This past week has been devastating. The murder of George Floyd was a reminder that systemic and structural racism is pervasive on every level in the United States of America. But perhaps just as upsetting is realizing that we, as individuals, have been able to use our white privilege as blinders to these injustices that have been going on well before George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin or so many others whose names we know and whose names we don’t know. This is a system of oppression that has been ongoing for 400 years and at this point in time, we’re not here to entertain opinions on how these protests are taking place but WHY. We have been spending time thinking about this question with a lot of self-reflection that will require even more time…but we’re not going to stand still. There’s no going back. We can’t unsee what we’ve seen.
We started the Women’s Tech Forum to promote gender equality and solidarity amongst women in our industry. But that is simply not enough. We have not done enough to tackle intersectionality head-on, and specifically how white and white-passing women hold privilege over black women and other women of color. We have not done enough to represent women of color on our board, and we have not done enough to represent women of color on our panels or on our blog. This is a failure that we will actively work on. We look to amplify the voices of ALL women, including women of color, LGTBQIA+, women with disabilities and more, but we recognize that at this moment in history we need to focus on amplifying the voices of our black sisters and brothers, listen to them and help with their fight for equality. We welcome your thoughts.
Right now, we promise to absorb, participate in, and amplify the discussion of dismantling racism. In the words of the great Angela Davis, “it is not enough to be quietly non-racist, now is the time to be vocally anti-racist.” The blinders are off. Know that we see you, we hear you, and we stand with you.
This is just the beginning. Let’s keep the conversation going…
In solidarity,
Suzie, Sarah, Elena, Jess and Nadia