Category Archives: Resources

Who are you reading and who are you silencing? The tale of how I diversified the voices from whom I learn

Three figures. One covers the mouth, other the eyes, the third one the ears.

Image by Peggy and Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay.

(6 min read)

The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is […] that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Before using the term diversity and inclusion advocacy, I had already identified the need for it. I’m a woman, STEM studies, work in tech, and I’ve been an immigrant all my life. This intersection of out-group identities has often resulted in being seen as the other. It has also prompted me to consciously endeavour to listen and empower members of other out-groups.

However, a little more than a year ago, I realized that, unconsciously, I was silencing those other voices.

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Disability as an Innovation Driver

Yellow light bulb over physical disability symbols with the caption “disability as an innovation driver”

(5 min read)

The typewriter, internet, closed captioning, text-to-speech, eye gaze.

All those inventions have in common a widespread application and impact. They were also originally created to overcome a limitation imposed by a disability. And there are a lot more, as this article points out.

Surprised? I was. Stereotypes do narrow our thinking.

Myth #1: Disability happens to others.

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If there’s one thing men can do to improve women’s life at work, it would be…

In this thought-provoking interview, Ai-jen Poo, a labor organizer and executive director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, tells men that if there’s one thing they can do to improve women’s life at work, it would be…

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Rosie: Undermining Language Detector

Rosie

Using words like just or actually, apologizing when unnecessary, or using phrases like Does that make sense? or I’m no expert, can undermine your credibility in interviews, negotiations, and meetings.

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Empathy prompts – Walking a mile in somebody else’s shoes…

Screenshot from comparing a text parragraph in English before and after using the Dyslexia simulator bookmarklet. After using the bookmarklet, the letters in the text have been moved around, making it difficult to recognize the orignal text.

Our privileges (gender, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic) make us blind to the disadvantages of others. Additionally, we generalize other people’s experiences based on our preferences, environment, and upbringing. As most of this behavior is unconscious, how can we free ourselves from those constraints and develop more inclusive products?

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