 business has just raised from here to like, thanking that for sharing your story, for being honest. So, okay. So, when I entered my tech workspace or any workspace where there are like development professionals available or around, there's a set of expectations that I have on my own back. I feel like I have to be twice as good. Just like Papa Pope told Olivia, I have to be twice as good to achieve half of what my coworkers have. I feel like I have to prove that I deserve to be here just like everyone else. I have to fit in, even if I'm different. And I feel like I have to educate first and then feel second. Like I can't respond, I have to educate. Through microaggressions, through unconscious bias, through the caution felt when my coworkers come to ask me a question. Through curious stares, through surprise glances when like my code works. This is what I hear. It's silent, but it's loud nonetheless. This is what we all hear as black women, as women, as onlys, as people of color, as one of the only in a space where, you know, the ingenuity and the creativity of people are celebrated. You know, it's an environment that welcomes everyone, but it's not a welcoming environment. We carry with us all of this expectation and are tasked with doing a phenomenal job in spite of it all. This isn't the way anybody should operate at work. It's just not. No matter your race or your gender expression, you should be able to feel comfortable to express yourself creatively and professionally. Oh, where was I? So yeah, so based on data that's collected from tech company reports and reviews and things of that nature, diversity numbers are abysmal. They just are. It's not like they're not trying. We've all seen efforts to increase diversity by race-based hiring, no matter what it's coded as, by thought-perroking panels, by thought pieces written by amazing black authors who might have been sponsored. And more, like we've read the stories of whistleblowers and honestly, I had to be one myself because I needed to share my truth and I needed for everyone to know that they matter, not only to their job, but as humans. So I recently actually wrote a piece on Medium and it was about my experiences as a developer, being sat in the back of the office, being excluded, being ignored. And one comment that really stood out to me is this one. It said it's the people who go miles out of their way to resist modifying any aspect of their work behavior, who talk incessantly about diversity, the difficulty of it, the workshops they have to do because of the crappy, or excuse me, the workshops they have to do because of it, the crappy insert job title who probably got the job because of it. But the experience of bending yourself into pretzel shapes to fit into a culture made manifestly, excuse me, uncomfortable by just your presence, like right? I had to send her a bunch of emojis for that one because we're tired, we're tired, we're tired of bending into these pretzel shapes to conform. We are tired of being underappreciated. We're tired of not being heard. We are super, super tired of being passed on for interviews when we have the experience, when we're able to do the job. Since this is happening inside companies everywhere, Silicon Valley and elsewhere, since these are real things that occur to real people in jobs, we're going to reject it, simply reject it. Instead of looking to companies to improve their work culture or to do better, we're gonna focus inward. So right now we're gonna conjure up a little bit of black girl magic. Black girl magic celebrates the power, the resilience of black women, but anybody of any race or gender expression can do the same. We're gonna open up our energy and accept more creative energy in. We're going to be more authentic, expressive and open right now. This is where change will happen. So let's conjure up some black girl magic. Can I get some jazz hands? Step one, be your authentic self. What does this mean? Like I hear it a lot, but what does it mean? When we're around our work people, we feel like we have to be this work-friendly version of ourselves. We hide like a piece of ourselves, we code switch immediately. And yeah, just stop, stop doing that. Don't do it anymore. Walk into work and be exactly who you are. Be strong in your nerdiness, be strong in your differences, be strong in the fact that you look different. So what? Those coming after you, the people that you're influencing and you're helping to get into the field, they are going to be so happy that you are comfortable to be who you are and they're going to in turn be who they are at work. So yeah, do that. Be authentic self. Step two, allow your words to be valuable, useful, and right. You know those times when you have something to say to your coworker and you really want to say it and you feel it coming out your mouth, but you just, nah, maybe not. Say it, say the words. Say what you have to say. Your words are valuable and they're just not valuable to you but to your entire work environment. You have the power to educate, to inform. You can dispel expectations and stereotypes. Many times as a black woman in a tech company, I felt my words, my contributions, and even my presence wasn't useful or valuable. But that's something that I allowed myself to feel. Based on how I was being treated, I didn't fight against the things that I knew were wrong. I just accepted them, kind of moved on because I had to make money, I had to do my job, right? Yeah, don't do that. Never again. Step three, speak your truth. Many times when we're experiencing something negative at work, we don't say it. We think about our bank accounts. We think about our livelihood. We think about our family and a whole bunch of external stuff. We don't focus on what it's doing to us internally. I spend eight hours a day in a toxic work environment and I did not tell anybody, except for some of my close friends. When I decided to let go and I said the things that I needed to say to people at work and to others, it was freeing. I felt myself, I felt everything just lift off of my soul. I was able to say, you know, this sucks. It really does and something needs to change. When I spoke my truth, my words impacted change in my work environment and impacted change in my own life. You are wonderful, all of you, and you owe it to yourself to speak your truth. And finally, step four, share your knowledge. As an only or one of a few, your experience, your time, and your knowledge is valuable to the next generation. We're at the forefront of this diversity and tech movement, but the fastest way to help is to increase the number of people in. And to do that, we can teach each other, we can help. Start an online course, write a tutorial, do what you can to move those forward who don't have the skills that you have. The old adage, each one teach one is one that rings true here. So being authentic, expressing yourself, sharing your knowledge, those are a few ways that you can focus inward to manifest change externally. Instead of walking into your job, feeling the weight of all these expectations and experiences that are negative and things like that, walk into your power. Walk into the room like this. But it up. Strut in, cloaked in your authenticity. Do your job to the best of your ability and know that your contributions are valued at work and the community at large. Don't let being an only limit you in any way. Being your beautiful, your handsome, your amazing, your audacious, your nerdy self, bring it all in. Let your quirkiness guide you, do your thing. Let your words tell your story and speak your truths and your experiences no matter how negative. Bring all of yourself to work and watch how you'll change the status quo. You got this. Counting on you guys. Thank you. Thank you.