“I get more genuine respect from men as a sex worker than I ever did in the tech industry.”

Source: Mashable.com.

USA – As tech workers resist return-to-office mandates, face layoffs that cut into hard-won diversity and equity progress, and watch as their dreams of founding successful startups dry up, it’s safe to say that many might be looking for new professions. Facing sexism and discrimination in the corporate world, and driven by a desire to have a more localized, creative, and empathetic impact, a quiet subset of tech workers left the tech industry to pursue work they’d rather be doing — in the field of sex work.

See larger photo on: Mashable.com.

Whether as erotic filmmakers, professional dominatrixes, or as more traditional escorts, these former tech workers cite a significant increase to their sense of empowerment, job satisfaction, creative license, and overall freedom in their new professions. They share a universal disinterest in returning to tech workplaces — but an underlying confidence that they could, if tech employers one day began to prioritize factors to retain diverse talent. Their stories are inspiring to anyone looking for permission to pursue their true professional aspirations, and also a notice to tech employers, who continue to lose out on the potential of some of their most motivated and capable workers.

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