Code, Culture and the Pursuit of Happiness

@KinseyAnnDurham
RubyConf 15

Transcript

1. Code, Culture, and the Pursuit of Happiness R U B Y C O N F 2 0 1 5
2. @KinseyAnnDurham
3. – J O H N N Y A P P L E S E E D “Type a quote here.”
6. – J O H N N Y A P P L E S E E D “Type a quote here.” Breaking down barriers to entry
7. There’s a bigger issue.
8. - H A R VA R D R E S E A R C H S T U D Y 56% H T T P : / / D O C U M E N T S . L I B R A RY. N S F. G O V / E D O C S / H D 6 0 6 0 - . A 8 4 - 2 0 0 8 - P D F - AT H E N A - FA C T O R - R E V E R S I N G - T H E - B R A I N - D R A I N - I N - S C I E N C E , - E N G I N E E R I N G , - A N D - T E C H N O L O G Y. P D F
9. - H A R VA R D R E S E A R C H S T U D Y 17% H T T P : / / D O C U M E N T S . L I B R A RY. N S F. G O V / E D O C S / H D 6 0 6 0 - . A 8 4 - 2 0 0 8 - P D F - AT H E N A - FA C T O R - R E V E R S I N G - T H E - B R A I N - D R A I N - I N - S C I E N C E , - E N G I N E E R I N G , - A N D - T E C H N O L O G Y. P D F
10. - F O R T U N E M A G A Z I N E 97%
11. Getting minorities into the industry
12. Getting minorities to stay.
13. – J O H N N Y A P P L E S E E D
14. – J O H N N Y A P P L E S E E D “Type a quote here.”
16. – J O H N N Y A P P L E S E E D “Type a quote here.”
18. F I R S T T R E N D Lack of Flexibility
19. Lack of progressive maternity leave policies
20. Lack of progressive maternity & paternity leave policies
21. “Many women said that it wasn’t motherhood alone that did in their careers. Rather, it was the lack of flexible work arrangements, the unsupportive work environment, or a salary that was inadequate to pay for childcare.” - F O R T U N E M A G A Z I N E
22. No work/life balance
23. “I wanted a life beyond work.” - D H H , R E C O N S I D E R
24. Familial responsibilities
26. “Flexible scheduling is essential for retaining women, who often face unique work/life challenges.” - A N I TA B O R G I N S T I T U T E
27. S E C O N D T R E N D Biased Evaluations
28. - T H E L A T I M E S “They just kept asking me to prove myself over and over again”
29. Like now…
30. - FA S T C O M PA N Y 72% of women sensing biases
32. - FA S T C O M PA N Y 88% vs. 59%
35. “Pipe down”
36. T H I R D T R E N D Less Technical Roles
37. Junior Developers
38. Other strengths
39. Pulled into non-technical roles
40. - M A S H A B L E “At a small company, employees need to wear many hats”
41. My Story…
42. Women saying they experienced the same thing
43. Mid-level Developers
44. F O U R T H T R E N D Sense of Isolation
45. – J O H N N Y A P P L E S E E D “Type a quote here.” Feelings of not belonging in a homogenous group
46. - FA S T C O M PA N Y “You feel lonely, you feel like a novelty, you feel like a fraud. You feel like you don’t deserve a seat at the table.”
47. - F O R T U N E M A G A Z I N E “Eventually you get tired of being the odd duck.”
48. - E I L E E N U C H I T E L L E , B A S E C A M P E N G I N E E R “I wouldn’t feel so alone if more women gave technical talks/ contributed to open source.”
49. - PA M E L A V I C K E R S , B L U E B O T T L E E N G I N E E R “I felt like I should probably reach out to my manager to tell him how much I was struggling, but I felt like the odd person out.”
50. Som Someone to talk to.
51. F I F T H T R E N D The Little Things
52. - FA S T C O M PA N Y “Over the years, other people’s words and actions pile onto your shoulders. You feel enormous pressure to pretend that nothing bothers you, because you don’t want to give others more power to hurt you, or upset people you care about or make them feel uncomfortable.”
