Sarah Zengel

Women's History Month ended yesterday but I still wanted to call out some influential females in tech:

• Ivy Barley is a Ghanaian digital nomad, steminist, and entrepreneur. She is the co-founder and CEO of Developers in Vogue, an organization that is paving the way for more African women to take up opportunities in the tech industry. She was listed as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Young Ghanaians in 2017. She self-learned her way through coding and is believed to be breaking barriers in Tech.
• Augusta Ada King was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognize that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and to have published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. As a result, she is often regarded as one of the first computer programmers.
• Lorena Jaume-Palasí is the Executive Director of the Ethical Tech Society. She was co-founder and executive director of the organization AlgorithmWatch, based in Berlin, which analyzes the ethics of automation and digitalization in the use of socially relevant algorithms. Specialized in the philosophy of law, she is part of the group of advisers on artificial intelligence and big data for the Government. In addition, she leads the secretariat of the Forum for Internet Governance (IGF) in Germany and is part of the 100 of COTEC.
• Elizabeth Feinler is an information scientist best known for creating and running the Network Information Center (NIC) for the ARPANET — the precursor to the modern Internet. Under Feinler, the NIC became the overall naming authority of the Internet, creating and managing the first domain name registries. She and her team created the top-level domain naming scheme (.com, .edu, .gov, .org, etc.) that is still in use today.
• Zahra Shah has been working in startups and emerging markets for over 7 years, with a focus on growing tech ecosystems in conflict-affected regions. Merging her passion for technology and development, she has lead Re:Coded's operations in Iraq, and worked for Gaza Sky Geeks before that. Both organizations upskill youth through coding and entrepreneurship with a focus on employment. Zahra launched a non-profit venture, Iraqi Innovators, which works on creating quality content to change the narrative surrounding the country.
• Creola Katherine Johnson was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and the subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. During her 35-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. The space agency noted her "historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist.
• Grazia Vittadini is an Italian aerospace executive and since May 2018 Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the aerospace and defense company Airbus. Vittadini serves as Director of the Airbus Foundation Board and as a member of the Inclusion and Diversity Steering Committee. She was also awarded the French "Légion d'honneur" (Legion of Honour) in 2017 and the "Woman of the Year in Business" award in 2018 by the French trade magazine L'Usine Nouvelle.
• Annie J. Easley was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and rocket scientist. She worked for the Lewis Research Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. She was a leading member of the team which developed software for the Centaur rocket stage, and was one of the first African-Americans to work.

This information was founded through a variety of web searches, research after watching Hollywood films and articles, and the gender-specific STEM curricula that showcase the accomplishment and lives of these impactful women.

It's St. Patrick's Day!

As I mentally prep for the corned beef sandwich calling my name, I figured I'd share some COVID friendly celebration ideas.

1. Cook your favorite Irish foods - soda bread, corned beef and cabbage, sausage rolls, shepherd's pie (so many options)
2. Order your favorites if cooking is too much
3. Go to a virtual event - check your local Historical Society, Arts Council, or Heritage Center
4. Listen to the tunes!

Today is National Day of Unplugging. The Factr team shared some resources pulled from nationaldayofunplugging.com yesterday that has helped us prepare for NDU. It's definitely ironic that I'm typing this on my computer, by definition, plugged in.

I've always been a fan of "screen-free Sundays" and plan to celebrate NDA this coming Sunday when I have less need for being online. With that, I have included some intentional moments to the official NDU today. I started my day unplugged (COVID style) in a Zoom meditation, led by Anjali from Rooted Rasa, based in CA. The 30-minute event helped reframe all action items on my plugged-in to-do list.

I'm also joining the ongoing Center for Humane Technology calls that are regularly hosted at 1 pm EST on Airmeet. Again, while very much plugged in, I've already gained access to some more tools and tips to properly unplug, all of which, I will be printing out and use for planning my Sunday.

All of these activities have helped me realize how even the smallest of tasks include being "plugged in". My credit card, alarm, even the car - can all be accessed via my phone. Creating plans to unplug requires the in-advance use of technology to call friends and family to coordinate meeting times and locations and even then, upon reaching the destination, I find myself texting "here!" instead of looking around and finding my people. Another example is I've recently noticed is how planning out dinners often includes a few web searches or questions for Alexa (who yes, does exist in my home :(…)

NDU is a nice reminder of what technologies I'm using to create my daily routine and what I can do to balance out that use. I.e. fill in my written day planner, grab my book instead of the Kindle, find the dusty cookbook…small things to remind me of the tasks I used to regularly do tech-free.

The pipeline is a way to silo all of that out and say, ‘we just need to get more Black women in tech,’ as opposed to saying, ‘actually, these companies are and have been racist and white supremacist and misogynist, and it’s those institutions and larger societal and global capitalist structures that need to change.

'From a structural perspective, it’s really evident we’re not going to change toxic, discriminatory tech environments without naming the problems,' Whittaker told TechCrunch. 'We have decades of failed DEI PR, decades of people blaming the pipeline and decades of brilliant people like Ifeoma, Aerica and Timnit being harassed and pushed out of these environments. And oftentimes, people aren’t able to speak about their experiences so that the deep toxicity of these environments — the way it’s built into the structural operating procedures of these companies and workplaces — doesn’t get aired.'

Our Chief Operating Officer basically said, look, let’s call up the higher-ups at the NSCC and kind of figure out what’s going on. Maybe there’s some way we can work with them. And basically, there was another call. And they lowered it to something like $1.4 billion from $3 billion…. But still a high number. Vlad said the team then proposed how to manage the risk through the day “marking these volatiles stocks that were driving the activity, positioning closing only. And then, at about an hour before the market closed market opened. So, at 5.30, or five in the morning, they [the NSCC] came back and they said okay, the deposit [should be] 700 million, which we then deposited and paid promptly. And then, everything was fine.

These interactions and interviews on Clubhouse often have me holding my breath - "that's live TV for ya folks" type of energy.

It's Data Privacy Day!

I'll be using the resource stream tools to stay up to date on my data security. Here's some insight from Policy International on why that's so important.

Published news articles featured in each company profile highlight some very concerning reports about company activities, such as selling personal information without requiring verification from the buyer, spreading disinformation, using Facebook as political messaging "laboratories", accusations of circumventing national laws and privacy concerns raised in a UK Parliamentary inquiry into fake news.

Interesting summary of tech tools alongside insights on the future of ethical tech.

This Amazon campaign is the latest in what is increasingly becoming the tech industry’s playbook for coddling its customers while papering over its immiseration of its frontline workers.

In terms of augmented reality, there is currently no agreement with regards to where we can augment and what kinds of augmentation are unacceptable.

Both on and offline, tech companies are able to use all of the information they hold about us and use it to their advantage — “nudging” us towards decisions that are predominately in their interests, and not necessarily always in ours. As we move into more and more immersive and convincing online environments, we’ll have to determine when this kind of “nudge” becomes a “shove” as companies are given a greater opportunity to “hack” our cognition and undercut our agency.