace environment, it is true that people are more exhausting to engage with others than a homogeneous group. It is easier to work with the same group of individuals with similar thinking and background as we are staying in the comfort zone, a situation where we feel safe and without stress. However, if we dare to step out of this "safe circle" and embrace diversity, we will be one step closer to success. With a heterogeneous environment, it is easier to solve the real-life problem, because we can have a wider perspective of view and combine to find the best solution.
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EMBRACE DIVEERSITY
what is diversity ?
diversity promotes innovation and productivity
diversity in roles of IT industry
Diversity is crucial for a successful workplace, often time it is hardly taken seriously, and workplaces struggle to maintain an all-inclusive environment. Indubitably, it is essential for the leader to respect and acknowledge the importance of every member of the team to have a different opinion. To make sure everyone feels comfortable contributing and that their opinion is valued. The more ideas, the better because the combination of multiple perspective and ideas will ultimately lead to a successful outcome.
I remember a major takeaways from my interview with the Facebook software engineer, Laurie Zhang, is that diverse personalities mean successful teams. Laurie keep emphasizing on creating a diverse team and boosting project diversity to achieve success in real-life software development. The success of a collaborative team in creating today’s increasingly complex technological devices depends not only on the combined skill sets of the team members but also on their personalities and ways of approaching and solving problems. Inevitably, we must first cultivate an openness to opposing opinions and recognize the value of exploring a problem from various angles. It is powerful when people come together over a common objective.
Indubitably, diversity is integral for innovation and productivity as diversity encourages critical thinking, improves the way people think and is an art of thinking independently together. The production of the movie "Kramer vs. Kramer", which shared by Ms. Laura to the class in one of her lectures, revealed that diversity leads innovation. We should not put everyone in the same shoes, as we would not truly and comprehensively understand what others feel. For example, in one of the scenes, the director of the movie asked for advice from the female leads on the script. Just a simple "mummy" added to that particular scene, which suggested by Meryl Steep (the female leads), successfully brought the audience to experience the feelings of a mother. Diversity enhances innovation and produces an incredibly touching movie. Eventually, the audience was impressed by the movie from the bottom of the heart, as the film is the perfect creation which encapsulated the different perspective of view of woman and man.
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THEMES &
MAJOR TAKEAWAYS
My exploration through this course, to discover the journey of being women to be engaged, connect and stay in the tech field, has centered three major themes and takeaways: embrace diversity; through the journey of being a women in tech we will discover the empowerment through recognizing and it's complicated as there's no simple solution to a complex problem.
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PERSONAL CAREER PLAN
I am still indecisive between to pursue my study in Informatics or Computer Science. Through this class, INFO 102 astonished me about the power of data science which holds a lot of influences unconsciously if we know how to use them correctly. I am interested in analyzing data and transforming them into information through "digital storytelling." I believe data science is a powerful tool for social change, ideally I would love to implement my technical skills to help make the social impact, specifically in the business and finance industry.
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I aspire to become a business system analyst in future. I am a sponsored student of a Malaysian Bank to pursue my undergraduate studies at the University of Washington. Therefore, I am bonded to the company to work in the banking industry for the following five years after I graduate. Undoubtedly, INFO 102 also exposed me to the real world business case pitching environment through the group project.
During the four years of my undergraduate study, I plan to take more informatics program and courses to discover more about Information Technology area of study, which incorporates both business and technology. I will also continue participating in STEM clubs such as Society of Women Engineer to network with more professionals in the tech field, build connection and continue to learn about future possibilities in tech. Also, I plan to study abroad and participate in undergraduate research to explore more about tech field. I believe the more I discover through this journey, the more I will feel in love with STEM.
Indubitably, I will never forget what I gained in this class. This class impacted my life in pursuing my dreams - recognizing the importance of diversity and personal empowerment.
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EMPOWERMENT THROUGH RECOGNIZING
In the first day of lecture, Ms. Laura told everyone in the class that “You are lucky!” This very first lecture really surprised me and got me excited about changing perspective, finding inspiration and paving the path to my goals. In Dictionary.com, empowerment means to give official authority or legal power or to promote the self-actualization or influence. Just like the songs in the playlist before every lecture starts, includes Stand in the light, brave, all about the bass, I don’t want to be, unwritten, pippin – corner of the sky, try everything, etc. will help to empower you to stay motivated. However, we have to understand the truth before engaging empowerment. And, this will help us to explore the challenges of why so few women pursue and stay in the technical field later in “Journey of being a women in tech” section.
