Lifestyle
Technology is stronger when Black women and girls are included

OPINION: If we are serious about increasing representation within the tech industry, we’d like to take a more proactive approach to creating technology a field where girls of color will be represented.
As slightly girl, there was nothing I used to be an element of or experienced that told me I could have a profession in tech.
I had supportive parents who exposed me to quite a lot of activities. I did well in class – I used to be especially good at math, so I joined the maths club and competed in math competitions, and I used to be a cheerleader, dancer, and athlete. But all the things I learned about technology, I learned by simply discovering it by myself. Like many girls of my generation, my first foray into coding and technology was designing the proper Myspace page.
When I saw myself in the longer term, I saw a successful dancer. Even though I used to be really intelligent, I didn’t care about being smart; I desired to be seen as a cool, funny person. And it wasn’t until my dad realized I used to be serious about majoring in dance in college that he intervened and began helping me explore profession paths that will construct on my academic strengths – and gave him the peace of mind that got here with profession stability. No one in my family had ever been a pc engineer, but my dad suggested I pursue it because I used to be good at math and science, and more importantly, because he thought it was a more viable profession path than being knowledgeable dancer.
Now, when I look back, I see that there was something inside that pushed me towards technology, engineering or problem solving, but I also realized that we have now so much more work to do to get girls of color enthusiastic about technology fields.
If we are to be serious about increasing representation within the tech industry – and we needs to be, not simply because it is the precise thing to do, but because technology works higher when it is programmed to incorporate a various set of perspectives and experiences – then we’d like to take a more proactive approach to inclusion society and making technology a field where girls of color can see themselves and their experiences.
When we take into consideration technology, what’s necessary is that you could create consumer technology that everybody can use. Having a various group of engineers working in your product also ensures that the programs you publish are ethically created and accessible to everyone. Remember when Snapchat and Instagram first introduced filters that did not recognize dark faces? This is an ideal example of how necessary diversity is in engineering; these developers didn’t even consider the necessity for test cases that included darker-skinned people within the early stages of development. This was eventually corrected, however it was an embarrassing omission that will have been rectified naturally if darker-skinned engineers had been involved from the start.
An excellent development team understands the importance of getting as many informed inputs and data points as possible and going through an in depth testing phase during R&D. However, it still happens that folks bring their very own experiences, perspectives, worldviews, and even biases to the code they write.
Large corporations made efforts to diversify their workforce, but years later we saw a mass exodus of the identical people. This signifies that it is not enough to easily recruit more people of color and more women to work; to support these people, a cultural change in technology is crucial. When I used to be actively working as an engineer, it didn’t matter what project I used to be working on, what city I used to be in, who the project was for, or what the job was, I used to be all the time the one black girl. I had never had a girl manager, and I used to be overcome with the sensation that my job was only about getting cash and that it didn’t matter what microaggressions I or other women – especially black women or other women of color – faced. The most significant thing was a very powerful thing.
I once quit my job and my male team took me to a strip club after dinner as a going away party. This event reflected every experience I had and every reason I used to be leaving the sphere – the concept that I should be thankful for this awkward, extremely uncomfortable surprise in a strip club with my friends who all looked the identical, were all members of their very own network of boys and they either didn’t notice or didn’t care how completely inappropriate and uncomfortable this outing was for the supposed guest of honor.
When I founded NOISEMy primary goal was to introduce more girls of color to technology and construct the supportive community around them that I dreamed of. As a really sociable, outgoing engineer, the social aspect was as necessary to me because the profession development element. It was also necessary to me that we provided the girls who participated in our program with a world experience to show them to a world beyond their very own community, while encouraging them to make an impact by teaching other girls all over the world. There is tremendous growth in stepping outside of yourself and learning about other cultures, and I wanted that have for other black and brown girls.
Today, I’m very happy with the work we do, but I still see the necessity for rapid change throughout the technology industry. The shortcomings in technology and workforce are more clearly visible, which makes me blissful that these conversations are no less than happening today. People are trying to higher understand what they will do inside their employees’ culture to make it a more inclusive space, more proactive in fostering a way of belonging and community.
