On Diversity …
As can be seen from the graphs below, there is a disparity between the number of men and women in the technology industry as well as between the percentages of different races. Although is very hard to have perfectly proportional numbers, there is a noticeable difference between these numbers and the actual ratios of gender and race in the country. There is a lack of diversity, and I would argue that it is a problem. I also believe that it is something that can be addressed and is something we entering the tech industry should spend thought and time on.
http://greenlining.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Diversity-in-Tech.jpg
Why is diversity important? It is important because people from different backgrounds and with different personalities bring different things to the table. Instead of approaching problems from a single angle, it allows teams to approach problems from many angles. And that is an important point: people in the tech industry work in teams. Although everyone is expected to pull their weight technically, people rely on each other and their ideas. So why not have more ideas to work with?
So why is there such a lack of diversity. It seems to me that it is not because only White and Asian are capable of coding, but that there is a culture in the tech industry that aroused, starting in the 80’s continuing today. Everything from what kind of benefits come with job offers and office culture to what stereotypes do we learn about as children make a difference in keeping this non-diverse culture.
A couple interesting points in Eileen Pollack’s New York Times article What Really Keeps Women Out of Tech are the following. One was that there is a stereotype surrounding the ‘Programmer’ that their skill comes from genius rather than from hard work. Her point is that some people are turned off from Computer Science because they do not think they can be the next Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg etc. The second is the stereotype more specific to women, that girls are not innately gifted at math. This issue is brought to light in the film I and some of my classmates went to, Code:Debugging the Gender Gap. In this film, the point was raised that girls from a young age are taught to play with dolls and kitchens while little boys are taught to play with trains and Legos. One teaches analytical skills while the other does not, only adding to the stereotype that girls are less good at math and science. Overall, however, Pollack thinks that people are adverse to the typical “coder culture”, and that they are disinterested in joining Computer Science as a field, even those most gifted in math. She thinks that women, and I believe this applies somewhat to all genders of different races, do not want to chose the tech industry because they do not identify with it or feel like they will not fit it. She writes,
“In fact, Dr. Cheryan’s research shows that young men tend not to major in English for the same reasons women don’t pick computer science: They compare their notions of who they are to their stereotypes of English majors and decide they won’t fit in.”
I as a female computer science major have never felt any discrimination or felt like I was not supposed to be good at math and science like some of these arguments would indicate. However, I have always had a very supportive family supporting me in all of my endeavors and encouraging me to reach for whatever I dreamed of. However, I think the numbers do not lie, and it saddens me to think that there are other people shying away from the major I love because they feel like they will not fit in or that they will not be good at it. I think it is interesting that the number of women in computer science has fallen since the 80s, and that this signifies a problem. If numbers where higher once, it seems like they should be again,
I think the biggest solution to these problems is education and an effort to change the culture both in the tech industry and in education. I think diversity should be encouraged in STEM education K-12 and in college. Women and other minorities in the tech industry should work hard to reach out to the younger generations and encourage them to join. I think the culture effects both genders negatively and a change in the culture in the tech industry would be beneficial to everyone. A change in the culture towards a more inclusive and inviting place would help women and men of all culture backgrounds thrive.
(http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/opinion/sunday/what-really-keeps-women-out-of-tech.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&referer=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FPuWNiX5hA6&_r=2])