#ILookLikeAnEngineer wants to change what you think about engineers
After a 22-year-old engineer in San Francisco was featured online in a campaign poster for her company OneLogin, she decided to use the attention and highlight her dislike of sexist stereotypes in the science and technology world.
Isis Wenger was featured on a poster that was displayed in San Francisco's BART system after being roped into it by collegues on whim, she wrote on Medium. The ad received a lot of attention online, both negative and positive.
"The negative opinions about this ad that strangers feel so compelled to share illustrate solid examples of the sexism that plagues tech," she wrote.
Diversity has been a costant issue in STEM. While growing numbers of woman and people of color are moving in on the tech world, managerial and executive positions are still dominated by white men.
After seeing some of the negative responses to the campaign, Wenger posted a picture of herself on Saturday with the hashtag "iLookLikeAnEngineer," and it instantly took off.
“I think the message went viral because it’s not just my message,” she told the Washington Post. “It addresses a problem that many people of different genders and ethnic backgrounds face.”
The hashtag had been used tens of thousands of times as of Tuesday afternoon, featuring pictures of engineers and engineering students aiming to break the idea of what it means to "look" like an engineer.
Check out some of the responses below.
Contact Kristen DeSilva at kdesilva@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kristendesilva
