Shaní Eneida Angélica Alvarez Hernández

What brought you to a career in technology at the United Nations?

I'm passionate about using technology to drive social impact and change in the governmental and justice areas of my country. As a result, I joined the UN to commit to leveraging technology in a way that addresses some of the most pressing challenges such as crime, inequality and good governance.

What has been your favorite technology project or initiative at the United Nations and why? What was your contribution?

Automatizing the pre-processing, analysis, visualization and summary of data related to crime reports. Also, producing and automatizing crime maps for analysis. Both projects were fulfilling and challenging experiences.

What advice would you give women interested in pursuing a field in technology?

Believe in yourself and your abilities. The overall technology industry can be cutthroat and demand your work to be your life, but don't let that kill your creativity, your curiosity, your critical thinking. Move upwards whenever there's the possibility, but don't repeat the same ultra-competitive, oppressive and elitist practices that deter most women from approaching STEM fields or IT positions. Keep learning, questioning and coding.