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Speaking for the US, I wish this is something that everyone could think about slightly differently. There are a lot of white males in this thread who take the l
by issa 4y ago
Speaking for the US, I wish this is something that everyone could think about slightly differently. There are a lot of white males in this thread who take the lack of diversity in tech so personally. As if those in favor of diversity blame THEM for the lack thereof. The truth is that this is an old, deep, and very complex problem that goes WAY beyond the borders of tech. The solutions to the problem do not start and end with how tech companies hire. Honestly, if a company is even making a small effort to hire more diversely, they are ahead of the curve.
There are some great things that people can do to help the situation. Mentor young engineers, try to expand your recruiting pipeline. For larger companies, who have the most latitude, bring in more diverse interns, etc.
We're not going to solve this alone, but we can make a difference.
- protomyth 4y agoThere are a lot of white males in this thread who take the lack of diversity in tech so personally. I'm not fond of this implicit prejudice in assuming your "white male" has not lead a diverse life. Its the same crap that gets the kid who grew up on the reservation a major set of disadvantages for their whole life because people only look at other people's skin and have no clue what path they have walked for their whole life. I keep thinking these skin-judgers don't know much about the human experience. The only cure for getting more diversity in technology is to change our elementary schools so they have more diversity in teachers so children get a broader view of STEM. Everything else is ignoring the problem because people like the current female / male ratio in elementary teachers.
- issa 4y agoI don't think I am "assuming" anything. Read the thread (or internet comments on any number of similar threads).
- protomyth 4y agoIf you don't know anything about a person other than their appearance, then you are assuming a lot. Internet threads or tweets are not representative of most people's lives.
- issa 4y agoI actually don't know anything about these people's appearance aside from that they type. But I do know the content of their comments, and that is what I am referring to.
- Mountain_Skies 4y agoYour proposed "solutions" are inherently racist and only accomplish more animosity between races.
- issa 4y ago
- Veelox 4y ago> There are a lot of white males in this thread who take the lack of diversity in tech so personally. I understand this example lacks some important nuance but directionally useful. Imagine there was explicit hiring goals for left handed people and industry conferences for left handed and organisations for promoting left handed people in tech. In that world I don't see why right handed people are wrong for taking it personally that a whole bunch of effort is put into hiring not them.
- issa 4y agoI think the difference is pretty obvious. But maybe it is not. The important context is that, in your example, those left handed people haven't been kept out of power and influence in society for generations.
- voldacar 4y agoSince you don't have the lived experience of being a white male, this is a very problematic statement. Might want to consider running your posts past a sensitivity reader in the future