Development is not binary
Diversity at DAZN
When you sometimes tell people that you are software engineer one of the standard replies that you get is oh “0’s and 1's!”. Of course a ‘bit’ is the smallest unit that computers use to store and process data. However, many of the paradigms and modern programming languages that software engineers use to create applications very, very rarely go to that low level of concern.
In fact the reason I got into software development was because after studying Japanese for 2 and half years I realised how much more similar programming was to language learning. There are so many ways to do the same thing even when using the same programming language or frameworks. I once heard a statistic that a developer makes approximately 20,000 decisions about the code that they write a day. I am not sure if this statistic is true but I do think it gives you an idea of the kind of creativity that is entailed.
Lateralisation of Brain Function
As we develop our brains mature in different ways. Most of us have heard of differences between the Left and Right brain and how they operate. Left-brained people are supposed to be logical, analytical, and methodical. Right-brained people are supposed to be creative, disorganised, and artistic. I think many of disagree with being put in such boxes however people often seem gravitate more strongly to some of these areas than others. Many are great at both and prove that we do not need to segment people in this way.
We do not believe that any particular gender bias, or grouping of people decide which bucket people sit in when it comes to this. We see each person for themselves and the holistic value they bring.
So What is Best when Looking for Developers?
Software engineers are often thought to be exclusively logical, analytical and methodical. Yes some tasks are highly structured and mathematical in nature. But when you are creating a software product as a team there are approaches that better serve the delivery. One of this single best qualities we look for in a software engineer is to be a good communicator and people who are expressive and creative.
Extremism and Binary Technical Decisions
In the past I have come across technical people who are fans of a particular development approach that take their views to extremes and hold an ideology and purity that they become what some describe as intolerant, zealotry and dogmatic. This kind of behaviour is of course not helpful in any workplace and any decision that is purely binary in nature can never be one that can deal with the wide range of scenarios that we need to cater for.
Whether your programming style of choice in ‘Object Orientated’ or ‘Functional’ or you are fans of programming languages such as ‘Java’, ‘Scala’, ‘JavaScript’ or even the one that seems to get cursed the most ‘PHP’. Of course there are different approaches that suit a particular problem better than others. There is no wrong or right. The biggest enemy of delivery can be lack of agreement and unwillingness for any team members to compromise or to take a pragmatic approach even if it is not ‘my favourite’.
Creating Far Reaching Products as a Team
With this in mind who is best to help deliver these. It is the people who are from this wide range of diversity who will be the people that will help our teams to become well rounded in shape and character.
A Safe Environment
We want our working environment to be one that everyone enjoys and they are enthusiastic about coming to work. A wider range of people makes this dynamic and exiting.
The technology world is moving at such a pace that those working within tech need to stay on top of this. It is temptation for the ‘alpha male’ to come out of some team members and for people to act like they understand EVERYTHING. The truth is that no-one knows EVERYTHING and any honest person will admit that they have had imposters syndrome. We want to build a work space where people can be 100% honest and comfortable with where they are at. Then there is no acting required and can see the whole team becoming more knowledgeable and skill-full together.
Of course this is not about just technical knowledge we want all to feel safe accepted and comfortable by just being themselves!
We are Growing
At DAZN we are seeing massive growth and naturally are hiring. This is not a trend that we see will stop across the industry in the near future. We actually going forward need to be pulling from an even greater diversity pool going further and this includes getting more under-represented groups into coding earlier.
It is easy to write such about such endeavours without actually doing anything. You may or may not see us being big-name sponsors at event likes Women In Tech. But you will see many of us being mentors to those connected with such initiatives and we of course are more than happy to share our facilities for initiatives such as ‘React Girls’. We are keen to connect and offer our support to any initiatives within our offices’ vicinity that will encourage further involvement of under represented groups to get into tech.
