Coding is a Privilege

Talk given at CSSConf2016.

http://twitter.com/alishalisha

Transcript

1. CODING IS A PRIVILEGE
   Alisha Ramos
   @alishalisha
   

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4. ASSUMPTIONS
   • You care about diversity in tech
   • You are interested in doing something about it
   

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5. TODAY'S TALK
   • Diversity in Tech
   • My Story
   • So What?
   • Privilege
   • How You Can Help
   

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6. Access to becoming an engineer
   should be wide open to all, but
   today that is far from the case.
   

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7. SWIMMING VS.
   COMPUTER SCIENCE
   

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9. “ THE GOLD MEDAL WASN'T JUST
   FOR ME. IT'S FOR A LOT OF
   PEOPLE WHO CAME BEFORE ME.
   — Simone Manuel, 2016 Olympic gold medalist
   

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11. DENIED ACCESS
    

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12. SIX TIMES AS LIKELY
    TO DROWN IN A
    SWIMMING POOL.
    

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13. STUCK IN THE
    SHALLOW END:
    EDUCATION, RACE,
    AND COMPUTING
    by Jane Margolis
    MIT Press, 2008
    

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14. $ $$ $$$
    Overcrowded
    urban high school
    Math and science
    magnet school
    Well-funded,
    affluent school
    

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15. FINDS A "RACE GAP" IN COMPUTER
    SCIENCE
    • Found that many classrooms were "technology rich but
    curriculum poor"
    • Only the wealthiest schools offered advanced courses, and
    few students of color enrolled in them
    • Uncovers dangerous belief systems students have about
    themselves, and teachers have about their students
    

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16. SWIMMING VS. COMPUTER SCIENCE
    • Something that people of color "don't do"
    • Associated with a certain "type" of person
    • Both began as a white-dominated activity
    

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17. Margolis states that the race gap in
    computer science education "is one
    example of the way students of color are
    denied a wide range of occupational and
    educational futures."
    

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18. DIVERSITY IN CS AND
    TECH TODAY
    

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19. COMPUTER SCIENCE IS MISSING FROM
    AMERICAN K-12 EDUCATION
    U.S. schools without a
    single CS course offered
    75%
    Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/csforall-fact-sheet-9-13-16-long.pdf
    

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20. THE LACK OF ACCESS IS EVEN WORSE FOR
    UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES
    22%
    13%
    Girls who took the AP Computer
    Science exam in 2015
    African-American or Latino
    students who took the AP
    Computer Science exam in 2015
    Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/csforall-fact-sheet-9-13-16-long.pdf
    

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21. Black employees
    7%
    Hispanic employees
    5%
    Source: The Verge.
    LACK OF DIVERSITY IN TECH
    

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22. PIPELINE PROBLEM?
    

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23. Blacks and Latinxs earning
    CS Bachelor's degrees
    18% 5%
    Source: code2040.org
    Blacks and Latinxs
    working in top
    tech companies
    

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24. BROADENING COMPUTER
    SCIENCE EDUCATION IS JUST
    ONE PART OF THE EQUATION.
    

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25. MY STORY
    

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30. Some of my first websites
    

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31. Some of my first websites
    

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33. Sociology +
    Medieval History
    

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34. What's job security?
    Sociology +
    Medieval History
    

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36. "I LOVE DESIGN AND
    CODE!"
    

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37. BOOTCAMPS WERE
    TOO EXPENSIVE
    

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38. SELF-TAUGHT
    

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39. EMPLOYMENT!
    

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40. 0
    25
    50
    75
    100
    CONSULTANT FRONT-END DESIGNER
    SALARY CHANGE
    

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41. 0
    25
    50
    75
    100
    CONSULTANT FRONT-END DESIGNER
    SALARY CHANGE
    ~60% INCREASE!
    

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42. WHY DIDN'T I KNOW
    ABOUT THIS SOONER?!
    

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43. The average salary of a tech
    worker is more than the median
    household income of a black
    family and a Latinx family
    combined.
    (The average net worth of a
    white family is 15x that of a
    black or Latina family.)
    Source: Pew Research Center
    

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44. The average salary of a tech
    worker is more than the median
    household income of a black
    family and a Latinx family
    combined.
    (The average net worth of a
    white family is 15x that of a
    black or Latinx family.)
    Source: Pew Research Center
    

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45. OPPORTUNITY FOR THESE
    GROUPS TO BUILD
    GENERATIONAL WEALTH
    Photo Source: #WOCinTechChat
    

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46. WHAT ABOUT OTHERS? WHAT
    ABOUT THEIR CHANCES?
    

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47. Computer
    Internet connection
    Supportive parents
    Good school
    CHECKING MY PRIVILEGES
    

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48. Being a developer is a position of
    privilege, but privilege should not
    be the only path to becoming one.
    Photo Source: #WOCinTechChat
    

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49. COMPUTER SCIENCE
    CAN BREAK THE
    CYCLE OF INEQUALITY.
    “
    — Jane Margolis and Yasmin Kafai
    Washington Post article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/17/why-the-coding-for-all-movement-
    is-more-than-a-boutique-reform/
    

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50. “BUT WAIT! I LEARNED
    TO CODE FOR FREE.”
    

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52. EQUITY VS. EQUALITY
    

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53. • Racial privilege
    • Socioeconomic privilege
    • Male privilege
    • Religious privilege
    • Geographical privilege
    • ...and more
    WE ARE NOT ALL ON AN EQUAL FOOTING
    

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54. SO WHAT? WHY
    SHOULD I CARE?
    

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55. MORE VOICES
    Photo: #WOCinTechChat
    

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56. BETTER RESULTS
    Photo: #WOCinTechChat
    

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57. MORE REALISTIC
    Photo: #WOCinTechChat
    

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58. Companies that lack diversity
    risk building products that
    exclude their customers.
    “
    — Y-Vonne Hutchinson, "Biased by Design"
    

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64. HOW YOU CAN HELP
    8 SIMPLE TIPS
    

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65. Support the "computer
    science for all" movement.
    TIP #1
    

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66. CSFORALL.ORG
    

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67. Find volunteer
    opportunities.
    TIP #2
    

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68. https://github.com/alishalisha/volunteer-diversity-tech
    Resilient Coders
    

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69. Make yourself visible as a
    role model.
    TIP #3
    

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71. Grow your networks.
    TIP #4
    

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75. Growing our networks
    can have a positive effect
    on hiring and recruitment
    

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76. Help create a safe and
    inclusive environment.
    TIP #5
    

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77. Source: http://code-of-conduct.voxmedia.com/
    

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78. "Cultural fit?"
    

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79. Lend your visibility.
    TIP #6
    

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80. Support others who
    are just starting out.
    TIP #7
    

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82. Become aware of your own
    privilege and unconscious bias.
    TIP #8
    

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83. EVERYONE EXPERIENCES
    UNCONSCIOUS BIAS
    

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84. implicit.harvard.edu
    

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85. https://app.box.com/s/bpk3v4umfbj8dkakepwvqpqt79y87tyt
    • Spend time with people from
    different backgrounds
    • Set data-driven tools and processes
    in place, especially for hiring and
    promotions
    WE CAN MANAGE UNCONSCIOUS BIAS
    

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86. CODING IS A PRIVILEGE
    Photo: #WOCinTechChat
    

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87. THIS IS A CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE FOR
    THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.
    — Jane Margolis, "Stuck in the Shallow End"
    “
    Photo: #WOCinTechChat
    

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88. THANK YOU!
    Alisha Ramos / @alishalisha
    

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