We see ourselves more often on a wider screen – in movies. When Hidden Figures was released, it was an enormous moment for Black girls and Black women in tech. Growing up, I never saw anything like this and I might like to see more of this for our girls growing up today.
But the industry must also proceed to place our money where our mouth is. When it’s not sexy or popular to speculate in black women, people stop doing it, as we have seen recently. We had a moment after George Floyd when it gave the impression of the entire country had great hope concerning the direction of the longer term, but now all the things has modified. And this is disturbing. People are not only silent about what is right, but they are actively attacking Black women and any try to rightly measure what we have now endured for therefore long.
I’ve never felt like I could speak openly about what I used to be experiencing, so we’d like to support more courageous conversations about race and representation in tech and show investment in what we predict we wish to do. One thing I had never seen was women in leadership positions; if there have been individuals who looked like me within the places I worked, they were expert employees, not managers. A deliberate effort should be made to discover and create opportunities for those women, especially women of color, who could also be in low- or mid-level leadership positions, in order that they are intentionally placed on a path where they will see senior-level leadership in the longer term. We have to fund skilled development opportunities and support organizations on the bottom that are working to construct the talent pipeline.
But beyond all of this, we’d like to care and understand that while many individuals see technology as displacing the human element of the workforce, it is actually driven by the human element. We have to get back to caring for people on a human level and understand that the product of our work is stronger, and we are stronger, when we include women and girls of color.
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The post Technology is Stronger When Black Women and Girls Are Included appeared first on TheGrio.
Lifestyle
Celebrating Stevie Wonder’s 75th birthday with his greatest hits

On May 13, 1950, the star was born in Saginaw, Michigan and it was no person aside from Stevland Hardaway Judkins, often called Stevie Wonder. Stevie is a music genius that delighted tens of millions of individuals with his incredibly beautiful catalog of songs. Black company He selected 13 from Stevie’s crucial songs to have a good time the sound of an actual master and motown sound. Stevie Wonder is a legend.
Happy birthday to the true one.
He throws me off my feet
“Knocking Me Off My Feet” fell in 1976 to the legendary album Stevie, is a jazz love song, which is perfectly useful that he feels someone, looks like someone.
Golden Lady
“Golden Lady” appeared on the stage in 1973 on the album Stevie. This song is a smooth romantic number that flies under the radar. This is certainly one of Stevie’s most sleeping love songs.
If you actually love me
“If you really love me” appeared in 1971 on the album Stevie ,. It defines a key moment in his profession, through which Stevie’s sound becomes a function. The song strikes in another way whenever you realize that he finds the voice.
Part -time lover
So “Lover part -time” appeared in 1985 on the album Stevie. This is a really perfect mixture of classic Motown Vibrations with the shiny production of the 80s synthesizer. “A lover of part -time employed” has a melody that lives in your head for a lot of days.
Lately
“Recently” fell in 1980 as a part of the Stevie Wonder album. It is such a harsh, painful ballad that somebody you’re keen on slowly drains away. Stevie really pours his heart and vocal to this. It is so boomed you could feel any ounce of pain in his voice.
This time in my life
“For For Fer My Life” fell in 1968 on an album of the identical title. This is a sincere love anthem through which someone finally finds his person. It is performed with harsh emotions and soul and may easily give listeners goose bumps.
Signed, sealed, delivered (I’m yours)
“Signed, sealed, delivered (I’m Yours)” fell in 1970 on the album Stevie “SIGNTED, Sealed & Delived”. This song is value adding to your playlist. He is energetic and catchy. Stevie co -produced the song.
Master Blaster (Jammin)
“Master Blaster (Jammin ‘)” debuted in 1980 on the album Stevie Wonder. “This is a superb tribute to Bob Marley with this unique Stevie Wonder Groove Ombudn.
Superstition
Stevie abandoned “Superstition” in 1972. Stevie doesn’t stop and offers funk and soul without effort.
Is she not wonderful
“Not She She Lovely” dropped in 1976 as a part of the masterful album Stevie Wonder The Song Is Dedicated to his daughter Aisha And he’s entwined with a spiritual, characteristic game of Stevie harmonica. Stevie balances technical brilliance with harsh emotional honesty. This is unquestionably certainly one of those timeless gems.
