传教士
Shireen Mitchell
创始人
数字姐妹
As a teenager growing up in the New York City Projects in the 1980s, Shireen Mitchell ventured where no young black girl had ventured before: the local video arcade. “The store owners tried to kick me out because I could beat anyone there with a quarter, so they weren’t making any money,” Mitchell says. “I couldn’t imagine anyone who didn’t like tech — that was my world. But in 1984, I was the only female there.”
Today the company Mitchell keeps outside the arcade is not that different. A social-media consultant, diversity advocate, and tech nonprofit founder, she still often finds herself the only African-American female on IT teams and at conferences. Only about a fifth of science and engineering managers are female, and even fewer make it to the board level of prominent high-tech firms.
她说：“即使门敞开并解锁，如果有人走过房间，窥视并看到一群白人，他们会想知道是否受到欢迎。直到每个人都知道，当里面的人们看起来不像您并想知道您为什么在那里时，我们仍然有工作要做。”
For Mitchell, this work comes in the form of Digital Sisters, an organization she founded to provide young girls early exposure to technology and, even more important, an environment that encourages their passion. Mitchell remembers her own youth: “In high school I had all the tech savvy, but I had counselors that would try to gear me toward something other than tech.” Without creating silos, she says we need to close the gap between the support women and men receive when interested in technology. “We encourage boys more in these spaces because we anticipate their success, even if we don’t see it yet. Whereas with girls, we wait to see their success before we believe it.”
如今，许多人已经成为米切尔（Mitchell）的信徒，并开始练习她的讲道。Microsoft在线服务战略开发的前总经理Jon Pincus已招募Mitchell与他与他的新型西雅图创业公司Qworky紧密合作。“大多数软件都是由男人为自己喜欢的人撰写的。即使它是无意识的，它也会渗入一切。” Pincus说。因此，他攻击了米切尔（Mitchell），以帮助他设计Qworky的技术，文化和互联网形象，更吸引了一开始的多种用户。“她的真正优势之一是她平衡了技术方面，社会方面和政治方面。您通常可以找到可以做两个可以做的人。” Pincus说。“很少有人能找到能够平衡这三个的人。”
当米切尔（Mitchell）浏览技术视野时，她看到了越来越多的女性机会，尤其是在社交媒体上。它们是人们组织信息并进行社会思考的方式的起点，并围绕这些互动设计技术 - 米切尔认为这是鼓舞女性参与的完美选择。她说：“这不仅会吸引更多的女孩，而且会更多地说明他们擅长的事情。”
米切尔（Mitchell）的说法，其中包括耐心，细致性和本能，是确保在交出之前出现完美效果的本能 - 特质，这是1940年代和1950年代许多早期程序员的部分原因是女性。米切尔说：“在技术方面，尤其是设计方面，我可以毫无疑问地告诉你，女孩们会更好。”“我们不会有6版，其中仍然有错误。女人不允许这样做。”- Lillian Cunningham
