Catching up with Aleisha Amohia from the 2020 Y25 cohort

Aleisha Amohia is a software programmer who’s on a mission to use tech for good, in a way that honours gender and indigenous knowledge.  

We first met Aleisha in 2020, as part of the first Y25 cohort. At the time, she was the founder and President of the Women in Tech club at Victoria University of Wellington. Aleisha says this support network transformed her experience in a male-dominated industry. "I didn’t see other women around me, so there was this imposter syndrome. But I also felt that when I interacted with male students, I was seen to represent every woman who ever endeavoured to become a technologist."

Through her Women in Tech club, Aleisha not only found her voice but became a champion of gender equity, "making sure that tech spaces are good for women, but also that technology isn't sexist." 

Five years on, and Aleisha is now a technical lead, managing a team of developers. She has also been President of the National Council of Women’s Wellington Branch for five years, an organisation founded by Kate Sheppard. In this space, she has been deeply involved in advocacy for women’s health, closing the pay gap and climate change, which disproportionately affects women. 

Last year, Aleisha represented New Zealand at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York.

"We’re seen by other countries as super progressive – we had wāhine Maori representing us and we’re known for being the first to give women the vote. But from the inside, we’re still fighting for the things our mothers and grandmothers were fighting for," reflects Aleisha.

It made Aleisha want to come back and try to meet the expectations others have of us, and really lead from the front as a country. 

In recent years, Aleisha has been exploring what ‘tech for good’ looks like as a wahine Māori. 

As an example of what that doesn’t look like, Aleisha points to biometrics used in supermarkets to prevent crime – but it uses existing data where Māori are over-presented, so there is bias inherent in the algorithm. 

And another well-known example – Facebook – which was (in)famously created to rate women on campus: "If something is founded in cruel or impure foundations, we can’t be surprised when they harm us later," adds Aleisha, 

But what good tech looks like, can be found in the current work Aleisha is doing in providing open source library software. "There’s no pride in open source software, it’s free and it’s about making solutions available to everyone," explains Aleisha. Her work helps libraries honour the Indigenous knowledge in their care, and become a bridge for local communities to information.  

“I want to make good Indigenous tech that serves our communities, and doesn’t further colonise or exploit people, that doesn’t extract from Indigenous knowledge and doesn’t harm the planet," she says. 

Aleisha is an advocate for slow innovation, rather than the current model, where tech companies compete to get the next big thing out: "Good technology means consulting with the people most affected. It’s about making decisions that align with us, not just for today, but for our kids who will be using it in the future," sums up Aleisha. 

More Whakaaro

1.What do you love about tech? 

I love building things, and finding solutions for problems using tech. For a long time now, I’ve really been about using tech for good – to create tech that is not sexist and that honours Indigenous knowledge. I want to make good Indigenous tech that serves our communities, and doesn’t further colonise or exploit people, that doesn’t harm the planet. I’m a believer in slow innovation.  

2. What has been your experience of being a woman in tech?

When I was at Uni, I didn’t see other women around me, so there was this imposter syndrome. But I also felt that I had to represent every woman who ever endeavoured to become a technologist. That’s why I started the Women in Tech club, and it really transformed my experience by finding support in each other. I hope one day we won’t need spaces like that because we will have equity, but it gave me a passion for equity in tech. 

3. Five years on from Y25, how is life like now, compared to how you imagined it would be?

I was always very ambitious, but I could never have pictured going to the UN or being able to fly to Hawaii, Canada and the US, and speak about gender and tech. I think through all these years of advocacy, it’s made me feel even more strongly that we don’t need to compromise on our values to make progress.

4. If you had a bonus $50 what would you do with it?

I would take my partner out for dinner and either have a nice steak or go to Yum Cha.

5. What’s the best and worst thing about adulting?

The best is being able to eat what I want – there’s quite a food theme coming through here. The worst is laundry.

6. What are you proud of?

I'm proud of my the people in my life, my friends and family. I think they are a reflection of everything good that I've tried to curate in my life.

7.Who is your (s)hero?

My little sister – I like to describe her as a better version of me. She’s a software engineer and I really admire the way that she carries herself. She's built confidence way younger than I ever did and I just think she's really cool.

8. What is one word that would sum up how you feel about the future?

Curious. The next generation are so powerful and creative and they stand on business. But we need to make space for them so that they can really achieve their potential.