Steps to Make Diversity & Inclusion a Reality
Date Posted: August 29, 2016
Posted In: Ideas,
From Linked In:
by Anita Singh, a Mobile Engineer & Diversity Advocate at Shyp
Over my time as an engineer, I’ve repeatedly heard some examples of efforts people make to fit in at their workplace: sending emails at odd hours to show that one is working overtime, purposely avoiding asking about work-life balance in an interview to downplay being a parent, and pro-actively hiding one’s show of religious faith. This is troubling. As discussed in my previous posts, the diversity statistics in tech are abysmal and it simply isn’t a pipeline problem; the lack of diversity in tech is a cultural one.
Too often tech culture promotes the pounding of red bulls and tremendously long hours, which makes those with commitments at home insecure about advocating for them in the workplace. Stereotypes of what an engineer should look like, “brogrammers” and the widespread misconception that companies need to lower the bar to hire minorities don’t exactly create welcoming environments. Neither does a culture of apathy when people of color are disproportionately being murdered by the police.
Not surprisingly, most women who leave tech cite discriminatory environments as their main reason for leaving, not because they disliked the work itself. I unfortunately couldn’t find as much quality data around the retention of people from different age groups, races, sexualities or abilities, but feelings of isolation and battling discrimination is far from only a women’s issue. These feelings are often more pronounced among those who identify with multiple underrepresented groups.
It is beyond evident that diversity is a complex topic, and a combination of different factors have resulted in a culture of homogeneity in Silicon Valley, some of which have been discussed in my previous posts. It is also evident that monoculture is bad for innovation, as the tech industry won’t reach its full potential if we have the same approaches to problem-solving and ideation. Simply put, lack of diversity is bad for business. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel – and we can reach it if we put in the work to build inclusive workplaces, which will help attract and retain underrepresented talent.