Issue 41

the Week of September 6, 2016
Adult and juvenile swans in a lake.

In this issue, we explore the harmful myths around affirmative action in the tech industry, and critique Western bias in the mainstream tech press. We look at the politics and workforce behind professional brands, and chat with a new, women of color-led startup about building accessibility culture. Plus, being bisexual in tech, and the impact of constant plagiarism on marginalized students. Photo CC-BY Aleksandar Cocek.

Photographic implementation of the "ghost writer": blurred, near-transparent hands hovering over a keyboard.

The Invisible Female Workforce Behind the Social CEO

"Thought leadership" involves a far vaster and more complex labor system than first appears.

A lone student walking across a brick walkway, outlined dramatically by rows of stairs in black and white.

Nobodies to Everybody: How Plagiarism Pervades Marginalized Students

Any contribution I make will either be ignored or exploited to sell their idyllic, inactive intellectualism.

A unicorn drawn on the lid of a laptop next to the Apple logo.

Tech, Affirmative Action and The Lochte Effect

Wage gaps and hiring discrimination persist despite the fact that most large corporations have affirmative action and equal opportunity policies.

Series of multi-colored globes in a pile.

“The App You’ve Never Heard Of”: Exploring Western Bias in Tech Media

If an app isn’t developed firstly for the Western market, tech press suggests its success isn’t worth knowing about.

Transcribe Online logo: the words in a fun, bubbly font and a 'T' speech bubble wrapped in headphones.

Building Accessible Tech and Culture: Interview with The Women of Transcribe Online

"We’re hoping it can change lives as well as movement and organizing work."

Large sculptures of dandelions beneath a bridge, surreal in a fading light.

Bisexuals in STEM Need Support and Representation

I still can’t see myself in role models or dream jobs.

This issue is made possible in part by some of our generous readers: Michael R.Schmidt, Scott Hanselman (The Hanselminutes Tech Podcast), Jacques Labuschagne and Elly Fong-Jones.