Solo Talks about Equity and Empowerment

Authenticity as Disruption – A New Framework for How to Live, Work and Lead

In order to build more empowered, inclusive, and innovative environments, we often encourage our teams and leaders to bring their “whole selves” to work. We know that this is important, because research points to authenticity as a critical component of engagement in the workplace. But how can we reconcile the message to “be yourself” with the simultaneous message to adhere to workplace culture?

In her presentation, Ritu Bhasin will introduce an innovative new framework called the Three Selves, which provides a methodology for choosing how and when to be your authentic self at work while achieving the success and belonging you need to feel engaged, purposeful, and empowered at work.

Narrative, Representation, and Audiences Looking at Intersectionality + the Potential of Technology in the Museum Sector

There is power in representation. Digital tech can help bridge gaps between museums and their audiences. Museums need to partner with tech companies to achieve their goals around audience engagement. But the sector will only see success once museum managers, stakeholders, and gatekeepers actually represent the diversity of their community. Technology alone cannot fix the sector’s staggering lack of inclusion and diversity: in the United States 93% of directors are white, collections are 87% male and 86% white, and so, unsurprisingly, audiences are 89% white. Genuine engagement requires more than just digital platforms; museums must create an internal culture that’s inclusive if they hope to see more diverse narratives and audiences.

In this session, we’ll start by asking ‘do museums even matter in the first place?’, taking into account the sector’s current attempt to understand itself and reach out to a more diverse audience in an increasingly tech-dependent world. We’ll also examine the role digital mediums can play in facilitating inclusivity measures, and look at case studies where digital technology has been part of successfully attracting and engaging more diverse audiences.

Charting Your Career Course Through Mentorship, Sponsorship and the Occasional Pivot

Building a successful and purposeful career is a result of an intricate mix of relationships, constant self-assessment and serendipitous opportunity. In this talk, we will discuss the importance that the mentor, the sponsor and the occasional finely-tuned pivot plays in charting innovative and fulfilling career paths.

Fixing tech industry’s diversity problem requires actions in the private sector, K-12 schools, and higher education. However, only the latter institutions have the long-term, scalable solution since computer science professors educate _both_ the next generation of entry-level coders and also produce K-12 teachers that need to be prepared for a digital #CSforAll curriculum. Significant challenges, though, hinder CompSci professor diversity. The EquitableTech project addresses entry-level coding job readiness among CompSci majors of color through professional development workshops. Our parent DiverseScholar non-profit mentors this coder talent pool to catalyze future CompSci faculty diversity.