Debugging inclusive environments in Tech

We collected data from 30 women who worked in Puerto Rico at some point in their careers, and here are the results.

Xiomara Figueroa
Aug 28, 2017 · 5 min read

This article was originally published in Programadores de Puerto Rico, en español. (April, 2017)

Context outside Puerto Rico

Talking about diversity and inclusion in Puerto Rico is challenging, as we haven’t made much progress in the conversation. In the United States, for better or worse, headlines about minorities, people of color and women in technology have appeared everywhere in the past few years. Personal stories of marginalization and harassment, unreasonable salary gaps, stories about discrimination and microaggressions are some examples of what has surfaced. This situation has created a generation of allies who are offended by inequalities, and some are even determined to help solve the problem. Regardless of the obvious negativity in these stories, it is good that they’re coming to light, thus creating awareness in our community, and more importantly, starting an open dialogue about what’s happening.

In addition to these stories, there’s another part of the problem that’s even more difficult to debug, discuss and understand, and it’s when exclusion and marginalization are so subtle that they’re almost imperceptible. Most of these situations are not a problem until they affect us directly. However, it’s important that we make an effort to understand, to be able to identify what we can do to strengthen our community locally and outside the island.

How is this relevant to us in Puerto Rico?

Diversity and inclusion efforts are profitable for every business. It not only helps them have a well-rounded view of their market and product, but also creates a healthier and collaborative environment that drives innovation. The representation of minorities in technology not only ensures a healthy society, but its economic well-being as well. For us in Puerto Rico, this is very relevant and means that we need to make sure that we play an important role in creating inclusive environments, and that we are taking advantage of all the talent we have available. Technology is shaping our world and creating our future interactions, and we should play a role in it.

What is the outlook in Puerto Rico?

After almost three years of having started Include Girls, an organization for female and beginners in technology, I’ve learned a lot about the student community in Puerto Rico, both inside and outside our field. As an organization, we have identified different areas that we understood required attention and concrete action. Among them, the lack of tech education at the high school level and a space for female students and beginners to feel welcome. The focus has been mostly directed to students, but we have always known that the industry would also benefit from having a more diverse and inclusive field in every way possible. Now, the reality is that we have no concrete measures on how the local industry has been able to benefit from these and other efforts of diversifying our field.

We should better understand our demographics in different areas such as gender, social status, educational level, age, among other areas that are relevant to us locally.

To begin the conversation on these issues, we wanted to understand the demographics of women in technical positions, so we created a survey to get a better picture.

by Lincy Ayalahttp://www.lincyayala.com

But, diversity is not a problem for women alone

The fact is that we’ll always be more receptive to what we represent directly. However, it’s important to understand that diversity is not just a women’s issue, it’s an issue that involves the whole industry and should be treated as such. Although, creating inclusive environments is not trivial. How do we know that we are being inclusive and that we are not leaving people out of the picture? The reality is that there is no recipe or concrete answer, so let’s look at it as if it were a “hack”. We don’t necessarily know if it’s the perfect solution (it probably isn’t) but we can always iterate to improve it. With that intention, here’s a compilation of concepts that I’ve learned while being exposed to conversations about diversity and inclusion. I think we should pay attention to them and include them in our routines as active contributors to our communities.

Steps to build a more inclusive community

  1. : Meaningful, open and honest dialogue should encourage interconnectivity among all the people involved.
  2. : It takes a lot of uncomfortable conversations in order to make progress in this topic. We shouldn’t have to change the way we behave, our hobbies or our culture, in order to give the impression that we fit into a mold. If you are in this position, you should talk about it. Stories build a pattern and patterns point to a trend.
  3. : It may seem like it’s not a big deal but words are important. The narratives we are told and create penetrate deep into our minds and create the environment we’re in.
  4. : In tech and other fields usually dominated by men, we tend to overestimate on confidence (the way we project and face situations) instead of competence (the ability to do something). If you are in a leading position, make sure you understand what you are trying to bring into a team or community.
  5. It’s not accurate to look at women in leadership positions as an indicator of progress in inclusiveness. Being inclusive means creating a space where you don’t have to constantly prove that you belong. Taking into account the opinions and perspectives of someone who wasn’t being included is a step in the right direction.
  6. Developing an understanding of different life experiences and perspectives exposes you to new ideas and possible solutions. Try to put yourself in other people’s shoes, get out of your comfort zone and challenge what you’ve always seen as the norm. Your empathy will make you a better person and a better professional.
  7. : Biases are one of the reasons we’re here in the first place. We all act and react based on our history, knowledge and upbringing. Start questioning your own opinions as well. The one variable you definitely have control of, is you.
  8. Again, it takes a lot of courage to start a conversation about something that bothers someone or is against someone’s values. If you are in the position of listening, do it. Better yet, put these concepts into practice.

If you feel like something’s missing on this list, please make it part of the conversation. It takes a lot of people to create an industry where we all can thrive.

Include Girls

Student led non-profit organization at Puerto Rico to support women’s development in STEM [OUR stories & thoughts]

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Xiomara Figueroa

Written by

Software Engineer and CTO of @BookSloth • Mostly writing in swift. I enjoy reading science and historical fiction, dystopian and memoirs. Hablo español.

Include Girls

Student led non-profit organization at Puerto Rico to support women’s development in STEM [OUR stories & thoughts]

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