This post is shared as a response to one of the questions from the Women in Technology Scholarship Program by Orangesoft.
Michelle Obama said: ‘’Success isn’t about how much money you make, but rather, it’s about the difference you establish in people’s lives.’’ For that honor, creating social change in this multi-faceted world is the main reason why does the IT-Sphere needs more women.
My tech journey has commenced in my freshman year of high school when I was the only *proud* girl competing in the national hackathon challenge. During its last round, devoted on creating technical solutions to support homeless people, I have not only created my first mobile app ever but also brought home the winning trophy.
While all of my fellow peers had tremendously well-developed resolutions, their code simply created value for only half of the population – men. Not a single person out there designed a program to support impoverished individuals during their cycles of period or pregnancy. That is why we need the presence of more women in tech – to boost tech-driven innovation and design products which are accessible and useful for everyone.
Furthermore, women are proven to be more compassionate and thoughtful. We are keen on looking deeply at the intersectionality of the causes and we always make sure that everyone gets their voice heard on the decision-bringing table.
Picture 1: EnRoute Focus Groups Discussion
And I’m starting from the Women in the mirror, taking all of these actions by myself. As an engineering and computer science student, last year, I’ve utilized technology for good and founded EnRoute. It’s a web & mobile platform that assists us to learn what are the environmental practices behind our favorite brand and helps us discover more sustainable brands to shop from. (based on the type and price range we prefer.) It was created specifically for young fashionable individuals (especially girls and young women), aged 14 to 30 years, who seek to buy sustainable clothes & products from organic cosmetics. In less than 18 months, EnRoute has reached over 60000 people and helped communities in 75+ countries reduce 150.000 kg of carbon footprint.
And even though I’m a woman, I certainly haven’t developed all of the concepts in EnRoute by myself. For its growth and expansion, I constantly ideate new features along focus groups composed of passionate diverse women coming from all around the world. Our discussions help me to make sure that with every single update, more and more people get the chance to live sustainably and make eco-friendly choices in their lives.
Going forward, I’m looking to establish a pioneering career in the fields of social good tech, and thus, help millions of people live better through code. Even though now the future can seem ambiguous, if there is one thing I’m certain, is as Sheryl Sandberg mentions: “In the future, there will be no women-leaders in STEM. There will just be STEM leaders.”
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