BIPOC Women in Tech
In light of recent events, Queen’s Women in Computing has decided to endeavour to educate ourselves, spread awareness, and take action.
Reflecting on our mission as an organization, we are a community of individuals that share values of equality, but we now commit to creating equity, not just equality. Here’s the difference between the two:
- Equality is treating each other without as if there are no differences, where each individual is treated equally despite differing attributes.
- Equity is fairness and equality in outcomes, not just in opportunity.
In order to educate ourselves, as well as spread awareness of the BIPOC women in tech, the QWIC executive team decided to write this article to highlight Katherine Johnson, Bukola Ayodele, Claudette McGowan, and Janelle Hinds, their stories, challenges, and struggles.
Katherine Johnson
Who she is: Katherine Johnson was an American Mathematician working at NASA whose calculations were integral for the first crewed space flights from 1953 to 1988. As one of the first African-American women to work at NASA as a scientist, she worked on calculating trajectories, launch windows, and emergency return paths as well as the space shuttle program and plans for a mission to Mars.
Her story: Katherine Johnson was born in 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Her hometown did not have public schooling for Black students after eighth grade, so her family moved to Institute, West Virginia, iso that she could attend high school. She was very bright from a young age, graduating high school at 14 years old and obtaining math and French degrees with the highest honours from West Virginia State College at 18 years old. She then began teaching at a Black public school in Marion, Virginia.
Accomplishments/Struggles: Katherine Johnson was a remarkable woman who created a significant positive impact by overcoming her struggles in life. In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, stating, “Katherine G. Johnson refused to be limited by society’s expectations of her gender and race while expanding the boundaries of humanity’s reach.” Indeed, Johnson faced no shortage of challenges throughout her life. Because of the segregated educational system in the town she grew up in, her family had to move 125 miles away so she could attend school. Later, after graduating with a double major in mathematics and French, she was forced to take a job as a school teacher for lack of opportunities being offered to Black academics. Finally, years into her career as one of the first Black women to work at NASA, she had to fight to receive credit for her work.
In 1953, she moved to Virginia to work at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), where she worked in the Flight Research Division. Johnson then joined NASA when NACA turned over its operations upon its creation in 1958 and became the first woman in the Flight Research Division to receive credit as a research author. Here, she would also work on Freedom 7, America’s first human spaceflight, Project Apollo, and Landsat. Her best-known project was in 1962, where she calculated the trajectory of the Friendship 7 capsule by hand as the astronauts did not trust the computers at the time; the 2016 film Hidden Figures depicts this accomplishment. She passed away on Feb 4, 2020, at 101 years old.
Bukola Ayodele — @thecomeup on Youtube
Who she is: Bukola Ayodele is a 25-year-old software engineer and successful YouTuber living in New York City. She obtained her high paying job at a Kensho Technologies without a computer science degree. Bukola uses her Youtube channel to share helpful coding and personal finance tips and has since accumulated 115K subscribers within a year. Her goal is to inspire more women, especially Black women, to join her in the field of technology.
Her story: Bukola, born in Nigeria, immigrated to the US with her family when she was six years old. Her mother worked as a middle school teacher and her father as an accountant, then later as a school administrator. In 2016, she graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Political Science and the aspiration of becoming a lawyer. Her parents always pushed higher education and revered careers in fields such as medicine and law. While working in compliance in 2017, she realized that she was passionate about computer science. She saved up some money, enough for a sense of financial stability, and quit her job to participate in a 3-month engineering Bootcamp.
All her life, she was told, “ you could either be a doctor, lawyer, or a disgrace.” It’s no wonder she majored in political science in college with the plan to become a layer. Bukola quickly realized this path wasn’t for her. Instead, she found that she was interested in computer science. During a year of sabbatical, she joined a virtual engineering retreat that expanded her programming skills. From then, she persisted until she was presented with a job offer in the field of technology, despite having no degree in computer science! She was raised with an emphasis on “paying it forward,” and as such, she now donates $800/month to her family and charitable causes.
Accomplishments/Struggles: Bukola has had to overcome a lot of struggles in her life. Her family’s immigration to America and adjustment to the American lifestyle, her student debt after pursuing a political science degree, her self-taught computer science education, and most importantly, being a Black woman in technology.
Bukola mentions that she doesn’t work for many people who look like her, which can feel isolating. She talks about how she gets stopped in her office building by other coworkers who believe that she doesn’t work there, solely based on the colour of her skin. However, Bukola takes in all the challenges she has to face as a Black woman in tech and channels her energy into her YouTube platform to inspire others.
Make sure to check out her YouTube channel, The Come Up!
Claudette McGowan
Who she is: Claudette McGowan is the current Global Executive Officer at TD. Previously, she was at BMO for 20 years involved in several positions, including CIO and Technology Director. She began and spearheaded BMO’s Women in Tech community.
