What does INCLUSION mean to you?

Every year, a group of women Harvard students organize an incredible conference called WECode. WECode is the largest student run conference for women in computer science in the country. The weekend long conference is dedicated to expanding the skills, network, and community of technical women worldwide, by bringing together a diverse group of engineers to share ideas and conversations on technology and innovation. The conference programming consists of keynotes, lightning tech talks, mock interviews, a mentorship lunch, hands-on workshops, and panels focused on key issues that are important to women in computer science.

This year, I was lucky enough to moderate a panel on diversity and inclusion in the classroom, the workplace, and beyond. The thoughtful and engaging panelists all provided actionable strategies to support and improve inclusion. The ideas and content generated from the panel are distilled into this blog post in an effort to share these strategies with people beyond the WECode conference attendees.

Featuring (from left to right): Tiana Kara, Executive Director of #BUILTBYGIRLS; Anne Schwartz, Software Engineer at Peloton; Wendy Lau, Associate Director of Product Management at PublicisSapient

What do diversity and inclusivity mean to you and why is it such an important issue right now?

TK: Verna Myers said it best, “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance”. To me, D&I is representation across various identity groups and an intentional embracing of these groups at every level. It matters for a variety of reasons, but I chose to narrow my focus on the future. The only way we can ensure innovations are serving everyone is to bring builders and creators of every identity to the table and speak up/feel uncomfortable when they aren’t present.

WL: To me, diversity encompasses much more than the common dimensions of gender, race, sexual orientation. When we think about diversity, particularly in the workplace, we understandably focus on these extremely important factors, but there are some unlikely forms that can have a huge impact on an individual’s feeling of belonging. Some of these include: educational background, personality traits, and even dietary restrictions. When we are inclusive, we promote a culture of knowledge sharing and problem solving that we otherwise wouldn’t experience. When we are inclusive, our intent should not be that of conformity, but acceptance.

How is your company promoting inclusivity in the classroom and/or the workplace?

TK: Inclusivity is woven into the fabric of everything that we do at #BUILTBYGIRLS. We start by inviting every team member to bring their full, authentic self to work. No code-switching. Authenticity is welcomed and praised. We then double down by passing the mic, meaning, everyone gets the floor in team discussions and brainstorms.

AS: I almost worked for a much bigger company than Peloton. When I say almost, I mean that I accepted an offer from a big bank, rescinded the acceptance of the offer, and started my whole job search over again to try to find a smaller, more quickly growing company. I eventually landed an job at Peloton in February of my senior year at Wellesley College. At Peloton, I have a lot of autonomy — not only to drive the direction of my engineering work, but to drive the creation of a strong company culture. Over the past year Peloton has shown an immense dedication to promoting diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. They have done this by assigning our VP of Brand to take up the interim role of Diversity and Inclusion head while we hire a full time team to do this work, by encouraging and financing the formation of employee resource groups for several different identity groups at the company, and through our celebration of Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and Pride Month among others.

I personally have gotten involved heavily on the recruiting side. I interview extensively, and often field questions about what it is like to be a non-male engineer at Peloton. I also instigated the creation of a committee that meets every six weeks to discuss advancements in Peloton’s efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive engineering organization.

My biggest project right now is the work I am doing to found our LGBTQ+ employee resource group. Other than celebrating Pride month with panel presentations, mixers with other companies, a presence at NY Pride, and a Peloton boutique clothing line, I hope for this group to be a community for LGBTQ+ Peloton employees and allies all year round.

WL: It is important to recognize that people think and share their thoughts in ways that might not be the same as yours. Ask questions with an open mind. Apologize when you’ve made a blunder. Walk many miles in many different shoes.

How can each of us individually work towards creating a more inclusive environment?

TK: 👏🏾Pass 👏🏾the 👏🏾mic in environments where you have privilege. Ask for the opinions and guidance of underrepresented folks, especially those who aren’t in positions of power.

