It definitely is undervalued. There is very direct evidence of this: technical writing plays exactly zero role in the hiring process. That process tends to be more than 90% or so focused on coding, and the other 10% is not writing, it is some combination of credentials, knowledge of current trends in the field, ability to seem like you would fit in at the company, and drawing system diagrams. But technical writing - in code documentation, design documents, task definitions, bug reports, emails, and chats - is often the greater portion of my job in a week, and it is pretty much always the more important part.
I agree a bit more that "empathy" is sometimes used in a BS-y way, but at its core it just means seeing things from more than only your own perspective. Which is definitely an important thing to do. I would probably agree that it is undervalued, though there seems to be more awareness or at least lip service to it than to the importance of writing.
I agree a bit more that "empathy" is sometimes used in a BS-y way, but at its core it just means seeing things from more than only your own perspective. Which is definitely an important thing to do. I would probably agree that it is undervalued, though there seems to be more awareness or at least lip service to it than to the importance of writing.