How To Transform Technology and Include women

We need to understand invisible barriers. Every year, the progressive forces of our world tear down walls, unlock chains, rewrite laws, and much more, in order to liberate discriminated groups and provide opportunities for all. But what about the barriers that hide in plain sight, or lurk invisible in the power structures behind a progressive front?

Consider the curb. When sidewalks were developed to protect pedestrians from traffic, it’s likely that nobody thought the three inch drop from sidewalk to road was a barrier. However, while three inches is a small step down, it’s an extremely dangerous drop for someone in a wheelchair. The introduction of the curb cut ensured smooth, safe sidewalk access for all, and broke down a barrier invisible to many, but impenetrable to some. We need to recognize the fact that, for the tech industry to fulfill its lofty goals of connection and innovation, everyone must be given the chance to participate and provide input.

“Those who run the technology must ensure access for everyone, all around the globe, both as members and beneficiaries.”

Those who run the technology must ensure access for everyone, all around the globe, both as members and beneficiaries. A tech-driven world requires tech-literate users, so education, training, and community for all groups and ages, including governments, must be prioritized. This utopian goal requires input from all perspectives on the design and development of programs and tools, or the old power structures will continue to perpetuate through new media.

My approach is to use technology to help people live fuller lives, with opportunities to collaborate, free from the damage of constant competition. It involves young people learning to use technology in productive ways, rather than having their lives overrun by them. It involves using technology to not only make money, but make lasting change as well.

For information to become accessible to all, universally understood, and to drive positive customer actions, the tech industry must embrace diverse cultural, gender, and ethnic perspectives. These will be used to design, communicate and create processes that speak to individuals and audiences in the way they’re comfortable, rather than bulldozing cultural context in a quest for universal adoption.

Social and digital media have taught us that people want to be seen and heard by the brands they love, but only when these brands recognize the beauty of their individuality. We’ve seen how hard brands can stumble when they create advertising, messaging, and products that speak to one segment of a culture at the expense of another, trampling underrepresented voices in the process. As our society becomes more accepting and inclusive, and promotes all voices and people equally, the damage of such a branding stumble will be increasingly devastating.

In my role at the head of Birk Creative, technology surrounds me, and I’ve learned how to apply it in order to amplify my unique voice within the industry. The collective left and right brains of my entire team are always engaged in new challenges for using tech to open the conversation to new audiences. Once we capture and release the power of technology we can use it to lift up those who have been left out.

These are some of the aspects of my approach and philosophy, as a woman in tech, which has led to my winning a 2021 Female Frontier award in the Transforming Technology category.