Educational

Tracy Chou: Software Engineer and Diversity Advocate

Tracy Chou is a software engineer, diversity advocate, and founding member of Project Include, a non-profit that promotes diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. Her work has been instrumental in raising awareness about the lack of diversity in Silicon Valley and promoting change in the tech industry.

 

Photo courtesy of TIME.

Chou was born in the United States and grew up in a Chinese-American household. She attended Stanford University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in computer science.

 

After graduating, Chou began working as a software engineer at several Silicon Valley companies, including Google and Pinterest. It was during her time at these companies that she began to notice the lack of diversity in the tech industry. Chou noticed that there were very few women and people of color working in tech and that the culture of the industry often made it difficult for these groups to succeed.

 

Chou decided to take action and use her platform to raise awareness about the lack of diversity in tech. In 2013, she wrote a blog post titled “Where Are the Numbers?” in which she called on tech companies to release data about their workforce demographics. The post went viral, and it sparked a conversation about diversity in tech that has continued to this day.

 

In 2015, Chou became a co-founder of Project Include, a non-profit that aims to accelerate diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. The organization provides companies with data-driven recommendations and strategies for improving diversity and inclusion. Project Include has worked with companies such as Airbnb, Dropbox, and Slack to help them improve their diversity and inclusion efforts.

 

In January 2021, Chou launched her app Block Party, which protects users from having to see online harassment, after dealing with abusive behavior on Twitter and seeing it firsthand when she worked at Quora.

 

Chou’s work has been widely recognized and celebrated. She has been named one of the “Most Powerful Women Engineers” by Business Insider and one of the “30 Under 30” in technology by Forbes. She has also been featured in publications such as The New York Times and Wired.

 

In addition to her work with Project Include and Block Party, Chou is also an advocate for diversity in other areas of society. She has spoken out about the need for more diversity in politics, and she has worked to promote diversity in the venture capital industry.

 

Tracy Chou’s work has had a significant impact on the tech industry and beyond. She has used her platform to raise awareness about the lack of diversity in tech and to promote change in the industry. Her work has helped companies to improve their diversity and inclusion efforts, and her advocacy has helped to raise awareness about the need for more diversity in other areas of society.