GitHub, a popular platform for software developers, has seen a surge in ‘passion projects’ spearheaded by women. These passion projects, often created in the developers’ free time, are aimed at addressing issues that matter to them personally, such as diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. Julie Ann Horvath, a designer at GitHub, initiated ‘Passion Projects’ to spotlight women developers and their work. The initiative has since hosted talks by notable women in tech, such as designer Laura Weidman Powers and coder Carina Zona.
The rise in passion projects is not confined to GitHub. Women in tech are increasingly using their skills to drive change and promote inclusivity. For instance, Tracy Chou, a software engineer at Pinterest, used data to highlight the lack of diversity in her company. Her efforts led to Pinterest publicly disclosing its diversity statistics for the first time.
Despite these strides, there is still much work to be done. Women remain underrepresented in tech, and many face discrimination and bias. However, the rise of passion projects and initiatives like ‘Passion Projects’ offers hope for a more inclusive future in the tech industry.
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