In one way or another, we might stand out in a crowd no matter from the perspective of race, gender, age or even thoughts. By evaluating between the advantages and disadvantages, it is evident that taking advantage of the pros will profoundly impact to our success because we have an optimistic outlook. Every person will be facing choices of whether to see it from a positive or negative viewpoint but no one can make a decision for you. “Don’t settle when you have freedom” quoted Trish Millines Dziko (Executive Director, TAF). Try everything while you can. Moving to a new place and being a minority may come with obstacles, but there's nothing to stop you from overcoming yourself.
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IT'S COMPLICATED
Through the video of Seattle Colleges Convocation 2014, "No simple answer to complex problem" quoted by Michael Eisenberg, Dean Emeritus, and Professor, of The Information School, University of Washington inspired me. He said that every student is unique in their very own way. "Everyone is different," makes education is more complicated compared to rocket science. By referring the information spectrum mentioned by the professor's keynote, we have to interpret data to information, turn them into knowledge and incorporate knowledge with experience to create wisdom from data. Indeed, the information alchemy is a complicated process as well as discovering the how to make women pursue and stay in the technical field which will be discussed later in “Journey of being a women in tech” section.
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OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT
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“We are the collector of experience," quoted by Laura. Taking this class also strengthened my confidence in my presentation skills, as we were required to speak up in front of a class of 200 students several times. For our group project, I was able to practice pitching an idea to the audience and train my communication skills. Talking about the different areas of industry which related to information technology also helped me when thinking about the direction of career path that I want to take in future to prepare myself to pursue my dreams.
INFO 102 has helped me on this journey towards my professional career by teaching me the value of diversity and empowering me to achieve my goal. Overall I enjoyed this class thoroughly. This course provided fresh perspectives & important life lessons for me of how to be successful women in life.
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MISCELLANEOUS
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Escalation: Sexual Harassment
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Personal branding: Create cultural shift
While having technical skills and the ability to code has become highly valued skills in today's fast growing technology world, often overlooked are the core competencies of communication and being able to connect with people that make us distinct from robots. We create the mirror of ourselves. More we aware of something, we can do better. The more we involved, the more knowledgeable we will be.
It's complicated at the same time because people may offend you unintentionally. The unintentional way of touching, such as a friendly way of hugging, possibly due to their culture and ethnicity. No matter what happens, whenever if safety at risk rings the bell, despite the fact that female or male. Indubitably, we have to remember the three important step: Escalate - Request for a stop when you feel intimidated- Watch out!
Being silent and ignorance of some facts that already exist in reality is dangerous and problematic because it's not going to go away like that. We must take action.
In one of the lecture, Laura told us about the trending of #Tweet me your first assault. “What generally don’t freak you out turns out freak you out.” The most important antigen for women to stay in the IT industry is the machismo that continues to permeate these work environments. We found that 63% of women in science, engineering and technology have experienced sexual harassment. They talk about demeaning and condescending attitudes, lots of off-color jokes, sexual innuendo, arrogance; colleagues, particularly in the tech culture, who genuinely think women don't have what it takes -- who see them as genetically inferior. It's hard to take as a steady stream. It's predatory and demeaning.
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On the other hand, as a leader of the group, I learn to make a difference by arranging the deadline for every group project earlier by a week in future. This act will help teammates to be more productive and discipline to produce more refining outcomes. Besides, learning by reviewing the presentation by other students will contribute to improving my presentation skills in future. Treat every opportunity to watch other students' performance as a chance to learn.
Prior to this class, I thought that I was a lone ranger in pursuing this technology field. To be a woman in technology is always an uphill battle and a pathway less traveled by most people. I will never feel alone anymore in this journey after I attended this class. Through lectures and required readings, INFO 102 helps to promote the sense of belonging and believing in my potential for intellectual growth in IT.
This class satisfied all of my objectives and excelled my expectations. When we think of the technology industry, all we talk about is Steve Jobs & Bill Gates, but I will never forget the story of the Queen Of Code: Grace Hopper (Five Thirty-Three: Signals). As a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, Hopper worked on the first computer, the Harvard Mark 1. And she headed the team that created the first compiler, which led to the creation of COBOL, a programming language that by the year 2000 accounted. Passing away in 1992, she left behind an inimitable legacy as a brilliant programmer and pioneering woman in male-dominated fields.
Besides, I'm proud to have the precious opportunities to meet our guest speakers and INFO 102's lecturer - Laura B. Schildkraut. Meeting these incredible people delivered me confidence that I can also be successful in the tech industry. Listening to the stories shared during lectures made me realize the importance of diversity and what need to change to have a more inclusive environment. Indubitably, all the readings reaffirmed my interest towards technology and motivated me to pursue the leadership role in future. Although I cannot deny the reality that there is gender bias in this industry, I firmly believe the success is not gender-driven; instead, it is the passion that drives success.
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