women in tech

Elephant in the Valley

We all know the geek stereotype. Guys in their 20s. Super smart. White. We can point to a hundred movie roles that play with this trope. It’s ingrained in our cultural consciousness. Perhaps the reason we’ve accepted the stereotype so readily is the very real foothold it has found in reality. Our vision of the […]

Inspiration and Diversity at SXSW

In the months before SXSW, I prepared. I prepared to be overwhelmed with my choices. With hundreds of panels to choose from and more than 30,000 attendees alongside me making the same choices, I prepared to be jostled, shut-out and waylaid. I knew I might have to change my plans at a moment’s notice. I prepared […]

How Can We End Gamergate?

Can fandoms fix the gender gap in technology and computing fields? This was the question Jessica McDonald, CMO of SparkFun Electronics, asked at her Sunday SXSW Interactive panel of the same name. Fandoms are communities, often largely online, which come together in mutual admiration of various comics, anime and/or video games.  They may share fan-fiction, […]