We talk about the diversity numbers a lot, it’s an uphill battle that can be disheartening – and sometimes depressing if you live it every day. What if we flipped the conversation and imagined what it could look like, and then used that vision to fuel our drive forward? In this talk, we’ll imagine as a group what the tech world looks like when it has equal representation of all groups: LGBTQ, women, men, from every age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability. Imagine a world where we all have onramps to success, from age zero to age 105. Where toys and words encourage the full gamut of possibilities for everyone. Where schools and doctors are equally accessible. A world where young black women glide through coding school with a cohort of colleagues cheering them on. Where companies have no problem recruiting, retaining AND PROMOTING everyone of merit. Where women of all ethnicities feel comfortable in the boardroom. Where women and trans entrepreneurs hear “yes” as often as their male counterparts. Where we all feel safe. Where we each pull each other up to the top with us. What would that world look like with a representative number of innovators come from all groups? What if all our barriers were torn down and we could all equally focus on ideas and leadership? It would be a very different world indeed. A beautiful world. Instead of Q&A, we’ll leave plenty of time for the audience to contribute their own vision of the future. By the end of this session, the whole room should be a bit more empowered, with a renewed glimmer of hope and vision to make a difference however big or small. It takes all of us.

This talk was recorded at AltConf 2015. Watch all the videos!