I looked at myself as an ally for all my life but, looking back now, I put on the mask of a helper and fully convinced myself that I was making a difference by following the cause, but I never really acted for the better of it. In college I became an affiliate of the Center for Women in Technology, an organization at UMBC fighting for equality for all. CWIT opened my eyes to the issues that plague today’s society and how I could assist in the fight for equality. I am surprised that a course like my first-year experience for CWIT is not mandatory for everyone. I feel like a simple course like this being worked into all high school curriculum would make a world of difference in the visibility of today’s issues and gather more support for the cause. Coming out of high school, I knew these problems existed, but they were not in the front of my focus because I am a cis white male. I did not have to experience the pain that comes with most of them, however I did secondhand experience them through my mom and stepmother.

As a young child, I never really saw the disparity that society had created for men and women. In both households I was raised in, my mom and stepmother were the primary bread winners in high positions at their place of work. My father worked but made much less then my stepmother and my stepfather had a physical disability that prevented him from working so his only income was disability checks from the state. Both men had more free time then their partner and did most of the household chores and cooking. Being the youngest member of both households, I was left out on talks that were negative such as the harassment from coworkers both of my mothers experienced simply due to their gender. On top of the harassment from coworkers, my mom had no help from her HR department. She went to them multiple times with hard evidence, and they basically just slapped the male coworkers on the wrist and blamed my mom for causing an issue in the workplace. The stress got to her and eventually she gave her two weeks and is now in a job where she is respected and treated as an equal. My stepmother however, had an HR department that assisted her in dealing with the harassment she faced. She was able to get all the issues to stop however she later found out that men in the same position as her in less busy locations of the same company were receiving better benefits and pay, while also having less work to do. It was expected that if anyone below her called out, she was to perform their job and hers, and when things got busy, that she would work more so that everything stayed afloat. After 20 years, many of them filled with stress, she is no longer working there and is now focusing on a job that she enjoys. Because of CWITs teachings the veil over my eyes has been lifted. The issues that have always surrounded me and manifested themselves through my mothers have come into a clearer focus because of my involvement in the group.