Only fourteen percent of STEM professionals are women.
That’s without factoring in race, sexuality, cisnormativity, disability and other factors that further isolate individuals in such a hegemonic field. While many organizations, including Google and the White House, have launched programs geared toward training and employing more women and girls in STEM fields, the current work environment remains troubling.
Started by Isis Anchalee, following mass vitriol she received from her company’s ad series, the hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer is being used by women engineers to acknowledge their often erased presence.
Below are five black women engineers we love.
Angelica Ross – Trans Tech, CEO
Deemed the “first foot solider of 2015” by Melissa Harris-Perry, Ross is the founding CEO of Trans Tech Social Enterprises. Ross describes Trans Tech as “a training academy and apprenticeship program that aims to empower, educate and employ the trans community through the use of technology while promoting innovation, independence and entrepreneurship.”
Tiffani Ashley Bell – Detroit Water Project, executive director
A rails and iOS developer, Bell is the executive director of the Detroit Water Project, which matches Detroit residents with willing donors for water bill assistance.
Morgen Bromell, Thurst, CEO and Founder
Bromell is the CEO and founder of Thurst, an app for cis, trans and non-binary people. It’s specifically designed for people who are sick of apps made for cis, white men and heteromantic individuals.
Kaya Thomas, We Read Too, Developer
Thomas is a third-year student at Dartmouth College and the developer of We Read Too, a cultural literacy application that showcases over 350 children and young adult fiction books written by and for people of color. She is also a Code2040 fellow!
Kishau Rogers, Websmith Group, CEO
With extensive experience in software engineering and leading software development projects, Rogers is the Founder and CEO of Websmith Group, a software development company in Richmond, VA. She is most passionate about using web and mobile technology to improve how organizations collect, maintain and report their data.
What black women engineers do you look up to? Give them a shoutout in the comments!
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