Illustration by D. Thomas Magee for Engadget
Last week, Wired magazine published a sprawling feature on a group of young hackers the magazine claimed would "make us or break us" with their "exceptional talent." The article fawningly profiled each member of a group of Northeastern University college students that would "soon dominate technology -- and shape our future."
The hackers on Wired's hotlist got an impressive amount of editorial padding for their resumes, and each had a photo and stat card, naming their "tech hero," "last hack," what they'd do with a trillion dollars, and their "dream job." It was exposure on high, and a setup to a bright future for each hacker in what was quickly noticed to be a strangely homogenous group.
Bc only (mostly white) men are hackers. And only (mostly white) men will shape the world. @WIRED Brilliant Hackers https://t.co/il1HVIDUUR
— Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) April 27, 2017
You see, every single one, down to a man, was ... a man.
Hack just as much, get 100% less press
This seemed odd to the infosec community. And the hackers and researchers, and actual makers and breakers, said so.
Why are you just reinforcing all the stereotypes of who world-changes are and aren't, @WIRED? Do better. https://t.co/ZYEP3vedmF
— Laura Weidman Powers (@laurawp) April 28, 2017
This @WIRED story is so depressing https://t.co/qUuscHuidu no women *at all*...how is that even possible these days?
— ʎɐʍollɐפ ʇʇoɔS (@scottgal) April 28, 2017
BTW they were only able to find mostly wm