Blog by Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset founder
Help Tell People About Outreachy
Hi, reader. I wrote this in 2020 and it's now more than five years old. So it may be very out of date; the world, and I, have changed a lot since I wrote it! I'm keeping this up for historical archive purposes, but the me of today may 100% disagree with what I said then. I rarely edit posts after publishing them, but if I do, I usually leave a note in italics to mark the edit and the reason. If this post is particularly offensive or breaches someone's privacy, please contact me.
I'd like for you to consider doing something for me.
Think about the people in your circles. Your cousins, your neighbors, your friends' kids. Do you know anyone who is trying to figure out how to get ahead in their career, or how to get a foot in the door in the tech industry?
Then check whether any of those folks are eligible for Outreachy, a paid, mentored telecommuting internship program to help people get started in the open source industry. And "Anyone who faces under-representation, systemic bias, or discrimination in the technology industry of their country is invited to apply."
You can send them a link to the Outreachy applicant guide. Applications for the May to August 2020 round are due February 25.
And even if you don't know anyone who should consider applying, you can put a poster up at a local coffee shop, laundromat, or community college.
I love Outreachy. It's a curated, mentored, paid first step to help grow people's careers and capabilities, and it steadily introduces more diversity -- on many dimensions -- into our teams. Help more people discover it?