Empowering Women & People of Color In Tech

There has been a long-overdue discussion this week about amplifying the voices of women in the PHP community.

I've been thinking about this a lot since I saw the first posts. At the time, I was overwhelmed with work, so I struggled to effectively put my thoughts into words, but I'd like to attempt to do so now.

Apparently some men feel threatened by Larabelles and anything else they believe excludes them.

This is the "Black Lives Matter" vs "All Lives Matter" debate all over again.

Honoring The Memory Of George Floyd

Lately, I've been asking myself: "Self! I'm just one person. How can I possibly help?"

Really I suppose this self-reflection started with the death of George Floyd and the righteous unrest that followed.

I watched in horror and disbelief from the privileged safety of my suburban home as our country seemed to devolve into anarchy.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump watched from his own walled castle. In typical Trump fashion, he offered no words of comfort or support, but cared only about himself and looking like a stable genius to his base.

I feel guilty I didn't attend any protests personally. Without a network of friends to go with, I didn't feel it was safe. Again a symptom of my middle-class white privilege: For our black brother and sisters, not feeling safe is an everyday occurrence, even when simply walking down the street minding their own business.

Forcing A Course Correction &
Giving Back The Only Way I Know How

I realize gender inequality, police reform and ending systemic racism are all problems that aren't going to be easy to solve.

Helping to bridge gender pay inequities and the racial wealth gap seems like the most direct way I can have an impact on these issues. While money won't solve everything, at least if we're all on equal footing that will be one less thing to set us apart.

So, I will continue my efforts to make life easier for new developers. To expand the PHP community by making it more inviting.

The only real assets I have to offer are my experience and my time. In that vein, I make the following commitment to the PHP community:

• I will begin dedicating 10 hours per week producing free training material (e-books, courses, video tutorials) and offering no-cost one-on-one training, freelancing and development advice to anyone that asks for it. Training time will be allocated on a first come, first served basis, but I'll gladly give priority to women and people of color looking to gain a footing in the tech industry. (At the private institution of Talbot University, my time is mine to do with as I see fit, so affirmative action is definitely on the table.)
• My upcoming Intro to Laravel development course will be available free of charge to anyone that can't afford it.
• I will move forward with long-procrastinated plans to build a social network for contractors to ensure anyone thinking about becoming a freelance developer has a support group to fall back on.
  
  It can be daunting to go into business on your own without consistent pay. I'd like to facilitate client sharing and automated lead generation and do it without taking a huge cut like Upwork and others.

Would any of this actually be helpful or am I just deluding myself into thinking it is?

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As always, I'm relying on the community to hold me accountable. Please hold me to it and keep me on my toes.

~Sean