An Open Invitation To Talk About Diversity, Feminism And Women In Tech
This is an attempt to address the responses to my post on diversity from last week and an invitation to discuss it in an AMA.
I wrote some candid thoughts on diversity peppered with personal experiences last week. I did not expect it to be so widely discussed. I’m humbled by the level of discussion it has seen and is continuing to see.
A huge thank you to every one of you who read it, recommended it and responded to it. I’d love to respond to every one of your notes, but it isn’t practical. It is also not the best way to have a discussion, because the readers aren’t reading hundreds of comments.
So, instead, I would like to host an AMA to have a deeper discussion on the topic. I will host an AMA on UrbanAMA on August 24th with the Twitter hashtag #DiversityAMA. I’d love for this community to participate and bring your discussions and questions.
Yes, this is a shameless plug for our product. UrbanAMA was built for exactly this purpose — to enable people to speak truth to power and amplify people’s voices. I hope you will see it as such and participate despite the self-promotion. Please send me a note if you are not sure how to participate.
In the rest of this post, I’ll try to address the main buckets into which the majority of the responses fell.
A nod to those who influenced my tech journey
I didn’t go to an Ivy League school. I got my bachelor’s from a mediocre college in India. My strength is surrounding myself with the best in class of people in any area and continuously learning and improving myself.
Here are just a few amazing women who have taught me courage, tenacity, perseverance and a lot more. And here are just a few amazing men who have encouraged, mentored and supported my careers. I will not be here if not for the people I’ve worked with.
To the feminists who are upset with what I wrote
I’m on your side. I’ve been there. Again and again. I’ve done my share of ranting and activism. But I don’t believe that screaming in the faces of people will bring about change. I believe in rough consensus (and running code, as some people would relate :)). It’s not unlike how much of the world got its freedom.
Some protests, some activism and a lot of peaceful and collaborative activities instill empathy in people.
To those who are upset that women even want diversity
Yes, people should pursue what they want to pursue. Diversity should not be pushed against the will of people. However, it is crucial to expose the possibilities at a very young age so that as grown ups, we can make informed choices. Speaking of tech, the positive influence of diversity in companies has been studied a lot. I’m sorry if you don’t get it.
To those who have questions about our hiring practices at UrbanAMA
The post was not about this at all, but given the number of questions and judgments this has attracted, I’ll try my best to provide some insights.
- First of all, we don’t have an “outsourced” team. We are a dual-homed team in Silicon Valley and Hyderabad. One of the co-founders lives in Hyderabad and we built a team where we could afford it.
- We advertise our jobs through a multitude of platforms as we see fit. We are big believers in referrals from past colleagues and employees. Drawing conclusions based on a casual Google search does not give you a sufficient perspective.
- We do the best with the finances we have. If you are an investor who wants to consider giving us some money, I’d love to talk :)
- My co-founder and I are into building inclusive teams and creating supportive work environments for all of our employees. If you have ever worked with either one of us, you know it’s true. If not, you just have to take my word for it. Without our team, we would not be here and we are deeply grateful for their efforts.
- We built a team that is continuously learning and improving. That’s who survives in our team. No, this is not always evident from interviews. It’s a startup — it ebbs and flows. There’s grunge work to be done. Not everyone is up for it. And yes, men and women who weren’t up for it ended up leaving.
Lastly, yes, it’s goddamn difficult to find women who want to take the risk of lower salaries and stock options that may not pan out. Women are inherently risk averse — if you want to blame biology for anything, this is one! 5 years ago, I would have never imagined doing a startup myself. Thanks to the two men in my life who made this a reality for me!
Thanks again. I am looking forward to your participation and a collaborative discussion on the AMA!
Please help others see it to extend the participation and broaden the discussion. Thank you!
