Why Representation Really, Really Matters in Tech. With Aisha Thomas

My guest today is Aisha Thomas, who is an Assistant Principal at an inner city secondary school in Bristol, England, and an educational activist. Aisha originally trained as a lawyer but an encounter with a young prisoner drew her into teaching. In her new profession she was shocked to discover how few Black teachers there were in Bristol, and was approached by the BBC to present a documentary on the issue.We talk about the conversation she wanted to ignite with her powerful, honest, and ultimately hopeful TEDx talk on why representation really matters, and the importance of feeling you belong, particularly for young people. We also touch on the U.K.’s A-level grading fiasco which is a text-book example of everything we talk about in the episode.Lastly Aisha shares her thoughts on the must-read book, Race After Technology, by Ruha Benjamin, and gives us a sneak peak into her talk at the 2020 Anthropology + Technology Conference.We loved talking to Aisha and we hope you enjoy the episode.To find out more about Aisha, you can visit her website https://www.repmatters.co.uk/ and connect with her on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.To hear Aisha's talk at the Anthropology + Technology Conference on 9th October, visit us online at anthtechconf.co.uk and sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

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The annual Response-Ability Summit, formerly the Anthropology + Technology conference, brings together leading experts from the social sciences and technology to champion socially-responsible tech, and to foster dialogue and collaboration across the disciplines. The summit has been curated to help today’s leading technology companies understand the significant value of combining teams of technologists with social scientists. Together we can build a future in which socially-responsible tech is the norm.