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Yahoo
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These women moved into an all-female 'hacker house.' Here's how it's going.
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On top of that, tech companies are rolling back diversity initiatives in alignment with President Donald Trump's anti-DEI push, with companies like Meta cutting programs designed to boost hiring of women and marginalized communities in the industry. FoundHer House members say coworking and cohabitating, and building a community online helps them look forward, collectively achieving and sharing that journey with their followers. Efforts to boost women in Silicon Valley aren't new, according to Birgit Neu, a London-based diversity and inclusion adviser who also worked in digital in the early days of the internet. But FoundHer House has come at a very specific juncture, when many women are asking, "How are we still here?" FoundHer House represents how younger generations have responded to industry shifts, Neu said. "I think they're on the frontier," said Neu. "We had a playbook for thinking about how to support women, and that evolved over the past 10 to 15 years ... (FoundHer House) is designing a future they're actually interested in participating in." 'We fix a ratio wherever we go' Hacker houses are integral to Silicon Valley culture, group homes for tech aficionados with billion-dollar dreams looking to find that special idea or partner, all while solving the issue of San Francisco's expensive housing. Turning a housing problem into a business opportunity is a common theme in the internet age: Think back to the YouTube content creator houses of the 2010s or more recent viral Bop House, comprised of OnlyFans creators. There have also been other female hacker houses, like HackHer House. In most cases, these kinds of spaces are rarely majority women, FoundHer House co-founders Miki Safronov-Yamamoto, 18, and Anantika Mannby, 21, told USA TODAY. "We quickly realized those spaces aren't designed with women in mind," Safronov-Yamamoto said. "A change needed to happen." 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"That energy is palpable and helps prevent burnout for me," Poole said. FoundHer House gives Poole balance and "femininity," she said. "It feels like we're all helping each other," she said. "Every conversation, I'm helping move the boat an inch forward and everyone's rowing." Influencers meet entrepreneurs The women living in FoundHer House are the latest in a wave of entrepreneurs leaning on influencer tactics to extend their reach. The house built on members' existing followings. Fatima Hussain, 19, runs @ an Instagram guide to college with over 100,000 followers. Mannby has nearly 60,000 Instagram followers personally and her company, Treffa, has over 30,000. Their roommates' high engagement inspired Safronov-Yamamoto and fellow resident Chloe Hughes, 21, to start creator profiles, too. 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Engadget
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