53. - T H E L A T I M E S "There are a lot of things that piled up over the years," Means said. "I didn't know how to move forward. There was a lot I had to put up with in the culture of tech. It just didn't seem worth it.”
54. - A L A I N A P E R C I VA L , W W C O D E "They're [things that are] so small you'd never even complain about them… But they happen day after day. They're the kind of things that separate and exclude you from the team and make you say, 'Hey, is this the right career path for me?'"
55. - @ S H A F T, T H O U G H T S O N D I V E R S I T Y PA R T 2 “I left that meeting wondering how I could, in good conscience, continue to work in an organization where the Sr. VP of Engineering could see himself as a technology visionary and be so unaware of this blind spot in his understanding of diversity.”
56. - @ S H A F T, T H O U G H T S O N D I V E R S I T Y PA R T 2 “From this position, Twitter may find it difficult to make the changes to culture and product.”
57. - A S H E D RY D E N “It’s a thousand tiny paper cuts.” “A thousand tiny paper cuts”
58. - J O A N N E C H E N G , K E E N . I O E N G I N E E R “As a woman, it gets exhausting to have to explain constantly that you're technical or now, a senior developer. It's okay the first few years, but after 10 years, it's ridiculous.”
59. “More often than not, people think I am brand new or more junior than I am.” - K Y L I E S T R A D L E Y, B I G N E R D R A N C H E N G I N E E R
60. “Woman” focused.
61. Moving beyond this.
62. “Colorless Diversity”
63. “We’re not ignoring it, it’s something that we support, it’s something that we’re working on, but this is our major focus right now, is the women’s issue.”
64. “We’re not ignoring it, it’s something that we support, it’s something that we’re working on, but this is our major focus right now, is the women’s issue.”
66. – J O H N N Y A P P L E S E E D
67. Intersectionality
68. The theory suggests that—and seeks to examine how—various biological, social and cultural categories such as gender, race, class, ability, sexual orientation, religion, caste, age and other axes of identity interact on multiple and often simultaneous levels. This framework can be used to understand how systemic injustice and social inequality occur on a multidimensional basis.
69. Where change needs to happen
70. Company Culture
71. And by company culture, I don’t mean perks…
72. - N P R “Old boys club”
73. - PA M E L A V I C K E R S , B L U E B O T T L E E N G I N E E R “Lack of support and microaggressions”
74. - N P R “Psychologists who delved deeper into the issue with a new study found that the biggest pushbacks female engineers receive come from the environments they work in.”
75. - PA M E L A V I C K E R S , B L U E B O T T L E E N G I N E E R “I dreaded going into work each day. I felt stupid every day.”
76. - PA M E L A V I C K E R S , B L U E B O T T L E E N G I N E E R “Being at a company of super smart, super helpful and patient people let me heal up my confidence while leveling up my web development skills.”
77. The only reason I am where I am today, is because of company culture
78. - P E T E R T H I E L , P R O M I N E N T V C “Don’t fuck up the culture.”
79. - B R I A N C H E S K Y, C E O A I R B N B “The culture is what creates the foundation for all future innovation.”
80. C O M PA N Y C U LT U R E
81. C O M PA N Y C U LT U R E
82. “I don’t have a lot of advice. There’s not a whole lot you can do to keep your career from being crushed by misogyny.”
83. - S C A R L E T T S I E B E R , V P O F T E C H Men are crucial for creating an environment where women thrive
84. Be wary of “culture fit”
85. Beer Test(?)
86. Have a culture where…
87. Acknowledge when there is a problem. - S H E RY L S A N D B E R G
88. We recognize our biases. - S A R A H M E I
89. All of our biases.
91. We have open, casual conversations - L A U R E N M O S E N T H A L , G L A S S B R E A K E R S
92. We sink and swim - PA M E L A V I C K E R S , B L U E B O T T L E E N G I N E E R
93. We educate ourselves on these issues.
94. We mentor and onboard.
96. We have flexible work schedules & equal maternity/paternity leave policies
98. - A N I TA B O R G I N S T I T U T E “Develop a reputation for being a company that acknowledges the health and well-being of its employees.”
