Upper Hand

6Brand or Bust?

The #ILookLikeAnEngineer hashtag campaign that appeared on Twitter in August 2015 began as an attempt to show the gender diversity in engineering and STEM across the board. More than 75,000 users have leveraged the hashtag since, with an attempt to identify and rebrand what it means to be a professional in the industry.

Social media has added a new level of swag with a variety of self‐appointed campaigns to create inclusive representation of science, math, technology, and other professions, both across the country and around the world. Stereotypes be damned, the engineers and tech nerds I follow are diverse, come from a variety of backgrounds, wear Jordans or Patagonia vests, and wear their cultures and hustle proudly.

Despite the visibility of these voices and personalities on social media, the industry itself hasn't always lent itself to visibility at this level—which has required us to get creative about building or succeeding in spaces to show what is possible.

As it stands, the brand of representation hasn't held true in the most significant environments. According to McKinsey's 2020 Women in the Workplace report, for every 100 men who are promoted to the position of manager, only 85 women are promoted, and the gap is even more striking for Black women and Latinas. Only 58 Black women and 71 Latinas were promoted to every 100 men.

As it stands, 41 women are leading Fortune 500 companies—a drop in the bucket. In 2021, Rosalind Brewer from Walgreens Boots ...