Don’t worry about something
“Don’t You Carth” Bout a Think “fell on the album in 1973. It has a Latin jazz atmosphere that makes you must move, in addition to these funny lyrics that may make you smile in your face. The whole song is largely a musical hug. It’s like a small pocket of the sun from the 70s, which never gets old.
You did nothing
Oh wounds, “You Doted Nothin” “got here to the stage in 1974. He was hidden in Stevie Wonder’s absolutely good album. Why would you switch it? Well, this can be a splendidly funny political statement that Stevie directed straight to the Nixon administration during your entire Watergate mess. Cherry upstairs? He led Jackson 5 to borrow them harmonies in spare vocals. This is Vintage 70. Protest music from Groove, which still appears to be current.
Happy birthday
Stevie abandoned “Happy Birthday” in 1981 on his album. He wrote it to press MLK on his birthday to change into a national holiday. Stevie is clever in how he mixed the climate with social activism, carrying a serious message about equality. MLK Day finally became official in 1983.
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Lifestyle
Why do the demographic boom stay in their homes vs. Auxiliary life
reports that the housing crisis can To be Brewing as a demographic boom Collect their houses and refuse MOVEW financially bored residential facilities.
Meredith Whitney, a financial analyst, said that the generation of the boom of demographic houses maintains hard -earned houses, because moving to residential assistance is equally expensive. During the interview, Whitney emphasized that some older Americans are attached to money and borrowing towards their homes. Forty -four percent of home equity loans are charged by seniors, which they call “contradictory”. “It’s crazy, right?” She preserved.
Whitney’s points of view are significantly different from the standard narrative that the majority of the demographic boom is financially secure and sits on money flaws. This shall be true because seniors constitute 42% of all houses buyers in comparison with generations who constitute 29%. “I divide it into various cohorts,” said Whitney.
“So a senior who everyone thinks that” demographic booms have all this money ” – this is a small part. Seniors live withdrawals for payment. ”
The generation collectively has 75 trillion usd wealth. However, Whitney, also sometimes called “Oracle of Wall Street”, which provided for a incredible financial crisis, estimated that only one in 10 seniors can afford to assist in maintaining help, forcing many to stay in their homes with a mortgage surplus.
As a result, the rates created the “block” effect, described as when the owners of the house who got to the market at low rates, hesitate to purchase recent houses, bearing in mind today’s increased loan costs. “This is one of the problems with housing inventory,” said Whitney during the interview. “They stop longer in their homes because they can’t afford to move out.”
The weight is just not only on the demographic boom. Their thousand -year -old and generation X got stuck in an inaccessible long -term address aging parents. Because the elders not have funds for long -term care, in response to subsequent generations they typically leave work or work less to supply care. Social insurance experts Name it “victim” which could potentially hurt them Financially at present and in the future. “The bigger problem is that you can create almost a series of poverty,” said professor Gerontology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Marc Cohen.
“This is not something that simply sticks to one generation. The costs are socially incurred.”
The Harvard Center for Housing Studies 2023 report confirmed that private long -term care, like helpful communities and healthcare, is beyond the reach of the average middle class citizen. Less than 15% of Americans 75 and older people living alone in the primary American cities could afford to pay for help in the field of help or healthcare without immersing in their savings. The federal government may not have much help, because Trump’s administration focuses on Medicare, a government medical insurance program for the elderly.
Medicare also doesn’t include most long -term healthcare.
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Lifestyle
Will the southern accent repair disappear in some parts of the south of the USA?
Growing up in Atlanta in the Forties and Fifties, Susan Levine’s visits to relatives in New York embraced the star of improvised news: her cousin invited friends and accused 25 cents for pop to be conscious of Levine’s southern accent.
Although furthermore they grew up in Atlanta, two sons Levine, born over 1 / 4 of a century after her, never talked to an accent, which could thoroughly be the most famous regional dialect in the United States, with elongated vowels and soft sounds “R”.
“My accent does not exist,” said Ira Levine, her eldest son. “The people I work with and even at school, people did not believe that I was from Atlanta.”
