In this episode, Michelle and Samah talk about how speaking at events in the WordPress world is an incredible honor, but it often comes with real costs. Most speakers receive no pay, no travel or lodging covered, and sometimes face financial barriers that make it hard to share their voices. Thankfully, passionate community members, organizations, and companies have stepped up with creative, heartfelt initiatives to make WordPress more inclusive. They share a lot of amazing initiatives. From the grassroots Michelle & Me Selfie Challenge to the Yoast Diversity Fund, the Open Horizons Scholarship, mentorship programs, and beyond, these efforts are helping underrepresented people take the stage, connect, and shine. This is a celebration of those programs, the lives they’ve touched, and an open invitation. If you know of other initiatives, share them so we can spotlight even more of the good happening in our community. Together, we can make sure every voice is heard.
Underrepresented in Tech