Hot take: @the_wing is an adult sorority ($200+ monthly dues, tight community, philanthropy efforts)
I love the idea of empowering women, but I think it's super important to do so while being inclusive to all identifying women. Thread (1/7):
fortune.com
I love the idea of empowering women, but I think it's super important to do so while being inclusive to all identifying women. Thread (1/7):
fortune.com
I joined @sheplusplus because I wanted to be a part of a community of ambitious women and help other ambitious women make strides in their careers (namely tech). But quarterly/annual dues were a large part of the reason behind my decision not to join a sorority in college. (2/7)
When the financial barrier to entry is high for minorities in the field, the only minorities who can join the group have to be extra privileged. To actually increase diversity in the field, we need to make efforts to include those who can't afford large membership dues. (3/7)
I learned this the hard way. A she++ program I ran, the #include Fellowship, offered a free trip to Bay Area for select high school students who demonstrated an interest in CS education. We ended up indirectly selecting HS kids who spent lots of $$ hosting hackathons, etc. (4/7)
Majority of the kids we selected were from large cities (Bay Area, NYC, Seattle) and had coding experience. I feel like I could have made a lot more of an impact if we had targeted HS kids in more rural areas and not required them to have demonstrated CS education interest. (5/7)
Bottom line is, it's super important to empower women, but it's even more important to be as inclusive as possible for all identifying women. I want to see more initiatives (especially in tech) that reach women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, more rural areas, etc. (6/7)
@the_wing could drastically lower membership costs for individuals and (maybe) make $$ by adopting an accelerator business model. I know it's hard, but I'd love to hear others' thoughts on sustainable economics behind coworking spaces for minorities in a field! (7/7)
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