Diversity in Tech

I am a Group Product Manager at LinkedIn and share book summaries in an email newsletter each month. Sign up here.

Below is my latest newsletter. Enjoy!

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It is remarkable to me that the civil rights movement was a mere 50 years ago. We are hardly a generation away from a time when black Americans were openly discriminated against in terms of voting, housing, employment, education, and more.

And it is no secret that racism and discrimination still persist today, even in the otherwise-progressive technology sector. I recently dug deeper into the topics of diversity, inclusion, and belonging (DIB). I read Reset by Ellen Pao, Brotopia by Emily Chang, Uterus Is A Feature, Not a Bug by Sarah Lacy, and the paper, White Privilege and Male Privilege, by Peggy McIntosh, and they’ve significantly impacted my perspective on this topic. It is obvious that women (and others) have systematically been discriminated against in small and large ways throughout the industry.

After reading these books, it’s hard not to be self-reflective about the privilege I’ve benefited from over the years. I’ve grown up male, in the US, and financially supported by my family in numerous ways. Privilege turns the notion of a meritocracy on its head. The schools I’ve attended or friendships I’ve developed or job offers and opportunities I’ve secured have, in large part, been due to me being lucky enough to be born with this privilege.

Obviously, diversity extends beyond gender and race. Prejudice and systemic discrimination exist around age, sexual orientation, and people who require accessibility accommodations, among many other areas. While I’m not sure it’s possible to entirely rid ourselves of prejudices, especially when implicit bias come into play, perhaps being aware of and reflecting on our own privilege and biases can be a first step.

I also think employees of companies should reflect the population they are building products for. Marc Benioff (CEO of Salesforce) recently found out that women were paid less than men at Salesforce, so he immediately invested $3m to correct the problem, and mandated that all meetings he attends should be at least 30% women. This seems like a step in the right direction for our industry.

We are still in the infancy of the civil rights movement. And it seems to me that a deeper understanding of diversity, inclusion, and belonging (DIB) is crucial to moving us toward a future of equality and justice for all.

Enjoy the summaries.

Book Summaries

Uterus is a Feature. Not a bug. By Sarah Lacy

• The shame of hiring childcare is so great that professional women feel they cannot say the word nanny without hearing a backlash for being a bad mother
• The pipeline problem is a myth as demonstrated by the fact that more women are graduating from college that man and introductory computer science is taken by 50% of women
• For every 100 women promoted to manager, 130 men are promoted…The problem is unconscious bias and an over reliance on pattern recognition…Venture capitalists prefer the exact same pitch when communicated with a male voice rather than a female voice

Reset by Ellen Pao

• Famous study showed that someone named Howard was seen as competent, but someone named Heidi was seen as overbearing
• Women were talked over, ignored, or their good ideas were copied by other men
• The CEO needs to drive diversity and inclusion and the pipeline problem is no excuse

Brotopia by Emily Chang

• Silicon Valley was much worse than the finance business…Women have been systematically excluded from one of the greatest eras of wealth creation the world…Per Sandburg, one of the main reasons women can’t move up our all the little things such as your boss taking your idea and not giving credit
• Meritocracy is often narrowly defined to mean the right training or certifications or connection often only available to the wealthy
• Employee referrals is one of the most insidious methods of blocking diversity…Ask employees explicitly to recommend diverse candidates

White Privilege and Male Privilege, by Peggy McIntosh

• Men are unwilling to admit that they are privileged…White privilege not only puts non whites at a disadvantage, but puts whites at an advantage…White privilege is a package of unearned assets you can cash every day
• School gives no training in seeing yourself as an oppressor…13. My skin color won’t work against me for financial transactions…16. My chief attitude about children is not concerned with how others perceive their race…43. If I have low credibility as a leader, I can be assured that it will not be perceived as having to do with my race
• In facing white privilege, must give up myth of meritocracy

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