In 2015 I was converted to being a feminist or advocate of some sort, of women in technology/leadership and more broadly speaking, interested in the affairs of Millennials, diversity and the future of work.

Lately, I'm particularly interested in how Millennials in leadership positions in the West and young professionals in India & China, with very significant populations, are shaping the future. I'm interested in how technology and Millennial influencers are creating initiatives so that the future world corresponds and aligns more with Millennial values of inclusion, equality, wealth equity, and equal opportunity (diversity & inclusion).  

That young professionals are championing and care tremendously about corporate social responsibility & inclusion, is one of the key meta-memes of 2016. 

Global Movement Continues 

However, this conversation needs to be even more accessible, and more viral, to include not just the privileged few in silicon valley and big corporate technology companies in the Bay region. It has to spread to be effective. It's important that Indian and Asian Millennial women also start their own campaigns in organic ways just as these started that I will be speaking about. 

I did not need to take a course in Women's studies or feminism to arrive at this point. I was converted by Millennial women, people of my generation, who arrived rather accidentally at being leaders of a movement. Nowadays articles on Medium on women in tech are quite common. Nowadays, there are so many tweets in the ecosystem of women leaders, female CEOs and the work being done to transform our institutions, work culture, laws and attitudes. 

 2016 is the key year when social media and content truly aligns with Corporate Social Responsibility and goes mainstream.  Diversity inclusion, wealth inequity and women's empowerment are now common themes as more companies, VC and influencers are getting involved. 

Rise of Viral Millennial Influencers

Digitally, I was influenced by two women who went viral. Their message became something we could relate to, they became identifiable influencers in the space that to me were more persuasive than an older female CEO could possibly have been. Female influencers of corporate social responsibility on the front lines don't just rise beyond glass barriers, they shatter them! 

I'm referring to Isis Anchalee and Tracy Chou. Both are software engineers who bring new elements to the dialogue, and a new method of storytelling that's fresh and depictive of the journey young female professionals face!  This is an era where personal brands and influencers shine light on timeless issues.

I'm identified with these young women, for being pioneers and speaking up! I'm enjoying watching how they navigate their new influencer status and use the platform for good and to the benefit of inclusion. Technology and the rise of mobile, has become a social platform for collective change and humanitarian progress. 

On Medium or on Twitter, we want to hear the story from our peers. We want new faces to represent us in the journey and in the fight. On LinkedIn pulse I've been an active writer on the space, and I'm amazed by the dialogue that sometimes takes place.

Many professional women share their experiences, many men combat the topic and many Millennials themselves make statements that are nearly anti-feminist. As a new wave of speakers on the issue arise, how feminism is perceived is changing however. 

Millennial Brand of Inclusion; Post-Feminism 

Millennials prefer to listen to their peers, to people like them. It's important to recognize how pervasive this trend is, as in all things, we trust and follow our peers, not necessarily knowing or wanting to know the pioneers of old and contexts that no longer may be as relevant to the one our generation is living.

The Millennial experience is also unique to our generation. We face new economic challenges, new contexts of what family means and new pressures to succeed professionally while remaining true to our our own authenticity and personal values. 

This is very true for the values Millennials have in the way in which the internet brought us up. We need to redefine, re-contextualize and take the stigma out of talking about inclusion and diversity in our corporate cultures. The word Feminism, does not fully cover the scope of this debate. While women in technology is a movement that has gained traction, the movement needs new influencers who represent inclusion & fight inequality in all of its forms. 

Personable Content Breaks down Barriers 

Isis & Tracy are symbolic but they bring a new perspective to the conversation. They enable a new kind of dialogue to take place that enables Millennials, both women and men, to be more sensitive to the issue and inspired to get involved! 

When a Tweet or a hashtag can change the world and a Medium post can mobilize a community and get companies more transparent, it's clear why Millennial are doing it their way. 

We don't need to identify ourselves as feminists to make a difference. My best "performing" articles on LinkedIn are all about the intersection between Millennials and women in leadership. It's no fluke! This is because key people care about this issue and realize it's importance on Silicon valley culture, Venture capital culture and beyond.

The future of society is all about software, the cloud and automation so it's only fitting that these two women would go on to play such an epic role in the digital conversation. Yet they are and will continue to be minorities as female software engineers. With VR, quantum computing, 3D printing design and AI on the horizon, we can only hope Millennial women will be strongly implicated in these developments. 

Government, Laws & Regulations Must Follow Values 

Earlier last month when San Francisco became the first US city to mandate fully paid parental leave, you can feel the momentum. Life deserves to be held sacred, and so does the right to have a work-life balance that's dignified and doesn't handicap women or put them at a competitive disadvantage for being mothers, doing all that unpaid work only to find it may jeopardize their careers. 

It's also a glimmer of hope that women's empowerment is a dialogue that still needs to be talked about for women to truly thrive and feel comfortable and have opportunities for leadership in all kinds of companies, including as software engineers, working in STEM or whatever other field.

Every month, there are more female entrepreneurs, female led startups and success stories. When Justin Trudeau made Canada's cabinet a Canadian first 50% women, was the world listening? More importantly, when will America catch up to more progressive countries?

The Inclusion Movement is led by Millennials 

Isis Anchalee and Tracy Chou, make talking about inclusion relatable, personable and something Millennials can relate to. Here is a short video of Isis Anchalee.

While this inclusion of diversity is a serious and contemporary issue, Millennial influencers remind us that how we tell our stories don't have to be morbid, we can celebrate our success and challenges. Her warmth, humor and gratitude makes her message more authentic and powerful. 

If you are a Millennial and have an inclusion, female professional or related story, I invite you to use the hashtag #InclusionBelongs 

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