The WIT Crowd | 11/08/2021

We’ve been enjoying a new partnership with the Big Ten Academic Alliance Women in Technology group this month! Their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion group is putting out a DEI slack Series with small, actionable tips to increase your awareness every day. Enjoy these tidbits!

  • Monitor “airtime” and build in ways to solicit input from new people.
    Studies across many disciplines and fields find that men speak more than women in academic and professional spaces. Furthermore, even when this trend was clearly documented, participants in studies still perceived the opposite—believing that women had talked more in their groups than men. As Nichi Hodgson explains, “We are so used to hearing less from women that when they reach anything approximating equivalence, listener bias kicks in and we think we are awash in women’s words.” Women are also more likely to be interrupted, or the ideas they suggest are not listened to. Similar differentials frequently exist among speakers of color as compared to white speakers.
  • Ensure visuals are accessible.
    If you’re using slides or visuals, don’t overload them with small text that may not be legible to those who are visually-impaired or seated farther away. Refrain from asking participants to “read the slide”—instead summarizing the material. If someone may have a visual impairment, distribute slides for viewing on a personal device or print them.
  • Consider remote employee engagement
    Once, tasked with leading a meeting, I became so caught up in the details of the presentation and visuals that I completely neglected to consider how an employee joining remotely would experience these details. It wasn’t until I heard her feedback that she didn’t feel as included as those who were present in-person that I realized my mistake. (But hindsight was 20/20–of course the chart paper matrix I’d created was hard for her to read and participate with!) If your meeting includes those joining virtually, digitize your supplemental materials for screen-sharing, and ensure you are actively including those who aren’t present in the room by asking them for feedback and input.
  • Capitalize the “b” in Black
    The Associated Press recently updated its style guide to capitalize the “b” in Black when referring to race, ethnicity, or culture. As explained on their blog, the change is to “align with long-standing capitalization of other racial and ethnic identifiers such as Latino, Asian American and Native American.” Think emails, Slack messages, blogs, and social media posts. When we refer to Black people or culture, let’s be sure to capitalize the “b” in Black.

Something to Do

Climate Change and Technology Work

Friday, November 12, 2021, 9-10:30 a.m. Join via Zoom

  • “What effect does adding this framework to my application have on the environment?”
  • “What initiatives to reduce energy usage in the data center can I voice support for?”
  • “Can I design a website that is both accessible and sustainable?”

WIT is holding an event to answer these questions and more!

The recent report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) showed some glimpses into the future that are alarming at best. The problems shown by the report may feel abstract from our work, or too enormous to tackle on an everyday basis. But as people who work with technology, we make choices that have effects we might not even be aware of. While energy consumption, for example, can feel limited to our personal laptops and monitors, how we code or design can have a big impact as well.

Come to this event to learn more from Amy Drayer from the Libraries and Kevin Deutsch from the Data Center about how you can help make a difference to the environment in your work! The event will include time to ask your questions about sustainability and technology.

Professional Education Programs at the Technological Leadership Institute

The Technological Leadership Institute is an interdisciplinary center at the University of Minnesota. TLI’s mission is to develop local and global leaders for technology-intensive enterprises through its three Master of Science degree programs in Security Technologies (MSST), Management of Technology (MOT), and Medical Device Innovation (MDI).

Recruiting is underway for next fall’s cohorts. All programs offer virtual information sessions on a regular basis. Classes are held in the McNamara Alumni Center and remote participation is also available. Visit https://cse.umn.edu/tli for more information on the programs and to sign up for an info session. 

Some to Congratulate

If you or a WIT member you know has won an award or has an achievement that you would like to highlight, please email [email protected] so we can share your accomplishment(s) in our next newsletter.

Something to Listen To, Read, or Watch

Last week kicked off COP26, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow. Subscribe to COP26’s YouTube channel to watch past and upcoming conference sessions.

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