Coding is a Privilege

B9ff988a3600543b451426e9c12d8f8a?s=47 Alisha Ramos
September 27, 2016
Technology
5
700

Coding is a Privilege

Talk given at CSSConf2016.

http://twitter.com/alishalisha

B9ff988a3600543b451426e9c12d8f8a?s=128

Alisha Ramos

September 27, 2016
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Transcript

  1. 1.

    CODING IS A PRIVILEGE Alisha Ramos @alishalisha

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  4. 4.

    ASSUMPTIONS • You care about diversity in tech • You

    are interested in doing something about it
  5. 5.

    TODAY'S TALK • Diversity in Tech • My Story •

    So What? • Privilege • How You Can Help
  6. 6.

    Access to becoming an engineer should be wide open to

    all, but today that is far from the case.
  7. 7.

    SWIMMING VS. COMPUTER SCIENCE

  8. 8.
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  9. 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. 11.

    DENIED ACCESS

  12. 12.

    SIX TIMES AS LIKELY TO DROWN IN A SWIMMING POOL.

  13. 13.

    STUCK IN THE SHALLOW END: EDUCATION, RACE, AND COMPUTING by

    Jane Margolis MIT Press, 2008
  14. 14.

    $ $$ $$$ Overcrowded urban high school Math and science

    magnet school Well-funded, affluent school
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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."
  18. 18.

    DIVERSITY IN CS AND TECH TODAY

  19. 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
  20. 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
  21. 21.

    Black employees 7% Hispanic employees 5% Source: The Verge. LACK

    OF DIVERSITY IN TECH
  22. 22.

    PIPELINE PROBLEM?

  23. 23.

    Blacks and Latinxs earning CS Bachelor's degrees 18% 5% Source:

    code2040.org Blacks and Latinxs working in top tech companies
  24. 24.

    BROADENING COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION IS JUST ONE PART OF THE

    EQUATION.
  25. 25.

    MY STORY

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  30. 30.

    Some of my first websites

  31. 31.

    Some of my first websites

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  33. 33.

    Sociology + Medieval History

  34. 34.

    What's job security? Sociology + Medieval History

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  36. 36.

    "I LOVE DESIGN AND CODE!"

  37. 37.

    BOOTCAMPS WERE TOO EXPENSIVE

  38. 38.

    SELF-TAUGHT

  39. 39.

    EMPLOYMENT!

  40. 40.

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

  41. 41.

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

    ~60% INCREASE!
  42. 42.

    WHY DIDN'T I KNOW ABOUT THIS SOONER?!

  43. 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
  44. 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
  45. 45.

    OPPORTUNITY FOR THESE GROUPS TO BUILD GENERATIONAL WEALTH Photo Source:

    #WOCinTechChat
  46. 46.

    WHAT ABOUT OTHERS? WHAT ABOUT THEIR CHANCES?

  47. 47.

    Computer Internet connection Supportive parents Good school CHECKING MY PRIVILEGES

  48. 48.

    Being a developer is a position of privilege, but privilege

    should not be the only path to becoming one. Photo Source: #WOCinTechChat
  49. 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/
  50. 50.

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

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  52. 52.

    EQUITY VS. EQUALITY

  53. 53.

    • Racial privilege • Socioeconomic privilege • Male privilege •

    Religious privilege • Geographical privilege • ...and more WE ARE NOT ALL ON AN EQUAL FOOTING
  54. 54.

    SO WHAT? WHY SHOULD I CARE?

  55. 55.

    MORE VOICES Photo: #WOCinTechChat

  56. 56.

    BETTER RESULTS Photo: #WOCinTechChat

  57. 57.

    MORE REALISTIC Photo: #WOCinTechChat

  58. 58.

    Companies that lack diversity risk building products that exclude their

    customers. “ — Y-Vonne Hutchinson, "Biased by Design"
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  64. 64.

    HOW YOU CAN HELP 8 SIMPLE TIPS

  65. 65.

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

  66. 66.

    CSFORALL.ORG

  67. 67.

    Find volunteer opportunities. TIP #2

  68. 68.

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

  69. 69.

    Make yourself visible as a role model. TIP #3

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  71. 71.

    Grow your networks. TIP #4

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  75. 75.

    Growing our networks can have a positive effect on hiring

    and recruitment
  76. 76.

    Help create a safe and inclusive environment. TIP #5

  77. 77.

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

  78. 78.

    "Cultural fit?"

  79. 79.

    Lend your visibility. TIP #6

  80. 80.

    Support others who are just starting out. TIP #7

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  82. 82.

    Become aware of your own privilege and unconscious bias. TIP

    #8
  83. 83.

    EVERYONE EXPERIENCES UNCONSCIOUS BIAS

  84. 84.

    implicit.harvard.edu

  85. 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
  86. 86.

    CODING IS A PRIVILEGE Photo: #WOCinTechChat

  87. 87.

    THIS IS A CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.

    — Jane Margolis, "Stuck in the Shallow End" “ Photo: #WOCinTechChat
  88. 88.

    THANK YOU! Alisha Ramos / @alishalisha