AS: The first step that we all need to take toward creating a more inclusive work environment, is to recognize our workplace as a community of people before we think about it as just a place of work. It is easy to try to separate “work” from “life”, but we spend 75% of our waking hours in our workplace, and our work community is truly a mini society that each employee is a member of. As a member of this society we all have the responsibility to make it an equitable society. There are many ways that we can do that, but seeing the importance of this work requires a perspective shift.

WL: Provide different mediums of communication to maximize the opportunity for an individual to respond in a way that makes them most comfortable. Do not condone interruptions when someone is speaking. Before a meeting that you’ve organized, prepare and share out an agenda on topics that will be discussed. Be mindful of how you ask people to share their opinions, especially in a group setting — some people need to stew over topics that were discussed, or don’t like speaking in public, but might feel compelled to say something because you asked explicitly asked them.

What are some strategies for speaking up and supporting other women in classroom sections and/or workplace meetings?

TK: I recommend practicing the art of inclusion. Bring people into the conversation who aren’t speaking up. Ask women who haven’t shared to offer their opinion and look out for those who do share but are interrupted. If someone does talk over them, I recommend speaking up and asking them to finish their thought. For example, “Lisa, did you mind repeating what you said.”

WL: Ask for clarification and be prepared to educate. Fill yourself with compassion for their ignorance.

How would you suggest standing up to micro-aggressions and worse offenses?

TK: James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” If you or someone around you experiences any form of indignity my method is to address it asap. Asking “what did you mean by that?” is a great way to start. Often when people repeat or explain themselves they hear the ignorance.

WL: If you find yourself in a meeting, and you’re the only person who isn’t “like them”, be proud of yourself for getting there. Do not doubt your capabilities. Do not doubt yourself and wonder if you’re there solely because of your minority status. Take advantage of the situation: make your voice heard, involve other members of underrepresented groups, find an ally, build influence.

How do you step out as a woman or member of another underrepresented group in the tech world highly dominated by white men?

TK: One foot at a time. Being one of the very few women or even women of color in a room is taxing, frustrating and often isolating, but I continue forward. I also lean on the many niche communities out there for encouragement like #BUILTBYGIRLS, Ladies Get Paid, and POC in Tech.

What’s your best advice to women in tech who may be questioning their place in the industry?

AS: Women were some of the first prominent programmers in the world. Ada Lovelace, a British mathematician wrote what is widely considered the first computer program in the 1830s, an algorithm that calculated the Bernoulli sequence of numbers. During World War 2 in Bletchley Park, women were operating some of the first code breaking machines, and American women were the ones who wrote software for the Eniac, the first programmable computer, in the 1940s. In the 1960s, Mary Allen Wilkes wrote the software for the LINC, one of the first interactive personal computers. Being a programmer is a task that requires a picky, precise, mind, and during that era it was assumed that women were the people who were the most well equipped for that kind of work. If anything should tell you that you belong in this industry, it is that many of the people who laid the foundation for what we now know as computer science were in fact women.

WL: It is very normal for anyone to question their place in their industry; in fact, it is healthy to evaluate your personal and professional happiness and overall fit within the industry. Reflect on what aspects of working in tech you find truly valuable and rewarding. Take stock of what is really making you feel like tech is the right industry for you — is it because of the types of interactions you have with others, or is it because the problems you’re solving are more interesting than some other field? Find someone who was in the same boat as you, and then find someone who hasn’t ever even been on a boat; listen to what they have to say, and then decide for yourself. Tech might not be the right industry for you, and that’s okay. Don’t feel pressured to stay because you might be letting someone or an underrepresented group down; feel pressured to stay because YOU want to face the challenges in tech.

TK: Quote June Jordan, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for”. Tech is an ever-evolving, ubiquitous industry. To say there is one way to do anything is short-sighted and frankly, dated. My advice for all identities, especially women and genderqueer folks, is to remind themselves “their place” is up to them to define. Carve out your own space and keep doing/encouraging/pushing YOU.