The southern accent, which has many sorts, disappears in some areas of the South, when people migrate to the region from other parts of the USA and around the world. A series of research articles published in December documented a discount in a regional accent amongst black residents of the Atlanta area, white people from the working class in the region of New Orleans and other individuals who grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Has over 5.8 million people He moved to the south of the USA Until now, in the Nineteen Twenties, the sum of three other regions of the country is larger than 4 times. Linguists don’t imagine that mass media have played an infinite role in changing the language, which normally begins in urban areas and radiate to more rural places.
At the end of the twentieth century, the increase in migration affects the accents
The classic white southern accent in the Atlanta region and other parts of the urban south reached the peak of demographic growth born in 1946–1964 Gen Xers Born in 1965–1980 and subsequent generations, largely because of the huge migration of people in the second half of the twentieth century.
He was replaced amongst the youngest speakers in the twenty first century of the dialect, which was first noticed in California in the late Eighties, in accordance with the last studies of the Linguists from the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Brigham Young University. This dialect, which was also detected in Canada, became a regional accent since it spread to other parts of the US, including Boston, New York and Michigan, contributing to reducing their regional accents.
In Raleigh, North Carolina, the trigger point in the fall of the southern accent was the opening in 1959 of the research park, an infinite complex of research and technology corporations that attracted tens of 1000’s of highly educated employees from outside the South. White residents born after 1979, the generation after establishing a research triangle, normally don’t confer with the southern accent, the linguist Sean Lundergan wrote in an article published in December.
Often, external people wrongly associate the southern accent with an absence of education, and some younger people can try to distance themselves from this stereotype.
“Today’s young people, especially educated young people, do not want to sound too much, as if they came from a specific city,” said Linguist Georgia Tech, Lelia Glass, who co-author of the study in Atlanta. “They want to sound more mobile, unlocal and geographically.”
The accents change in younger people
Southern Dialect amongst blacks in Atlanta has fallen in recent an prolonged time mainly because of the influx of African Americans from northern cities, including “Reverse great migration.”
During great migration, from around 1910 to 1970, African Americans from the South moved to cities in the north like New York, Detroit and Chicago. Their grandchildren and great -grandchildren moved back south in large places to such places corresponding to Atlanta at the turn of the twentieth and early twenty first century and shall be more often educated in college.
Scientists found southern accents amongst African Americans who were dropped Gen Z.or people born in 1997–2012, in accordance with the study published in December. The same researchers had previously studied southern accents amongst white people in Atlanta.
Michelle and Richard Beck, General Xers living in the Atlanta region, have southern accents, but she lacks in their two sons born in 1998 and 2001.
“I think they speak more clearly than me,” said Richard Beck about his sons, a law enforcement officer. “They don’t sound like a country like me when it comes to the southern draw.”
The “Yat” accent of the recent Orleans has decreased
Unlike other accents which have modified because of the influx of recent residents, the characteristic, white accent “YAT” of the working class in New Hurricane Katrina In 2005, the accent differs from other regional accents in the south and sometimes described as they sound like Brooklynes and southern.
Hurricane was a “catastrophic” event of a language change for New Orleans, because he resettled only a number of quarter of 1,000,000 inhabitants in the first 12 months after a storm and brought tens of 1000’s of people from outside in the next decade.
Reducing the “Yat” accent is most noticeable in millennia, who were teenagers when Katrina hit because they were exposed to other ways of speaking at a key moment of language development, said Katie Carmichael Virginia Tech, Katie Carmichael.
Cheryl Wilson Lanier, a 64-year-old who grew up in Chalmette, Louisiana, one of the suburbs of New Orleans, where the accent was the most widespread, worries that part of the uniqueness of the region shall be lost if the accent disappears.
“It’s a bit like we are losing our separate personality,” she said.

Changing the southern identity
Although it decreases in many urban areas, the southern accent is unlikely to disappear completely, because “accents are an extremely simple way to show something to other people about ourselves,” said Linguist at the University of Georgia Margaret Renwick, one of the authors of research in Atlanta.
Instead, it’d reflect a change in how younger speakers perceive southern identity, with a regional accent not so closely related to what’s considered southern as in previous generations, and language boundaries less obligatory than other elements.
“So young people in the Atlanta or Raleigh area have a different vision of what life in the south is,” said Renwick. “And it’s not the same as the one with which their parents or grandparents grew up.”
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