Female Software Engineer Too Pretty - Isis Anchalee Wenger, 22, has been asked by her San-Francisco based company, OneLogin, to pose for their ad. What took place next is anything anyone could have expected.
When the OneLogin ad appeared at the BART and MUNI stations at Embarcadero, San Francisco, people didn't believe the ad, and that's when the backlash started, according to The Daily Mail.
See how #ILookLikeAnEngineer became a movement for diversity in tech. https://t.co/5lFz3lZAYq pic.twitter.com/us4sy7MUTB
— Blue Sky Innovation (@ChicagoBlueSky) August 4, 2015
With long dark tresses and brown eyes and enough of a resemblance to Madonna's daughter, Lourdes Leon, people thought the female software engineer too pretty and didn't believe her to be a real one. However, the ad was real, and the 22-year-old is reportedly a self-taught, full-stack engineer who even described herself as a "genuine introvert" as well as a "science nerd."
Some of the backlash on Facebook which clearly thought the female software engineer too pretty include:
"This is some weird haphazard branding. I think they want to appeal to women, but are probably just appealing to dudes," said one person. "Perhaps that's the intention all along. But I'm curious [if] people with brains find this quote remotely plausible [and] if women in particular buy this image of what a female software engineer looks like."
"If their intention is to attract more women then it would have been a better to choose a picture with a warm, friendly smile rather than a sexy smirk," said another.
As a response, Wenger said she wasn't simply a representation of what a female engineer appeared to be because there isn't such a thing. She said she is an individual, like any other female engineer.
Wenger began the campaign with the hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer to tell the world what engineers looked like.
"Some people think I'm not making 'the right face'. Others think that this is unbelievable as to what 'female engineers look like'," Wenger said. "News flash: this isn't by any means an attempt to label 'what female engineers look like.' This is literally just ME, an example of ONE engineer at OneLogin. The ad is supposed to be authentic. My words, my face, and as far as I am concerned it is," she added.
She told people to share their photos and use the hashtage in order to prove that there need not be one look befitting an engineer, according to The Independent.
"External appearances and the number of X chromosomes a person has is hardly a measure of engineering ability," Wenger told TechCrunch.
"My goal is to help redefine 'what an engineer should look like' because I think that is a step towards eliminating subconscious bias towards diversity in tech," she said. "So far, dozens of women - and men - have shared photos of themselves 'looking like an engineer."
Even the wife of Bill Gates, Melinda, has reportedly weighed in on the issue of how it was wrong that people thought the female software engineer too pretty.
Melinda tweeted, "#ILookLikeAnEngineer is rightfully challenging the face of engineering."
According to NPR, by Tuesday, the hashtag #ILookLikeAnEngineer hashtag already generated thousands of responses, drawing even the attention of big personalities like Chelsea Clinton, Arianna Huffington and Katie Couric. Below are some of the responses:
I'm the lead on @digitalocean's web team and I love speaking at conferences. Also, cupcakes. #ILookLikeAnEngineer pic.twitter.com/ambWqWgHlN — net cat (@zeigenvector) August 3, 2015
i have undergrad & grad degrees in eecs from mit & have done machine learning research on asimo #iLookLikeAnEngineer pic.twitter.com/c5OxS5wB2F — sailor mercury (@sailorhg) August 3, 2015
@SWEtalk #ILookLikeAnEngineer #WomenInSTEM I plan to study engineering concepts at Princeton University. pic.twitter.com/HZhzs1zyBH
— Samantha Smith (@SamanthaGolfs) August 4, 2015
#ILookLikeAnEngineer because I am one. (In support of @isisAnchalee and diversity in tech: https://t.co/WkWlMd4fcL) pic.twitter.com/L3CgsVdWwE — Michelle Glauser (@MichelleGlauser) August 3, 2015
Just a few of the faces of @MITEngineering... Tweet yours with #ILookLikeanEngineer pic.twitter.com/JCLd6Fn2qU — MIT (@MIT) August 4, 2015
WOW! This is so overwhelmingly inspiring. I have so much gratitude for all of the support I have been receiving. pic.twitter.com/tqwMsUqp6f — Isis Anchalee (@isisAnchalee) August 4, 2015
I am a CS degree holder who used to build autonomous robots in high school #ILookLikeAnEngineer pic.twitter.com/LZLFFfLKL2
— Lindsey Bieda (@lindseybieda) August 3, 2015
I've put Java, C#, Ruby, Golang, JavaScript, & a baby into Production this year. #ILookLikeAnEngineer pic.twitter.com/NDuZeVFkpv — Lisa Smith (@lisariendeau) August 4, 2015
My mom, Perl hacker, 20+ years sys analyst. Nuclear physicist. Started coding on punch cards! #iLookLikeAnEngineer pic.twitter.com/0VhMB56ps6 — Marcos Caceres (@marcosc) August 4, 2015
I'm not in your SoMa office to unclog yr toilet, deliver tacos, or take out the trash & #ILookLikeAnEngineer pic.twitter.com/fxQjkbKAH8 — Isaac Elias (@BrainScraps) August 4, 2015
I'm Korean, Dominican, Spanish, and five feet tall. I write code all day. I wear lipstick. #ILookLikeAnEngineer pic.twitter.com/XFY3AKjVzj
— Alisha Ramos (@alishalisha) August 4, 2015
