Why I started a UX business as a Black Woman at 27 years old
Hello everyone! I joined Elpha a week ago. So far, I am impressed by the thoughful and vulnerable stories from leaders like @Alexandra https://elpha.com/posts/zviyb2zk/how-i-wound-down-my-company-profitably and @Harshin https://elpha.com/posts/6blvzzcp/i-ve-quit-the-tech-industry. I spent my first days navigating the platform, making time to soak in what I could before jumped in to introduce myself.
My name is Anne-Marie. I am a (French) Canadian and East-African designer and researcher. I started my company Wabala Studio in 2022 after a 6-month soul trip to my beloved home country of Tanzania. You can get more details on this story I published in Bootcamp by UX Collective last year.
I wrote a proposal to speak at Women Who Code's CONNECT 2024 , an online event for women in tech. The event was planned for May, but the organization dissolved in April. Instead of putting my talk to waste, I want to share an introduction here with you. What I prepared was titled "Predictions by 2030 or How to become a Renaissance Woman." In it, I lay out 13 predictions to help women reverse-engineer their careers by taking into account:
- the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI),
- the decline of the American dollar,
- the gig economy among other factors.
I am passionate about this topic. I love keeping up with changes in the North American economy, our culture and our relationship with technology. I want to engage in conversations with women who are aware that their careers might shift and experience some form of turbulence in the next 5 to 10 years. I want us, as a collective to be educated, to prepare and design the life that we really want. And I wonder if you have these thoughts:
- Is the impact of AI on your career something that makes you feel uneasy?
- Is your career's future something you talk about with friends and family?
- Are you confident that you are perfecting skills that will uplift you in 5 years?
I am curious to hear your thoughts. I look forward to connecting individually with each and everyone of you. Don’t hesitate to send a DM if you resonate with the topic today.
P.S.: the photo shows you a structure I started. I want to turn this topic into a resource at some point. I personally love artefacts that give me a glimpse of someone's creative process.
