Everything I Learned About a Diverse
Workforce in Tech, I Learned...in the
Government??!?
Julie Meloni // US Digital Service // October 2017

Julie’s Career in a Nutshell
Spent 20 years building web applications with my friends in
Silicon Valley, happily chugging along in a 4-person queer
women-owned & operated multimedia company.
Poked my nose out...looked around…
“Thanks for building our engineering team but you can’t be in
charge of it because you’re a woman.”

F that Noise

Then I Found the US Digital Service
Find the Truth, Tell the Truth? Create Momentum? Design
with Users, Not For Them? Sounds Pretty Good.

But...the Government?
● The Senior Executive Service is 44% women, and pay is
equal for everyone.
● Agencies have CIOs, CTOs, and other executive leaders
who are broadly diverse; we work with them every day.
● No one has told us that we can’t do a thing because the
person leading the team is a woman, or a person of color,
or queer, or any or all of the above.
○ Yes, still.

Our Work Benefits Everyone

We Can Help Each Other
● Join groups like USDS (or 18F or Code for America) to
bring modern technology and development practices into
behemoth federal agencies.
● Go back into the private sector with a lesson or two from
the public sector about inclusivity.
○ It’s all about the work.

https://usds.gov/join