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Data like this suggests that a common argument employed by diversity activists is false. Specifically, if companies like Apple and Facebook manage to create pro
by yummyfajitas 12y ago
Data like this suggests that a common argument employed by diversity activists is false. Specifically, if companies like Apple and Facebook manage to create products that are wildly popular with women, it suggests that it isn't necessary to have female employees to make products for women.
(Repeat for race/nationality - I don't think a single African person works for Whatsapp. I've also never met an African woman in the past year who doesn't use it daily.)
- Gracana 12y agoThe fact that there are success stories doesn't make the argument false.
- yummyfajitas 12y agoIf only I recognized this. Then I'd have said "suggest" rather than "prove beyond a shadow of a doubt".
- im3w1l 12y agoA single counter example is enough to prove that something isn't necessary.
- ceejayoz 12y agoIs anyone actually arguing it's strictly necessary, though? Diverse viewpoints can help meeting the needs of diverse populations, but it's obviously possible to make a product that appeals to other demographics than your own.
- Gracana 12y agoFor a very pedantic/strict interpretation of "necessary." I don't think anyone would argue that it is an absolute necessity to employ women to successfully market a product to women.
- ceejayoz 12y ago> it suggests that it isn't necessary to have female employees to make products for women Congratulations on murdering that strawman.
- yummyfajitas 12y agoIt's not a straw man. People make this argument: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7813953 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7813953 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5434585 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5434585 You can find lots more with a quick search. It's more or less the standard response when some naughty person asks "why do we care about diversity?"
- ceejayoz 12y agoNeither of those argue it's impossible to appeal to other demographics. They argue that diverse viewports are generally beneficial, and thus it's something worth caring about.
- yummyfajitas 12y agoIf most/all of our wildly successful tech companies lack diversity yet successfully cater to those groups, they are evidence against this hypothesis. Let me carefully emphasize that I said "suggest", not "prove beyond a shadow of a doubt".
- ceejayoz 12y agoNo, that's not evidence against the hypothesis, as the hypothesis is not "companies with little diversity cannot appeal to diverse audiences". The hypothesis is "diverse viewpoints can help better understand and meet the needs of diverse audiences".
- yummyfajitas 12y agoIf diverse viewpoints helped, then we'd expect a higher proportion of companies with diverse viewpoints to be successful. If that occurred, it would be (weak) evidence in favor of the hypothesis. In contrast, the relative scarcity of such companies is (weak) evidence against the hypothesis. That's just how probability works.