Diversity in technology often starts with a focus on women. How do we prioritize the inclusion of women from all communities (race, gender identity, ability status, and other underrepresented and intersectional communities) on technical teams? What can leaders do—from cultivating the pipeline, to hiring, to developing internal strategies—to make the future of tech more diverse and inclusive? Wanda L. Scott speaks from the perspective of a Black Woman in Tech. www.WandaLScott.com
Hear from successful executive technical leaders as they explore their journeys through the industry. Leave with solutions on how to prioritize inclusion and drive results.
11. “It is crucial in our diversity training that we understand that we
can’t change what the limbic system has stored, but through
the neocortex we can open up new experiences that will
register new memories, & change understanding so that new
value judgments can be made to form positive experiences
around cultures and different ethnicities. “
Wanda L. Scott from RESILIENCE: FindingYour PowerWithin
Worked at Microsoft and Brigdgestone
This might surprise you but this whole presentation is not mainly about me being black. It is not all about me being a women. It is about how we can learn to connect and communicate better in the workplace, specifically in the IT Community. So we can value and celebrate the uniqueness that we each bring to the table. There is so much yet to be discovered and developed in technology. We need every brilliant mind in place to bring about all of the things that are going to make society and America great!
“I like to learn. That's an art and a science.” Katherine Johnson Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/k/katherine_johnson.html
Cultural Fluency
Cultural & Behavioral Insights
Value our uniqueness
different energy
energy balances out team (not bad)
Don’t judge on your personal female perception of:
a woman in your life who did or did not do certain things
what family or upbringing said women should or should not do
Be open to new understanding of how women add value
This understanding grows through relationships, team building, trust, changing perceptions from
The Neocortex is the thinking or learning part of the brain, it controls language, thought, and reasoning. So as we seek to change perceptions and behavior, we have to appeal to the neocortex through people’s thoughts and reasoning.
The Limbic System, which is the emotional center, stores value judgments we make and memories of behaviors that produce positive and negative experiences. It is largely subconscious.
So if we don’t understand this, we will not seek for new information to change our perceptions and behaviors.
Information from the basal ganglia can be detrimental when it unconsciously guides us based on ill-formed information from the limbic system. The point of this information is so that as we go along our journey we don’t linger on negative encounters, but understand potentially where it has come from. Then we can move past it to find value from the situations.
