It all starts at home! My parents often call me unruly because I slowly but surely fight against biases they learned growing up in South Korea. At my day job, I am on the Women in Tech Employee Resource Group, where I share my experiences and advocate for the change I wish to see. Our everyday actions may seem small, but they can make an impact. By learning about and through others, hearing their stories and experiences, and putting ourselves in their shoes, we have the opportunity to appreciate our similarities and differences. It is no longer just “my world” anymore, but “our world”, and together we can think of what to do to ensure we are all included in it. Something as small as thanking your bus driver can have ripple effects; others will follow suit, and soon everybody will be appreciating everybody; a beautiful domino effect.

Over time, I have come to realize that the largest obstacles I and others have faced are societal. We can rally for our government to take action, but many do not turn up to vote. We can donate time and/or funds to organizations to advocate for us, but often these are band-aid solutions. I don’t want to be a part of another ephemeral discussion or read another overfunded document on what an issue is and what we can do about it. We know we need a systemic revamp, so it’s time to take some actual action and move forward now!