Maps Over Bodies: Why Representation Demands More Than Diversity

This essay reframes representation in tech as interpretive authority—the power to define systems—rather than mere presence or diversity metrics. Using the cartographer as metaphor, the author reveals how crucial contributions like governance design and diagnostic clarity are systematically rendered invisible or dismissed as intuition. True representation requires recognizing that underrepresented voices are not simply missing; they are misread, flattened, or reclassified by systems designed to reward only familiar narratives.