Dr. Christine Izuakor is making it easier for people in technology to forge meaningful connections. The Houston, TX, native is a cybersecurity professional with over a decade of experience leading cybersecurity functions at Fortune 100 companies. Her career journey could have looked very different had she pursued the medical field, a path favored by her Nigerian parents. However, she “failed miserably” in her attempt to become an eye doctor. Her pivot came after taking a course on encryption, which sparked her interest in cybersecurity. “I immediately switched my major and went on to earn a Ph.D. in security engineering. From there, I spent about 10 years leading different security functions at United Airlines, was a graduate cybersecurity professor, and so that’s what really kind of got me into this space and then allowed me to grow,” she told AFROTECH™ in an interview. Cyber Pop-up Today, Izuakor works part-time as an adjunct professor in cybersecurity at various schools and...

Costco is doubling down on its decision to maintain its DEI policies. This comes amid several major companies retracting their commitments, such as Google. CNBC reported that Google had established new programs to empower Black staffers following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. At the time, its CEO, Sundar Pichai, stated the intention “to build sustainable equity for Google’s Black+ community, and externally, to make our products and programs helpful in the moments that matter most to Black users.” The company aimed for a benchmark of 30% of leadership being composed of underrepresented groups by 2025. However, in the years since, Google has fallen significantly short of that goal by reducing staff and shrinking programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as has its parent company Alphabet. By mid-2023, DEI job postings by companies in general were showing a downward trend. Job site Indeed offered data that revealed a drop of 44% in postings compared to the...

Ira Salls is an inspiration for her history-making role as a McDonald’s franchisee. Salls, a Cincinnati, OH, native, graduated from Northern Illinois University and later earned both an MBA and a master’s degree in public administration from Northwestern University. She secured her franchise title in 1991, as she explained during an interview with WHAS 11 in 2021. Before becoming an owner and operator, she first worked at the fast-food chain as an accountant. “I was hired by McDonald’s because I already had a degree and (was) a CPA. McDonald’s was forward thinking, and they wanted Black CPAs working in their accounting department,” she recalled to the outlet. Salls’ pivot to owning her own McDonald’s locations led her to become the first Black woman franchisee of the chain in Kentucky and Indiana in 1991, the Louisville Business Journal reports. She would go on to become one of the company’s most successful operators, managing six locations in Louisville, KY. She also understood the...

Nikki Fargas and Keia Clarke are making history in the WNBA! According to Diverse Representation, the duo are currently the only Black women holding CEO or president roles in the league. Both women have proven to be enhancers to their respective teams. Since 2021, Fargas, a former University of Tennessee student athlete, has held the position of president of the Las Vegas Aces, bringing valuable experience from her tenure as head coach at Louisiana State University, where she led the team to six NCAA Tournament appearances, notes Just Women’s Sports. Speaking of her appointment in a news release, Fargas said, “We are going to do everything in our power to make our front office the best in the business and provide our players with all the tools they need to bring a championship to Las Vegas.” Fargas fulfilled that promise in 2022 when the Las Vegas Aces earned their first WNBA championship. What’s more, they doubled that feat by winning again in 2023. View this post on Instagram A...

Sheena Allen has announced the closure of a venture supporting unbanked communities. Since 2018, Allen has been the founder of CapWay, a mobile bank inspired by her upbringing in Terry, MS, a small town near Jackson, where there was only one bank at the time. “Jackson has some of the highest rates of unbanked residents in the United States,” Allen previously told AFROTECH™ . “I was very familiar with people not having fair or proper access to mainstream financial services and products.” Creating a solution, CapWay offered savings tools and allowed users to cash checks, establish checking accounts, and send money from their phones, as AFROTECH™ reported. Allen also believed the fintech company’s offerings geared for underserved communities were essential back in 2018 given that she felt this area had been overlooked by Silicon Valley. “Silicon Valley’s definition of real-world problems and everyone else’s definition of real-world problems are not the same,” Allen said. “They live in...

It is no secret that women face more challenges than men in the workforce. From pay discrepancies to patriarchal views on leadership, many women have found it harder to navigate pathways to career success. Although these circumstances are true, they do not eliminate the reality that many women have overcome social constructs and systemic barriers to excel across several industries. But does career success equal happiness? A report from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) indicated that work happiness is strongly influenced by engaging in meaningful work, feeling valued by coworkers, and enjoying daily tasks. For women, however, the context is more nuanced. According to Forbes, job satisfaction differs significantly between men and women. The Conference Board’s latest survey reveals that women are notably less satisfied than men for the seventh consecutive year in nearly all aspects of their jobs. This wasn’t always the case — between 2011 and 2016, satisfaction levels were nearly...

Allyson Felix has created what she wished existed, centering women in a major way with her new sports management firm. The retired Olympic legend and sprinter has launched Always Alpha, the first management firm dedicated exclusively to women’s sports , supported by Dolphin. Founded by Felix, her longtime business partner and brother, Wes Felix, and sports executive Cosette Chaput, the firm “aims to empower modern women who are breaking barriers, owning their voices, and creating a better future on and off the field of play,” Dolphin shared in a press release. “Young athletes often ask me how I’ve diversified and consistently grown my business across marketing, media, entrepreneurship, venture, entertainment and impact,” Felix said in a statement. “Wes and I did it ourselves piece by piece, out of necessity — because there wasn’t another option for transforming our vision into reality.” She added, “With Always Alpha, we’re taking everything we learned and creating the modern...

By capitalizing on her status as a leading beauty influencer, Jackie Aina has built the foundation for a prosperous business empire. How It Started Aina, a Nigerian-American born in California’s San Gabriel Valley, came from humbling beginnings. BuzzFeed News mentions she has six siblings, with an even split between brothers and sisters. She recalls “growing up with nothing” at times, bouncing around shelters with her mother and siblings. “Growing up, I had no leverage, I had no rich uncle,” she said, per the outlet. “We got kicked out of a shelter, we couldn’t get to another one quick enough. And when you’re a mom of seven, It’s not easy.” To change her outcome, Aina studied medicine at the California State University, Business Insider reported. That route did not pan out for Aina, and she made the decision to serve in the Army in 2008, after being convinced by her then-boyfriend. They would marry — although they later divorce — and she moved to Hawaii to live with him where she...