Her story: Claudette’s 20-year-old mother came to Canada alone from the West Indies, where she met Claudette’s father and became a registered nurse. McGowan completed her MBA in 2011 from Athabasca University in Alberta. Alongside her MBA and Bachelor of Arts, Claudette has earned many certifications, stating, “In the technology field, if you’re not learning, six months later, you’re outdated[…] So, I am constantly going to school to learn and grow.”
Accomplishments/Struggles: Even after 20 years in tech, Claudette often finds herself one of the only women in the room, often as one of the only Black people. Claudette launched the Black Arts and Innovation Expo (BAIE) in 2015. The event runs annually and focuses on bringing leading tech companies and people in the community together, promoting diversity in the workforce within STEAM via a job expo, networking opportunities, and grant and scholarship presentations.
Additional/Cool Stuff: In 2018, Claudette was recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada! In 2019, she was also the recipient of two prestigious awards: AdWeek Magazine heralded Claudette a Toronto Brand Star and the Digital Finance Institute honoured her as one of the Top 50 Canadian Women in FinTech.
Claudette loves the A in STEAM! She emphasizes its importance by stating that “you won’t get high levels of adoption if you don’t think about how technology will be used to make things easier, faster, or better.” The aspect of any project that thinks about the human element and human value is very important.
Click here to see tech dynamo Claudette McGowan’s career (and life advice)!
Janelle Hinds
Who she is: Janelle Hinds is an entrepreneur, diversity & inclusion consultant, public speaker, and community volunteer. As a young adult, Ms. Hinds noticed that Ontario high school students, particularly students of lower socioeconomic status, were struggling to find meaningful volunteer opportunities that were necessary to complete their hour requirements. In response, she developed Helping Hands, a platform that connects Ontario youth in search of impactful volunteer opportunities with organizations facilitating positive change. Helping Hands’ technology is now being used in over 50 schools.
Her story: After graduating from high school in Brampton, she attended McMaster University, where she completed degrees in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering. While studying at McMaster, she organized HackItMac and DeltaHacks. DeltaHacks, the first student-run hackathon in North America, promotes innovation for positive social change.
Accomplishments/Struggles: Earlier this year, Ms. Hinds interviewed with #MoveTheDial, an organization dedicated to increasing the presence of women in tech. When asked what her biggest challenge has been as a Black woman in tech, she responded that it has been difficult “trying to navigate the technology ecosystem with intersectional identities,” where “people often underestimate the skills of Black individuals and hold us up to a higher standard when trying to achieve success.”
Additional/Cool Stuff: Ms. Hinds’s experiences as a Black woman in tech have guided her leadership and management of her organization. Helping Hands is committed to developing a diverse and inclusive workspace that is accommodating towards team members with mental and physical health issues as well as those with visual impairments. Last year, Ms. Hinds was recognized by Forbes in their 30 Under 30 list for her impact in the education sector.
If you’re looking to hear more about Janelle’s work, check out Helping Hands and her twitter account @MobileAppQueen.
A Few Movies/Documentaries to Watch
- Cineplex Streaming Free Movies by Black Creators — over 45 movies to watch, as Cineplex put it, “In a time when many are turning to movies to become informed and empowered, [… this] collection was curated to elevate Black filmmakers
- Hidden Figures — a biographical drama film about Black female mathematicians (Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson) who worked at NASA during the Space Race
- She Did That — The film revolves around the lives of four Black women entrepreneurs
References
#movethedial. (2020, February 24). JANELLE HINDS, FOUNDER OF HELPING HANDS. In Be In Tech Blog. Retrieved from https://movethedial.com/be-in-tech-blog/janelle-hinds-founder-helping-hands
Bielski, Z. (2019, January 4). Mississauga app developer matches high school students with volunteer hours to get excited about. In The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-mississauga-app-developer-matches-high-school-students-with-volunteer/
British Council Canada. (2018, March 16). Helping Hands — Janelle Hinds [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiXm2m3yBcI&feature=emb_title
Equality vs Equity. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.diffen.com/difference/Equality-vs-Equity
Fox, M. (2020, February 24). Katherine Johnson Dies at 101; Mathematician Broke Barriers at NASA. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/science/katherine-johnson-dead.html
Girls Who Code. (2019, June 26). Meet Janelle Hinds — the founder of Helping Hands, an organization that pairs science and social change. In Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/girls-who-code/meet-janelle-hinds-the-founder-of-helping-hands-an-organization-that-pairs-science-and-social-f11cfc2e97b8
Howard, C., Coudriet, C., & Love, K. (2020). 30 Under 30 2020: Education. In Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/profile/janelle-hinds-1/?list=30under30-education#175d6a31b5c3
Loff, S. (2016, November 22). Katherine Johnson Biography. Retrieved from https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography
Omar Alghabra. (2017, March 10). Janelle Hinds Testifies Before the Status of Women Committee [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhIKujlvTjw
Smith, N. K. (2018, August 30). Katherine Johnson Fought To Get Credit For Her Work. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2018/08/30/katherine-johnson-fought-to-get-credit-for-her-work/#2e6c20a5597e
Stauss, J. (2020, February 27). Katherine Johnson: Pioneering NASA mathematician. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/katherine-johnson.html
