The Danger of a Single Story

“There is never a single story” - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In an ideal world, everyone understands everyone else in complete detail. We would know everyone's motivations, their skills, their background, and each hardship they have gone through. However, we do not live in this ideal world, and our understanding of one another is finite. To fill this gap, people tell their stories to be better understood. While a person is made of many stories, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie eloquently explains in her Ted Talk the dangers when only one story is told.

Coming from eastern Nigeria, Adichie has many personal stories of being stereotyped or given "patronizing, well-meaning pity" because the only story of Africa is a single story of catastrophe. While not a country, I want to talk about specific careers that also have single stories, especially stories about women at work. Some professions are more common and conventional to both genders in our current society. These circumstances allow for a plethora of stories and information. However, some careers severely lack women and are spearheaded mainly by men. In Adichie's analogy, men in these fields are like America; they are the norm. And women in these fields are like people from Africa; there is only a single story of them.

I am a woman of tech, and I have seen the stereotypes placed on Women firsthand. Stories that say men are smarter than women and the only women who do succeed wear hoodies and are "not like the other girls." When there is a single story about women in tech, not only does it create stereotypes, it can also create a false blueprint on how to succeed in this field. There has been a time where I shunned my pink skirts and frilly bows to wear grey hoodies and jeans to "fit" in like the women do in the stories.

While I am happy to say I no longer try to change myself to fit these stories, single stories cause stereotypes and create a ridiculous mold. As the world becomes more international by the day, and careers become more balanced with each successful woman, the audience should all take to heart the dangers of a single story.