

Silicon Valley Disrupts Discrimination: Now It’s for Middle-Aged White Guys, Too - hpriebe
http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/03/tech-ageism-shows-men-what-works-like-for-women.html

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hpriebe
How do you think the tech/startup world can better diversify?

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jtfrench
There's a lot that would need to be done. I don't think the answer is just "oh
tell companies to hire more minorities/older people/{insertGroupHere}".
Something needs to be done to change the perception of intelligence & ability
in our country/world, and it probably starts on the individual/family-level.
From the time we're born, we have these images crammed down our throats
"people who look like this do this", and then many of us subconsciously
internalize this and treat this as "the norm". We set our own expectations
(internally), and then this gets reflected out externally.

I can only speak from my own perspective as black male in his 20s (so not the
age problem described in the article), but it was the fact that I was raised
to NOT buy into & instead be critical of stereotypes of "what black males are
supposed to do" that I even allowed myself to believe that I could start
learning C++ — when I was 10 years old.

Had I spent most of my time watching/INTERNALIZING what's on BET, the news,
TV, I would probably feel like there's no chance for me in tech, and I
wouldn't even consider it as a possibility — therefore never apply for the
job, or apply to college for a CS degree, or subconsciously set myself up for
failure.

Mind programming has subtle, but POWERFUL impact on the young developing mind.
I'm realizing this all later and all I can say is "holy shit, I'm grateful.
Thank you, parents. Bullet dodged."

