Issue 25
the Week of August 10, 2015
New work on crowdfunding and black economic justice, being gay in maker spaces, and power dynamics in open source. We look at mental health in tech activism, the inequalities created by iOS-first development, and the demands faced by marginalized people in tech. We explore how the devaluation of non-developers negatively impacts tech companies, and an alternative to the existing founder mythology. Plus, the #GiveYourMoneyToWomen movement. Photo CC-BY NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, cropped and filtered.
How the Glorification of Software Developers Compromises Tech Companies
Instead of prioritizing coding work, we should instead look at our teams and companies as a complex and intricate organism, requiring every part of it to cooperate in order to work.
The Accidental Classism and Unintentional Racism Of iOS Development for Children
There is a gulf between children that are able to access the tools that will help them prepare for the future, and those that simply cannot.
Mental Health and Diversity Work
Recognize that, while extremely beneficial, diversity-in-tech work exacts an emotional and mental toll on the well-being of the people who do it.
Push Me Until I Break: The Effects of Unrealistic Expectations on Marginalized Workers in Tech
One must consider if this pressure is put on creators specifically to see them fail.
The Hidden Power Dynamics of Open Source
Despite our mythologies of open source as a flat, accessible, democratic model for software development, the way we lead our open source groups consistently proves otherwise.
Making Queer
Making as a gay man is a political statement that I will not be relegated to the periphery of society, seen as inconsequential, or be without the power to shape my own world and the worlds of others.
Getting Our Forty Acres: Crowdfunding, Reparations, and Black Economic Justice
In a society where equitable access to jobs, housing, and financial services is still threatened by racist discrimination, crowdfunding is a tool that has helped marginalized communities deal with the impact of economic violence.
Give Your Money To Women: The End Game of Capitalism
#GiveYourMoneyToWomen is more than a hashtag, it’s a theory and practical framework of gender justice.
This issue is made possible in part by some of our generous readers: André Arko, Aditya Mukerjee, Tilde Ann Thurium, vex0rian, Alex Navasardyan and Bernard Yu.