Michele Deane
Founder | eleveight, inc.
What do you do and what have you done in the past, professionally?
Besides teaching myself basic code as a kid so I could personalize my Texas Instruments TI/99 4a video game computer, I am the founder of eleveight, a new social media platform that I have been envisioning for quite a few years. Eleveight brings together many aspects of my previous work in television, film, music, fashion, tech, government and nonprofit social services. I also incorporated Agency Eleven, a hands-on experiential learning and mentoring nonprofit that compliments eleveight. In addition to that, I am currently the Director of Communications for the California Women’s Law Center, a legal nonprofit that educates, litigates and advocates for policy change associated with gender equality. I am really looking forward to bringing these industries and more together in ways that will demonstrate the advantages of diversity and benefit young people who are either embarking on their careers or still exploring what they want to do.
Has your sexuality initially shaped your career decision, or the companies you have chosen to work for?
I will most likely contradict myself because my sexuality never shaped a past career decision, or at least consciously it did not. I am a person who has always been focused on the work and the end result. Throughout the years though, I have become very aware of the importance of having diversity in the work place. I think we’ve all heard the word “tolerance” thrown around and used to describe how to properly behave toward underserved demographics of people. For me, tolerance sounds insincere. Come on, who wants to be tolerated?
I grew up greatly influenced by my grandmother who was a first generation Mexican-American. When she was born, women did not have the right to vote and universities were dominated by men. When she was a little girl, she also lost her father to lung disease from the laborious work he did in the mines of Morenci, Arizona. As women and minorities began to gain more access to opportunity over the years, my grandmother was adamant that her children obtained a college education in order for them to have control over their lives. Because of this, I always felt incredibly supported by her when I talked about the projects I was working on. I started working at the age of 14, so for me, being a girl embarking on the world was initially a greater challenge than my sexuality has ever been. I have though experienced discrimination in regard to my sexuality in its subtlest of forms and how that discrimination ultimately hurt the productivity of a company. I also know there are very successful niche companies that may not see the need to be diverse, but if they keep that narrow mindset and stay within their sphere of influence for too long, there is no opportunity for growth. The tech industry though is growing and evolving rapidly. It’s a playground for the creatives and troubleshooters. This is why I love tech.
Has that changed over time?
Yes. Prior to eleveight, I built a company and didn’t give much thought to the importance of diversity and solely went with the resources that were immediately available, thus creating something that was very niche. There were definitely great successes within that company, though in the long run, that approach eventually backfired. The company didn’t flourish like it could have. Having learned that, I’ve been really conscious of the culture I’m creating while building eleveight. Diversity and experience is important to me.
What sort of subtle discrimination have you experienced, and how did you navigate those situations?
These “subtlest of forms” happened at a company that I incorporated and where I was the CEO, as ironic as that may be. An incident that stands out the most was when some of my staff and other colleagues were at a restaurant with some of their friends. There were about 12 of us. One of their friends made a derogatory joke about gay people and the room went silent. The guy that made the joke just kept laughing through the silence. Everyone in the room except for this guy knew I was gay. I was waiting for one of my staff or someone else to chime in and not necessarily defend me, but say something back to this guy that he was an idiot for saying what he said. Instead a few others chuckled a bit and that was the end of that. I wasn’t offended by the joke, though I knew in that instant that the people I chose to be my staff and colleagues did not have my back. Not long after that, a company client came to me saying there was a gay woman that I shouldn’t allow near other clients. In my mind I had to laugh because this client with the complaint had no idea I was also gay, but I had to agree, not because of the sexuality of this individual in question, but the poor behavior and choices that this individual was making that were a liability to the company. Needless to say, through the years I felt more and more alone and I was eventually undermined to an extent to where it was time for me to simply leave. For those reasons and my personal well being, I am obviously building new projects with new people.
What I took away from that experience though was that while I know some of those people did not intend to be insulting toward me, it is very important to build a company with people that walk the walk and not just talk the talk to fit in.
When and how did you open up to your company about your sexuality?
I’ve never been someone who labeled myself, though I have great respect for others who have been outspoken representatives for underserved demographics of people. Whenever someone wants to set me up on a date with their son or the topic of my sexuality comes up, I address it as I would any other topic when the context of the conversation fits. I don’t feel the need to force anything upon anyone, just as I wouldn’t want anything forced upon me. If I sense there is hesitation or resistance toward me in regard to my sexuality, then I know what kind of mindset I’m working with. From that point on, it’s up to me to look at what’s more important; the end result I’m working toward or whether or not it can be beneficial in the long run to deal with that limited mindset. There’s a phrase from the Godfather, “It’s not personal, it’s only business.” I believe there are occasions when that philosophy is relevant in order to hit a milestone that can potentially benefit the entire team and in the end, demonstrate to those that were originally resistant that there is a bigger picture.
What would make your work environment or the tech industry as a whole more LGBTQ+ friendly?
I believe it’s up to me. I can’t dictate how others should be, though I can be an example of what I believe in. I feel I am in a unique position where I can build a culture that will benefit a company and hopefully the public. I think there’s a need especially when we’re young to feel a part of something bigger than ourselves, what ever that something may be. I don’t see eleveight being the “gay” tech company. I see eleveight being the diverse tech company that encourages good work, embraces continual growth and bridges pathways toward opportunity. To me hard work should determine one’s quality of life, not race, ethnicity, gender or sexuality.
What advice would you give to queer employees entering the tech industry?
Understand your strengths and be ok with your weaknesses as a person. No one can be or do everything. Create or work for a company that excites you. I truly believe that personal purpose is greater than our sexuality. Once we find our personal purpose, sexuality becomes a quality of who we are, not what we are.
