Lovisa and I met for the first time at a digital diplomacy event in the Italian Embassy. Once we started talking, I knew right away that she would be a great person to feature on Fem2pt0. Her career with the U.S. State Department is an inspiration for many women, especially those who want to be […]
Never Too Old to Learn How to Code
A couple of years ago, while picking out meat in the deli section at the grocery store I started speaking with a lady who was searching for employment but was finding she couldn’t get a job because she had no current job skills. We discussed her years of being a stay at home mom, and […]
“Shut Up Woman”: On Social Media Shaming, Silencing, and Standing Up
A few days ago, I watched a Danish talkshow on television. One of the guests was a woman who for years has been quite active in public debates about gender and feminist issues, but who recently decided to leave the social media sphere entirely and delete her Facebook and Twitter account. Her reason for doing […]
Is It Easy to Raise Capital as A Woman Led Start Up?
When looking to raise capital as a woman led startup, the road is full of speed bumps and mirages that cover the road. With the statistic of less than 10% of investable money going to women led start ups, this doesn’t encourage women to participate in the start-up community. In 2013, I sat in a […]
I Am the Unicorn: A Young Woman of Color Prepares to Enter the Computer Science Workforce
During Najla’s time in computer science, she has seen that gender-based assumptions are alive and well. She is aware that some people think that women aren’t interested in computing because of “the assumption that when you go into computer science, you’re going to be sitting at a cubicle the whole time and coding. But really there are so many aspects of it — some that involve coding, but also involve other things.”
Why Is the Math Gender Gap So Much Worse in the US Than in Other Countries?
Could it be the boy crisis? A new international study released last week shows that during the past 100 years, the first in which girls have been educated en masse, girls have out-performed boys academically. I’m not going to write here about what that may mean in terms of what grades are rewarding or about how that […]
How I Took the Hour of Code Challenge
I remember being in high school, sitting in a back corner of a warm computer lab listening to the keystrokes and mouse clicks of my classmates. It was my first web design class, and I was finally going to get a chance to develop my technology chops (which was very important since this thing called […]
Unleash Your Strong. Smart. Bold. with Girls Inc. of New York City
Strong. Smart. Bold. These three small words ignited a movement over 100 years ago to educate girls and prepare them to be self-sufficient and successful women. Today, Girls Inc. is a leading youth development organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through life-changing programs and experiences that help girls navigate gender, […]
Einstein, AAUW, and Getting Jewish Women Scientists out of Nazi Germany
Last week we celebrated the birthday of one of history’s greatest scientific minds, Albert Einstein. It is a perfect time to highlight a lesser-known side of Einstein: that he was an advocate for Jewish women scientists and a friend to AAUW.
The story begins on April 18, 1938, with a letter addressed to then-AAUW Director Kathryn McHale concerning a woman named Marietta Blau. The letter was signed Albert Einstein.