
Practicing empathy can teach us the value of diversity and inclusion in tech - neeco
https://medium.com/indigoag-eng/practicing-empathy-can-teach-us-the-value-of-diversity-and-inclusion-in-tech-5db593ab8f58
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babycake
No, it really can't and everyone needs to stop pushing this corporate
narrative. This is another one of those feel-good gestures that doesn't really
result in any real progress.

Can you imagine the next time the topic of gender or bamboo ceiling pay comes
up, we can just hug it out... right? No. Real laws need to be enacted to
enforce good social policies, with real consequences to bear for those who
break it. Even more relevant today, there are reports of police 'throwing'
down their riot shields to join protestors, only to shoot them with rubber
bullets a half hour later. Don't be fooled by kumbaya moments, solidarity and
collective bargaining is the answer. And that will lead us to enact laws that
will benefit the people, as history has shown us again and again.

Let's form a tech union already.

~~~
mcarda_indigoag
Hi, I'm the author of the post. Thanks for reading and for the honest
criticism.

Do you agree that convincing more people in the tech industry to genuinely
understand the inequality that exists, and the value of inclusive practices,
is a prerequisite to achieving the impactful policies you cited? How do we get
laws enacted or create a successful tech union while the white and male
majorities in tech continue to feel indifferent or only passively supportive
of these policies?

The intent of my post is to persuade people like myself to care about social
justice, with a specific emphasis on the tech industry, in order to get more
people acting towards substantive change. Over and over again, I've seen
presentations, seminars and studies fail to convince people that diversity and
inclusion are issues employees everywhere needs to be personally invested in.
Instead of these generic and emotionally distant approaches, I argue that we
should look to real-life examples in our own workplaces.

~~~
MyHypatia
I enjoyed your thoughtful post. Teams and companies are made up individuals.
Individual actions matter, and I do think if more people tried: listening with
a mindset of learning instead of arguing, trying to make sure that people can
finish a sentence, and generally keeping a positive, fair, respectful
atmosphere, that would do a lot more than the emotionally distant approaches.

------
acconrad
One way you can improve diversity in your workforce is to actively seek out
underrepresented communities when you are hiring.

You can't control who is applying to your job postings, but you _can_ control
who you reach out to to fill those positions.

If you can find people who don't fit the white male programmer mold and let
them know about the jobs you have available, you're making the choice to
prioritize diversity and inclusion in your teams.

~~~
collyw
Don't under represented people in tech use Stack Overflow and Linked In?

We got a number of women applying for a front end position that we posted
recently. None of them met the criteria that we asked for (5 years
experience).

~~~
maximente
what's your point, exactly? men are way more likely to apply for jobs when
they don't meet the requirements than women are, generally.

if you're legitimately using years of experience as a /hard/ cutoff, you're
selecting for a very interesting signal that i would argue does not really
optimize for candidate quality.

of course, your tech stack may warrant that requirement - i don't care - but
this idea that "there are no qualified women/underrepresented groups"
conveniently feeds onto itself - underrepresented groups see themselves as
less likely to get the job, so don't apply, so don't build up resumes,
probably leading to them exiting tech, etc.

at the end of the day, any true improvements to the system are going to make
white men uncomfortable. yes, looking for candidates in particular fora
associated with women/minorities/etc is positively boosting their chances vis-
a-vis white men who aren't on those lists. that's the way it is going to have
to be.

~~~
collyw
We got lots of underqualified candidates and the few that did have anything
more than a couple of years experience were all male. Where should we have
been looking for more "under represented" candidates? And why should we be
looking for under-represent candidates?

~~~
acconrad
Look at meetups, social groups, conferences that serve underrepresented
communities (both locally and nationally).

You should be looking because diversity of experience and opinion helps you
build a more well-rounded product that your users can empathize with.
Alternative and comprehensive perspectives will only help your group thrive
and expand their reach as well as build a sense of community and culture on
your teams.

~~~
heromal
>You should be looking because diversity of experience and opinion helps you
build a more well-rounded product that your users can empathize with.

When I use HN I don't wonder if the person that added the "reply" button is
black or not... I don't really understand this. (I am black)

~~~
WalterSear
IMHO, it's corporate milquetoast: people can't actually tell their bosses
'because we want to be decent people' so these mantras became a way to tie
inclusionism to the bottom line, thereby making it fiscally acceptable.

AFAIK, there is precious little actual research pointing either way. No doubt
it's an extremely nebulous subject to study. Groupthink is certainly a thing,
but I haven't seen strong evidence linking diversity hiring to the particular
outcomes it is claims to treat.

