Child Q, Female Founders Need Money, Not Mentoring & More

Welcome to the Hustle Crew Newsletter!

In this week's newsletter:

• ???The devastating case of Child Q?and adultification of Black Girls?
• ???? National Deaf History Month?(US) —?meet Sa?da Florexil
• ???Racism and representation in the media?— How to deal as a person of colour?
• ?? New job opportunities at?Dusk,?Polimonitor?and more
• ???Female founders need money,?not more mentoring

The devastating case of Child Q: How adultification bias affects Black children

Trigger warning: bias, harassment humiliation and racial profiling????We are shocked and devastated by the?story of Child Q which broke last night?in the UK. Child Q is?a 15-year-old Black school girl who was inappropriately strip-searched by police because she 'smelled of weed' while menstruating, without proper support from her teachers. Nothing was found on her. We have SO many questions:

• Why did her teachers call the police?
• Why was the strip search conducted without proper safeguarding?
• Why was she sent home with minimal pastoral care and follow up?
• Why did the police believe it was okay to do this to a child?
• ...and would this have happened if she were white?

Adultification bias plays a HUGE part in this ordeal. It is a type of bias that affects Black children more than others?[New York Times]?&?[Vox].?This is a moment for all of us to check the assumptions we make about which children are worthy of protection and who we see as 'mature' and in need of punishment. It starts with each of us, we need to continuously?manage our bias.

Adultification?bias is?"a stereotype?in which adults view Black girls as less innocent and more adult-like than their white peers, devoid of any individualized context. In other words, adultification bias is not an evaluation of maturity based on observation of an individual girl’s behaviour, but instead is a presumption — a typology applied generally to Black girls" —?The Initiative on Gender Justice and Opportunity

As we learned last week, bias spills out from one realm to another. The adultification of Black children causes serious, long-lasting trauma. These biases also evolve into other prejudices that Black adults experience in the workplace and wider society.?

What next??Writing this newsletter was emotionally exhausting for us and tackling systemic bias can make us feel helpless. But we aren't, there's power in our collective action, so here's what to do next.?

• If you're based in the UK,?write to your local MP
• If you're based outside of the UK,?join the conversation, write about it, comment, share and raise awareness

We can't let this get swept under the rug.?

?National Deaf History Month (US) — meet?Sa?da Florexil

This?National Deaf History Month?we're spotlighting?tech founder?Sa?da Florexil,?who is making history today.

Sa?da founded?Imanyco, an organisation that aims to make socialising?in the world accessible anytime and anywhere, to people with hearing disabilities.

Imanyco created a?real-time transcription technology called Comunify that assists deaf and hard-of-hearing people during in-person group conversations.

Job Opportunities ??

• DUSK?is hiring a?Marketing & Partnerships Manager.?Become the creative mind behind?the UK's largest nightlife and rewards app, showcasing the best bars and exclusive offers.?Apply now
• Calling all?Junior Python Developers,?Polimonitor?needs you! Polimonitor is a?political monitoring, analysis and engagement company that leverages AI & automation. Become a part of a fast-growing and innovative start-up.?Apply now
• Become a mentor for women in Tech?with Wentors.?Learn more here?
• Our friends at?POCinTech are hiring a community manager?to help them reach more people.?Apply now
• Want to get move involved in Hustle Crew??We're taking on more freelance consultants!??If you are passionate about inclusion, have experience in public speaking & work experience within tech companies then send us an email at [email protected]

Don't forget to mention Hustle Crew in your application! ??

Hiring? Wanna get hired?

• Looking for a new role? We want to make our job postings as relevant as possible for you,?tell us what you're looking for here
• Keep your pipeline healthy and hire someone in the Hustle Crew community!?Here's how

Racism and bias are EVERYWHERE??— including in the TV shows, movies and music we enjoy. Whether it's colourism, 'preference' or straight up erasure,?the media writes a narrative of who's worthy, who gets overlooked, who gets paid and who ends up being fetishised

Let's talk about it >>?Join us live on Twitter spaces?with Michael Berhane of?@pocintech on Tuesday 22nd

Female founders need money, not more mentoring??

The?200bn club?is launching a new mentoring programme to tackle the underinvestment in female founders.?However, founder Tessa Clarke, co-founder of Olio, amongst others?are not convinced that the?200 Billion Club?will have any meaningful impact on the lack of investment in female founders -?read Tessa's?article here. The mentoring programme suggests?that the root of the problem lies with female founders not being up to scratch, rather than the VC industry being structurally biased.?

London Business School's Dr Dana Kanzee has identified in her?Ted talk?to add to the many biases?female founders face, they?are also asked?“prevention” questions by investors of either gender, whereas male founders are asked “promotion” questions. Promotion questions and answers lead to a more successful result.

Rather than trying to “fix” female founders, we believe the VC industry needs structural reform.?We'd love to know your thoughts on this, tweet us?@hustlecrewlive.

Want more inspiration?

• Follow us on?Instagram,?LinkedIn?or?Twitter
• Grab the book —?Dream Big. Hustle Hard: The Millennial Woman's Guide to Success in Tech

Catch Up on Techish

Techish is on a break this week, so now's your chance to catch up on everything that's been happening in the culture!?Listen now

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