blackfemcoders

I think one of the main reasons media outlets such as the ones you mentioned don't cover these stories is because they just aren't aware of all of the work that is going on in the community to resolve this. It's just not on their radar. I think, in part, it is our responsibility as founders and community advocates to continue doing what we're doing and putting our work out there, but it also just as much (if not even more) the responsibility of these larger media sources to make addressing this a priority.

The hardest part, in my opinion, is getting people to understand that this conversation is not limited to one subset of the community. It involves everyone in some way.

Here here. It's not that we don't exist: we do and we always have. It's that the problem is two-fold: 1) we don't get the access and resources needed at a young age to encourage us to pursue STEM fields and succeed/achieve in that realm and 2) for those of us who choose to pursue that route anyway, we don't get the exposure later on once we have achieved. The positive is that I see change happening, even if it's not as quickly as I would like, but it's still an issue that will need to be continually acknowledged and addressed by all until it is (ideally) not an issue anymore.

--http://blackfemalecoders.tumblr.com/

Also, thank you for making this post, as this is a topic that I strongly feel needs to be addressed. I think there is coverage on the issue from the standpoint of other black founders advocating for more (BlackFemaleCoders, Blerdology, DigitalUndivided, BlackGirlNerds, etc) but outside of that community, I find the issue doesn't get addressed nearly as much, if much at all. This isn't just a "black" issue or a "women" issue, it's an issue in the tech community at large that applies to and affects the whole community. It requires everyone to at the very least be more aware and communicate openly about it so that we can all work together towards positive change.

I'm a black female developer who founded BlackFemaleCoders (http://blackfemalecoders.tumblr.com/) as a way of building a community of us out there. I've found it difficult both throughout my CS studies and while working in the field to find other women like me who can share and relate to my experience and I noticed that there wasn't really a strong presence out there for those of us already in the field to connect with each other. I'm hoping my blog can help fix that.

In terms of my experience, I can count on my hands the number of other black women developers I've encountered thusfar. Whether it's at conferences, in my classes or at work, I'm often one of a couple or the only black woman around (and oftentimes black person in general). I'm not happy about it and have become an advocate for getting more women of color (and women in general!) in STEM fields, specifically in computer science.

I've shared more on my experience as being a black female coder here in this post: http://blackfemalecoders.tumblr.com/about

I encourage you all to check it out and please get in touch with me if you are interested in sharing your experience! (twitter @lifeissweetgood)