(hopeful music)
- I never took a computer science class in high school.
And I don't remember saying this, but my mom says
that they had them at my school,
but I didn't want to take them
because I thought it would be full of boys.
And when I got into undergrad, I signed up
for an Intro to Computer Science class.
I didn't really know what to expect,
but one thing I was not expecting
was for the professor to be a woman.
And it was, and I remember walking in that first day
and just kind of being, like, "Oh, that's really cool."
And I think having a role model like that
that I could look up to was really important for me.
(hopeful music)
- The CSE department at the University of California,
San Diego, is working to be a more diverse, equitable,
and inclusive environment.
We have a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee
with faculty, staff, and students.
- The world is becoming a smaller place
where instead of people living in smaller communities
with their families, with like-minded people,
now we have people from multiple parts of the world
coming together in some location and living together.
And the greatest example of that is this great country,
the United States of America,
where it's a melting pot, as we call it.
Now, to understand multiple perspectives,
it's important that multiple perspectives be represented
in the conversation, in the decision-making process.
And the best way to do that is to make sure
that everybody who has the ability
to contribute has access.
- We go out to conferences and we recruit students
to apply to our programs who maybe don't get that kind
of messaging from their undergraduate institutions,
from their high schools,
don't really necessarily think
that UCSD is an option for them,
maybe it's too lofty in their minds.
- Engineers practice a profession
that is supposed to provide improvements
to everyone's lives.
It makes absolutely no sense to me to limit the pool
of talent that can contribute to these solutions.
- I've been in situations where I felt like
I wasn't valued because I was the only woman in the room.
- I wanted to be a team leader
for a project in one of my classes,
and it was the very first day of class,
so no one knew anything about us
other than what we looked like and our names.
But I was doubted.
But after I stood up for myself, I did become leader
and we did great.
And it was a really great experience for me
and, I think, for the rest
of the people on my team, as well.
But it was so easy for me to be like,
"Oh, maybe they're right, maybe that person
"would be better suited to the job."
Although all of us were complete strangers.
- There's a variety of studies that show, for example,
women are talked over, or they don't feel
as comfortable speaking up in a room
when they're the only one or two in the room.
So I think a lot of the things we can do
are seemingly small changes that will make huge impact.
- You can go into an environment
and encourage sort of behavior change,
encourage a shift in awareness,
where I am going to make some small changes
to my behavior when I enter the classroom.
You know, if I'm teaching a course,
I introduce myself, I give my pronouns.
Very simple, very subtle thing,
but it's a shift, a difference, something new.
- A sense of belonging is incredibly important,
and one way to nurture that is for students and faculty
and staff to see themselves in one another.
- Representation matters, so when I walk around campus
and our young students see me, do they think,
"Wow, someone who looks like me."
It is inspiring to have a woman of color in leadership.
And there was one point in my career here
where I wore my hair differently.
I had my hair in braids.
And it was really amazing to see what a difference
that made to young black girls.
- I never kind of realized how amazing it was
to actually have a woman be at the front of the class
and seeing the passion that she had
really made me excited for theory,
which is something that I've never really
been passionate about myself.
- Different people with different backgrounds
bring really different perspectives.
And they create a different culture which leads
to different innovations and just different products.
I think, unless everybody's voice is at the table,
you're probably missing some solution or some way
that technology could really impact society for the better.
- I think diversity of people
is basically diversity of thought.
And if you don't have diversity of thought,
that means you'll find a lot of people who tend
to agree with you, and that is okay to a certain extent,
but once you start finding people that agree with you,
you start becoming blind to all the possibilities
or the things you've gotten wrong.
So I think diversity is important
because you will always have people to tell you
that you are wrong and tell you
of their different perspectives
because their background is just so different than yours.
- I grew up in Kenya for 18 years,
and I'm an international student here.
The technology that we have in Kenya
is extremely different from the technology
that other first-world countries have.
Not everyone has access to the type of data,
like 4G LTE that people have here.
So most apps are light,
and have very little data associated with them.
The people who made that technology were able to make it
because they had the experiences of having low data
and wanting to do the same things that you can do
in a country that has a lot of data.
- I've been here at UC San Diego 27 years,
seen the university grow,
but I haven't seen it grow to the kind of diversity
we would like to have.
Because this is a public institution,
we work for the people of the state of California.
California's a rich and diverse state
and I really look forward to a future
where our university looks like the people of California.
- The university's entire strength derives
from the diversity of the people and the ideas here.
The only way that we can be sure
we aren't leaving good ideas on the table
is to make sure that we have people
of as many different kinds of expertise
and backgrounds and perspectives as possible
engaged in the conversation.
- I love this department, this university.
I wanna see this department become
an even greater department than it already is.
And a key enabler to that aspiration
is that for anybody in this department
or coming into this department that has talent,
they should be able to see those talents realized,
they should be able to make the most of their abilities.
- It is through diversity and inclusiveness
that we can set the stage for creativity, for innovation,
and ultimately, for the highest levels of excellence.
My name is Sorin Lerner, and I sit so that my two daughters
can grow up in a world of endless possibilities,
and in a world where, I hope, they will not have to sit.
- I'm Ariana Mirian, and I sit--
- I sit. - I sit.
- I sit. - I sit for opportunity.
I sit for inclusion and equity,
and I sit for justice and compassion.
- So that everyone can have a strong role model
they can relate to.
- So that one day, every student can look
around the classroom and see people who are like them.
- As chancellor, I sit for equity, diversity, and inclusion
for all of UC San Diego.
- I'm sitting with you today because I just can't stand it
when my students don't have the opportunities
they should have because of wrong thinking.
- I sit for every girl who,
despite all of their achievements,
still thinks that they don't belong in computer science.
- So that students who are unable to be here now
can be here in the future.
- Because we need to be vocal about diversity.
- So that anyone who wants to be a part
of this wonderful thing can feel welcome,
can contribute, and can succeed and thrive.
- Because I want the University of California
to look like the people of California.
- I sit for my ancestors who could not.
And I'm grateful that they opened doors
for me to be able to sit here.
- I sit here today for LGBTQ inclusion in STEM.
- I'm sitting here to support the efforts
of diversity, equity, and inclusion
within the computer science and engineering fields.
- For all the folks who have felt doubted
throughout their career, or haven't felt like
they could express themselves fully.
- To increase awareness about the importance
of equity, diversity, and inclusion,
not just in computer science and engineering,
but wider STEM fields, and human society in general.
- Because I want girls in STEM
to really feel like they belong.
- I am Moraa Ogamba, and I sit for all the black girls
who love to code.
- I sit for our youth, our future generations.
I sit for the endless opportunities
that they should and will have in the future
because of the efforts that we're taking today.
(hopeful music)
(upbeat music)