Tech is known for its sexist biases. Athena Jiang-Qin tells us her experience as a young girl in tech.
I often find myself lost trying to navigate the world because what I hear is different from what I experience. On the one hand, it appears that change is occurring: look at well-established organizations like Girls in Tech and even college admission processes that want to honor even gender ratios in their schools. Some even say this issue is a relic of the past: progress and change have already occurred.
However, I see young girls like me pushed to the side and ignored due to their gender.
Recently, I attended a hackathon here in the Bay Area, the heart of Silicon Valley, which is known for being progressive, and yet, when it came to judging, all-girl groups like mine were ignored. The judges, mainly men, were told to walk around the tables and listen to many groups’ presentations. My group had no judge to visit us, despite us waving, holding signs, and standing on chairs to get their attention. It was crushing, after putting in so much effort just to be overlooked. I had been so excited to go to this hackathon: it was my first in-person one. As I watched a male judge wander around, he made eye contact with us and the other three all-girl groups around us, but left to judge a group of boys who had just finished presenting. When we did find a judge, his first question was if we had any real coding experience, immediately questioning the validity of our presence at the hackathon. The final winners were all boys.
When people tell me women are just less gifted and don’t have as much interest in tech as men do, it’s frustrating to explain how women get sidelined and ignored beginning at a very young age. The community truly makes or breaks the experiences and interest in the field. This is why I am so grateful for organizations that mentor girls in safe spaces, demanding respect without compromising anything.
I have learned to be less apologetic about making my voice heard. But it still reminds me how much change is needed to create an equitable environment, even in progressive areas like the Bay.