3 ms·

Inequality is Everywhere in Tech. And Tech is ok with it

16 points by mji 8y ago

klipt 8y ago
> contract security personnel, (often African American) who have to live 100 miles away because they cannot afford to live near work. And when they return the next day, their workplace will have been cleaned and manicured by a contract landscaping company that is staffed by mostly LatinX individuals being paid minimum wage. Isn't this more reflecting a lack of diversity in the security and landscaping industries than the tech industry? Why are landscapers disproportionately Latin X? Do their hiring practices discriminate against non-Roman citizens?
- throw2016 8y ago
  This is a bit like women fighting against being relegated to secretaries in the work place in the 80s being told that maybe the problem is firms are discriminating against male secretaries.
  - klipt 8y ago
    It's not "like that" at all unless you completely ignore the context. The article is arguing that the real problem is that landscapers are paid less than software engineers, instead of questioning why there is racial segregation into landscaping in the first place. Why are those Latin X people not allowed to become doctors, lawyers, investment bankers instead of landscapers? Are all those industries too racist?
gib-monies 8y ago
>convert all contract staff into full time employees with benefits Everyone should get a 20k signing bonus and a work PC as well if we really want to tackle tech's diversity problem.
throeuhway 8y ago
I have tried to discuss similar issues here... My frustration is moreso with the flagrant and 'at all costs' wealth posturing that is a part of contemporary tech recruitment strategy and how it fails to extend to paying the staff at these state of the art food services a livable, or even market(1), wage (1) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17612190 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17612190
throw2016 8y ago
Given schools are more segregated than they were in the 60s [1] its perhaps not surprising that people do not notice the lack of diversity. And of course if there is an empathy gap and people are focused on themselves they will not notice all the service jobs are done by minorities or if they do not think too much about it. [1] https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/segregation-worse-in-schools-60-years-after-brown-v-board-of-education/ https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/segregation-worse-in-sc...
RickJWagner 8y ago
This is why we need to recognize (constantly) that Tech has no voice in matters of morality. Double that for Hollywood, btw.

16 points by mji 8y ago

> contract security personnel, (often African American) who have to live 100 miles away because they cannot afford to live near work. And when they return the next day, their workplace will have been cleaned and manicured by a contract landscaping company that is staffed by mostly LatinX individuals being paid minimum wage. Isn't this more reflecting a lack of diversity in the security and landscaping industries than the tech industry? Why are landscapers disproportionately Latin X? Do their hiring practices discriminate against non-Roman citizens?

throw2016 8y ago
This is a bit like women fighting against being relegated to secretaries in the work place in the 80s being told that maybe the problem is firms are discriminating against male secretaries.
- klipt 8y ago
  It's not "like that" at all unless you completely ignore the context. The article is arguing that the real problem is that landscapers are paid less than software engineers, instead of questioning why there is racial segregation into landscaping in the first place. Why are those Latin X people not allowed to become doctors, lawyers, investment bankers instead of landscapers? Are all those industries too racist?

gib-monies 8y ago

>convert all contract staff into full time employees with benefits Everyone should get a 20k signing bonus and a work PC as well if we really want to tackle tech's diversity problem.

throeuhway 8y ago

I have tried to discuss similar issues here... My frustration is moreso with the flagrant and 'at all costs' wealth posturing that is a part of contemporary tech recruitment strategy and how it fails to extend to paying the staff at these state of the art food services a livable, or even market(1), wage (1) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17612190 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17612190

throw2016 8y ago

Given schools are more segregated than they were in the 60s [1] its perhaps not surprising that people do not notice the lack of diversity. And of course if there is an empathy gap and people are focused on themselves they will not notice all the service jobs are done by minorities or if they do not think too much about it. [1] https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/segregation-worse-in-schools-60-years-after-brown-v-board-of-education/ https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/segregation-worse-in-sc...

RickJWagner 8y ago

This is why we need to recognize (constantly) that Tech has no voice in matters of morality. Double that for Hollywood, btw.