99. We invest in learning
100. Transparency
101. C U LT U R E S I D I D N ’ T L I K E
102. C U LT U R E S I D I D N ’ T L I K E I felt my gender
103. C U LT U R E S I D I D N ’ T L I K E I felt my gender I couldn’t be myself
104. C U LT U R E S I D I D N ’ T L I K E I felt my gender I couldn’t be myself Little care for employees
105. C U LT U R E S I D I D N ’ T L I K E I felt my gender I couldn’t be myself Little care for employees No transparency
106. C U LT U R E S I D I D N ’ T L I K E I felt my gender I couldn’t be myself Little care for employees No transparency Didn’t have a voice
107. C U LT U R E S I D I D N ’ T L I K E I felt my gender I couldn’t be myself Little care for employees No transparency Didn’t have a voice Needs fell upon deaf ears
108. C U LT U R E S I D I D N ’ T L I K E I felt my gender I couldn’t be myself Little care for employees No transparency Didn’t have a voice Needs fell upon deaf ears Unhelpful feedback
109. C U LT U R E S I D O L I K E I never feel my gender I can be myself Utmost care for employees Transparency I have a voice Needs are heard and changes happen Helpful feedback Learning is prioritized
110. N O T I C E * Friends * Perks * Salary
113. Improving company culture will solve the diversity problem
114. More diverse teams make better decisions. - A N I TA B O R G I N S T I T U E
115. Diverse groups outperform homogenous groups. - N O R T H W E S T E R N U N I V E R S I T Y
116. “Without a variety of voices contributing ideas, the workplace becomes a homogenized environment where potential brilliance may never be achieved. Diversity should rightly be seen as a benefit to growth, not an obstruction to avoid.” - M A R K S . L U C K I E
117. It’s more than this, though.
118. - G A L L U P R E S E A R C H S T U D Y 31%
119. Going further than diversity.
120. Changing the World
121. Change can start here, with all of us.
122. We need to be the role models.
123. We are the future of innovation.
124. Creating your company cultures.
125. Choosing your company cultures.
126. power image
127. We can change this.
128. We need to change this.
129. We’re a culture
130. Let’s Not Fuck It Up
131. http://www.fastcompany.com/3008216/tracking/minding-gap-how-your-company-can-woo-female- coders http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/21/tech-sector-sexist-survey-guardian http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-women-tech-20150222-story.html#page=1 https://www.glassbreakers.co/articles/186 http://fortune.com/2014/10/02/women-leave-tech-culture/ http://www.inc.com/kimberly-weisul/its-the-culture-bro-why-women-leave-tech.html http://www.fastcoexist.com/3018388/why-women-leave-tech-companies-and-what-to-do-about-it http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/08/12/339638726/many-women-leave- engineering-blame-the-work-culture http://www.fastcompany.com/3037075/strong-female-lead/why-are-women-are-leaving-science- engineering-tech-jobs http://www.attn.com/stories/1003/women-leaving-tech-sexism http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/technology/technologys-man-problem.html?_r=0 https://www.devmynd.com/blog/2015-2-mind-the-gap http://anitaborg.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Climbing_the_Technical_Ladder.pdf http://documents.library.nsf.gov/edocs/HD6060-.A84-2008-PDF-Athena-factor-Reversing-the-brain- drain-in-science,-engineering,-and-technology.pdf http://www.ashedryden.com/blog/codes-of-conduct-101-faq#coc101why https://medium.com/@bchesky/dont-fuck-up-the-culture-597cde9ee9d4 http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2014/09/you-dont-know-what-you-dont-know-how.html http://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/better_decisions_through_diversity http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/20/7856467/airbnb-diversity-report-gender-race-interactive-chart http://www.thelocal.de/jobs/article/german-parental-leave-our-guide http://www.salon.com/2013/11/03/ sheryl_sandberg_men_need_to_do_more_childcare_and_housework/ https://medium.com/@dhh/reconsider-41adf356857f http://qz.com/523137/the-tech-industrys-diversity-focus-favors-one-group-over-pretty-much-any- other/ Pamela Vickers Sandi Metz Joanne Cheng Bobbilee Hartman Eileen Uchilitelle Kylie Stradley
132. @KinseyAnnDurham kinsey@gospotcheck.com