Three Important Steps toward “Untangling” Tech Diversity
Googling things like “tech industry diversity” has always returned some pretty depressing results:
There’s a diversity problem in the tech industry and it’s not getting any better
Five years of Tech Diversity Reports — and Little Progress
Tech-industry diversity is improving, but it’s still pretty terrible
If I look back across my own 8 years in the tech industry, I’d have to agree with most of the above sentiments. Sure, diversity at least appears to be getting better, but how much better could it be, and how much better should it be?
In honor of Black History Month, and to give a platform to four individuals currently experiencing the challenges of working in the tech industry as people of color, SmartBear and Drift are hosting a panel discussion on Thursday, April 27th, titled, “Kinks and Coils: Untangling your way through the tech industry as a person of color.”
(Note: Very few seats remained for this event at the time of this blog’s publication! However, we’re planning on recording it, and offering it up for on-demand viewing in order to share our panelists’ stories with as many people as possible. Stay tuned!)
One thing that I hope that attendees take away from this event is newfound optimism that, no matter long a lack of true diversity has persisted, we can reverse that trend by doing three things that will be present on stage at Kinks and Coils.
Speaking up
The panelists at Kinks and Coils “will share their unique perspectives around the challenges they face,” as well as, “stories about the barriers they’ve overcome in their careers.” The freedom to share honest stories about real-world challenges or mistreatments faced in the workplace is not something felt by everyone in this world, and fears of harassment or retaliation are real. But when people who do feel free to speak up about these injustices, it’s the only thing that can lead to…
Starting dialogues
Speaking up about something painful or infuriating that you’ve experienced can be scary, but as the description for this event points out, “the more we talk about it, the easier these necessary dialogues will become.” These are necessary conversations. These are conversations between underrepresented and all-too-often under-respected individuals and the people who may have the power to change the course of these people’s professional careers and their overall quality of life.
Breaking barriers
On its own, #3 might seem vague. That’s because without someone first having the courage to speak up, and someone else having the empathy to listen (and then feeling free enough, themselves, to ask questions in order to better understand) barriers in the workplace can be invisible, or even seem completely fictitious. But, when feelings being shared and conversations that follow becomes the norm, those barriers not only become far more apparent — they don’t seem nearly as insurmountable to those who’ve been held back by them.
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Kinks and Coils: Untangling your way through the tech Industry as a POC!
Thursday, February 27th, 2020–5:30 PM-8:00 PM EST
Drift.com, Inc.
222 Berkeley Street
6th floor
Boston, MA 02116
No tickets remaining? Don’t fret! SmartBear and Drift will either share a recording or full recap after the event is over. Check back here for details!
