Stories from tech workers who are women, people of color, and LGBTQ-identifying, describe discrimination, microaggressions, feelings of isolation, and more
Los Angeles Times : Tweets: @jmbooyah , @ekp , @csforca , @miscadooch , @danbeucke , @alexpadilla4ca , @cdiaz916 , @scrivenix , @latimes , @latimes , @jeffbercovici , @jmbooyah , and @jmbooyah Tweets: Johana Bhuiyan / @jmbooyah : Why is tech so white and male? 1 answer: Black and brown people still experience racism. In a survey of 68 people & interviews with more, only 4 said tech was inclusive. Others recalled experiences of overt or covert racism. Here are some of their stories: https://www.latimes.com/... Ellen K. Pao / @ekp : Limited partners aren't investing in Black VCs. Several multi-billion VC firms still do not have a single Black investor. Why do the families and universities endorse white male firms with their dollars? https://www.latimes.com/... @csforca : Addressing lack of representation needs to happen at all levels of the tech industry: -Equal access to education -Equal access to jobs -Equal access to mentorship -Equal access to leadership positions -Equal access to investment https://www.latimes.com/... Misca / @miscadooch : This is a huge problem. I'm usually the only POC at the tech companies I've been at. You'll see 180 employees and if you're lucky 20 are minorities. https://twitter.com/... Dan Beucke / @danbeucke : “Even the graduating class of computer science majors at Stanford is more diverse than the companies just down the road.” Excellent job by @SamAugustDean @JMBooyah to dig past lazy statements about talent “pipelines” & explain how tech resists diversity. https://www.latimes.com/... Alex Padilla / @alexpadilla4ca : Black and Latino #STEM graduates find it harder to land a good high-paying tech job. Tech companies must meet this moment by reforming their recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion policies to build a more inclusive industry and economy. https://www.latimes.com/... Cesar Diaz / @cdiaz916 : “Respondents described companies where people of color are severely underrepresented in both rank-and-file and executive roles and corporate cultures that can feel hostile to anyone who is not a heterosexual, cisgender white male.” https://www.latimes.com/... @scrivenix : “Diversity in tech” industry convo's rarely include the voluntaristic tech spaces where techies do code & craft projects, & articulate values of tech cultures. Modern-day spaces like hackerspaces have a long history; tech hobbyist spaces... https://www.latimes.com/... @latimes : For the tech industry, a reckoning over the diversity of its workforce has been going on in some form since 2014. But little has changed in how Black people and other people of color are treated as job candidates, employees and investors. https://www.latimes.com/... @latimes : Google reported that 3.7% of its employees and contractors are Black, as of May. And the % of Black employees at other tech companies remain similarly low: 2.9% at Salesforce, 3.8% at Facebook, 4.4% at Slack, 4.5% at Microsoft, and 6% at Twitter. https://www.latimes.com/... Jeff Bercovici / @jeffbercovici : At Google, Leslie Miley (@shaft) was physically accosted by a coworker demanding to see his badge. “We need to make sure people belong here,” he was told. Miley had warned Google higher ups that an official policy asking employees to police each other this way encouraged racism. Johana Bhuiyan / @jmbooyah : Take @ifeomaozoma. At Pinterest she pushed to stop promoting plantations for weddings. When the co agreed, it publicly celebrate the decision. Privately, she was chastised. “I was supposed to, as a Black woman, provide pros for promoting slave plantations” https://www.latimes.com/... Johana Bhuiyan / @jmbooyah : & @BariAWilliams who has held high positions at Facebook, Stubhub & is now head of legal at Human Interest & still has been asked if she got into Berkeley through affirmative action. “With microaggressions, there's no there there so you can't go to HR” https://www.latimes.com/...
Why is tech so white and male? 1 answer: Black and brown people still experience racism. In a survey of 68 people & interviews with more, only 4 said tech was inclusive. Others recalled experiences of overt or covert racism. Here are some of their stories: https://www.latimes.com…
Limited partners aren't investing in Black VCs. Several multi-billion VC firms still do not have a single Black investor. Why do the families and universities endorse white male firms with their dollars? https://www.latimes.com/...
Addressing lack of representation needs to happen at all levels of the tech industry: -Equal access to education -Equal access to jobs -Equal access to mentorship -Equal access to leadership positions -Equal access to investment https://www.latimes.com/...
This is a huge problem. I'm usually the only POC at the tech companies I've been at. You'll see 180 employees and if you're lucky 20 are minorities. https://twitter.com/...
“Even the graduating class of computer science majors at Stanford is more diverse than the companies just down the road.” Excellent job by @SamAugustDean @JMBooyah to dig past lazy statements about talent “pipelines” & explain how tech resists diversity. https://www.latimes.com/.…
Black and Latino #STEM graduates find it harder to land a good high-paying tech job. Tech companies must meet this moment by reforming their recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion policies to build a more inclusive industry and economy. https://www.latimes.com/...
“Respondents described companies where people of color are severely underrepresented in both rank-and-file and executive roles and corporate cultures that can feel hostile to anyone who is not a heterosexual, cisgender white male.” https://www.latimes.com/...
“Diversity in tech” industry convo's rarely include the voluntaristic tech spaces where techies do code & craft projects, & articulate values of tech cultures. Modern-day spaces like hackerspaces have a long history; tech hobbyist spaces... https://www.latimes.com/...
For the tech industry, a reckoning over the diversity of its workforce has been going on in some form since 2014. But little has changed in how Black people and other people of color are treated as job candidates, employees and investors. https://www.latimes.com/...
Google reported that 3.7% of its employees and contractors are Black, as of May. And the % of Black employees at other tech companies remain similarly low: 2.9% at Salesforce, 3.8% at Facebook, 4.4% at Slack, 4.5% at Microsoft, and 6% at Twitter. https://www.latimes.com/...
At Google, Leslie Miley (@shaft) was physically accosted by a coworker demanding to see his badge. “We need to make sure people belong here,” he was told. Miley had warned Google higher ups that an official policy asking employees to police each other this way encouraged racism.
Take @ifeomaozoma. At Pinterest she pushed to stop promoting plantations for weddings. When the co agreed, it publicly celebrate the decision. Privately, she was chastised. “I was supposed to, as a Black woman, provide pros for promoting slave plantations” https://www.latimes.com…
& @BariAWilliams who has held high positions at Facebook, Stubhub & is now head of legal at Human Interest & still has been asked if she got into Berkeley through affirmative action. “With microaggressions, there's no there there so you can't go to HR” https://www.latimes.com/...