African-Americans and other minority groups who have a disproportionate number of people classified as poor, already have a tough time getting their children into higher education. Now a days those who are even middle class may have a tough time getting paying for college tuition. The continued inflation of the cost of education is becoming [...]
Read ArticleOk (sigh). So I was amongst the crowd of people clamoring for an invite to Google+ after its initial launch. I felt like I was missing something and I didn’t want to be left out. I am sure this is the user reaction and initial user feeling that Google wanted to generate for the initial [...]
Read ArticleAs the United States is experiencing boom in innovation that spurred some of the biggest tech companies who have become global house hold names, President Barack Obama has called on the citizens of this country and those in education to strategically make STEM learning a high priority. President Obama has layed out a strategy for [...]
Read ArticleSo everyday I read the tech section of Huffington Post and an article caught my eye about the lack of Black Angel Investors. The author and Co-founder of Black Innovation and Competitiveness Initiative(blackinnovation.org), Mike Green breaks down the state of Black Entrepreneurship in America but not before pointing out how other media outlets like theroot.com, [...]
Read Article“Late Wednesday, Republican members of a key House Commerce subcommittee decided to give phone and cable companies absolute, unrestricted power over the Internet.” (Source)
Like, WTF?
Read ArticleWhat a FABULOUS time I had at theRoot.com’s Young, Female, and Fabulous Event here in Atlanta, GA. First of all, I was very excited to attend. This nerd hasn’t got out much lately, so I was eager to arrive. I attended with my sorority sister Kendall Ridley, a Fab female and owner of Element K [...]
Read ArticleLast week I made my first attempt to get rails installed and up and running on my Mac via the instructions on Rails website. DID NOT WORK. I had sooo much trouble until a friend of mine pointed me in a new direction. So I thought I would share the steps that I took to [...]
Read ArticleThe number of black women in science and technology is larger than one might think, but still too small. The women featured in this gallery use their science, math and engineering degrees in sectors ranging from academia to finance to satellite research.
See the gallery at TheRoot
If you Google “women in tech,” it’s likely that the same 5-10 women will pop up in your search results. These hyper-visible women (Sheryl Sandberg, Marissa Mayer, Susan Wojcicki, to name a few) have become the poster girls of women leaders in Silicon Valley. They’re great at what they do, and they certainly act as role models for women interested in breaking into tech. While creating a group of superstars serves its purpose, I fear that seeing the same faces repeatedly gives the impression that they’re the only women succeeding in Silicon Valley, when in reality, exceptional women leaders are not as hard to find as one might think!
Read the rest of this article at HufingtonPost
The theme of empowerment permeated the “Job Creation and Education: Programmatic Efforts to Increase Broadband Adoption in African American Communities” panel held at the 2012 National Urban League Annual Conference.
“I say without hesitation today, that broadband is the great equalizer,” said Federal Communication Commission (“FCC”) Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who keynoted the panel.
Clyburn, along with Minority Media and Telecommunications Council President David Honig, Comcast Corporation’s Community Investment Vice President and Foundation President Charisse Lillie, National Urban League Research and Policy Director Madura Wijewardena, and AT&T Legislative Affairs Chief Cleo Washington, spoke of the myriad ways that broadband is transforming society and providing educational and economic empowerment for Black Americans.
The panelists also discussed how lack of access can hold communities back.
“It is imperative that we get everyone connected,” Clyburn said. “Digital exclusion will further prevent our brothers and sisters, especially those in challenged communities, from truly participating in the very basic facets of today’s society.”
The panelists underscored that Internet was essential to living a meaningful life in the 21st century. Honig illustrated four main advantages of adopting broadband – having greater access to healthcare (through tele-health technologies), education, job opportunities, and civic engagement.
Read the rest of this article on Politics 365
As a society, we learn about the world and advance our well-being through science and engineering. The United States may be known around the world for its higher education, but compared to many other leading and steadily emerging countries we lack a strong focus on educating scientists and engineers. One significant reason that we have fallen behind is that we do not encourage our female students to pursue career paths in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM). This needs to change, as the lack of women in STEM will continue to plague our country until all students, regardless of sex, have adequate opportunities to explore math and science throughout elementary, middle and high school. If we want to attract the best and brightest minds into the fields that will move us forward, we can no longer look to only half of the population. More women can contribute to our field and we can help make that happen.
Read the full article on huffingtonpost.com
African-Americans and other minority groups who have a disproportionate number of people classified as poor, already have a tough time getting their children into higher education. Now a days those who are even middle class may have a tough time getting paying for college tuition. The continued inflation of the cost of education is becoming unsurmountable and, In my opinion, will again be a tool that causes an even wider divide between the haves and the have nots.
Let’s now consider the rising trend of colleges and Universities charging more for Majors such as Computer Science, Engineering, Business, etc. The practice is very unsettling to me and leads my mind to question whether or not this will add an extra layer of discouragement to families of color that may not be able to afford the extra cost of the price tag?
There are already numerous discussions happening among those in the tech industry that recognize part of the problem surrounding diversity in technology, is filling the pipeline of minorities attaining these degrees and having successful STEM careers. How are these rising tuition costs by major and/or degree going to further impact that pipeline?
My thoughts on it wander to the possible scenario of a a student who has her heart set on being an Engineer, but her parents cant afford to pay that extra $3,000 per semester for her major, thus she settles for being a degree in Africana Studies. No offense to those who major in liberal arts, but I have seen students who settled for and switched into liberal arts majors in lieu of STEM or Business degrees, who now cant find a job over $11.00/hour, if they even have a job at all.
This bothers me. I feel like the message that it sends will signal to students that only people who can afford to attain a potentially high income earning degree, deserve to have that opportunity, even if you have already beaten the statistics that say you are not likely to get an education beyond high school, and actually made it to college! Is it me or is this country systematically continuing to impart policies that make it tougher and tougher to achieve upward mobility between the classes?
In my opinion, this is another victory for the elite and a detriment to working and middle class families.
What do you think?
Check out the video below from a school administrator speaking on her institutions tuition hike by major.
It’s my goal to provide a fresh perspective on trends, politics, and innovation in technology from a socio-economic lens while hopefully providing empowerment and awareness for more Women of Color in tech or those working towards a career in tech.
