Un-bro your culture

A presentation at Web Zürich in December 2020 in by Jayne Mast

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Jayne Mast (@jayne_mast) Software engineer @ noti.st/jayne

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Un-bro your culture noti.st/jayne

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“many leaders assume they are better at valuing diversity than they actually are” Havard Business Review – Leaders Aren’t Great at Judging How Inclusive They Are https://hbr.org/2017/10/leaders-arent-great-at-judging-how-inclusive-they-are

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The great enemy of inclusivity, is the illusion of it

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It’s about building a climate of trust, appreciation, and openness to differences in thoughts, styles and backgrounds

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The early days of tech

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The early days of tech

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The early days of tech

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The early days of tech

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The rise of men

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The rise of men Of those 1378, only 186 were women

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The rise of men “[Programmers] dislike activities involving close personal interaction.” A vocational interest scale for computer programmers - William M. Cannon & Dallis K. Perry

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The rise of men • Antisocial personality disorder favours men by 3:1 ratio; • Autism and Asperger’s is seen as high as 7:1; • Antisocial women are seen as “not liking people”, while men are seen as a “lone wolf”

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The rise of men “[The] industry selected for antisocial, mathematically inclined males, and therefore antisocial and mathematically inclined males were overrepresented in the programmer population” The Computer Boys Take Over - Nathan Ensmenger

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The rise of men “This in turn reinforced the popular perception that programmers ought to be antisocial and mathematically inclined (and therefore male).“ The Computer Boys Take Over - Nathan Ensmenger

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The rise of men

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The bro culture

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The bro culture “We’re elite talent; and it’s potential and talent, not experience, that has merit.” “only the best”

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The bro culture • How many piano tuners are there in the world?; • How many golf balls fit in standard double decker bus?; • How much would you charge to wash all the windows in San Francisco?

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The bro culture Insane work hours, drinking, gambling and Vegas. Plus valuing potential over experience, made the culture male dominated.

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The bro culture • Women; • People of colour; • Gender, sexual, and romantic minorities; • People with a disability; • People in economic or social hardships.

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Make everyone feel welcome and included

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Make everyone feel welcome and included Reach out to new colleagues

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Make everyone feel welcome and included On-boarding buddy

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Make everyone feel welcome and included Your whole team changes

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Make everyone feel welcome and included Don’t assume that they will eventually learn

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Make everyone feel welcome and included Use inclusive language

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Make everyone feel welcome and included Use inclusive language • Avoid jargons and abbreviations;

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Make everyone feel welcome and included Use inclusive language • Avoid jargons and abbreviations; • “Guys” is not gender neutral; Instead of “guys”, use “people”, “folk”, “everyone” or “y’all”. Instead of “he” or “she”, use “they”.

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Make everyone feel welcome and included Use inclusive language • Avoid jargons and abbreviations; • “Guys” is not gender neutral; • Don’t underplay the impact of mental disabilities;

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Make everyone feel welcome and included Use inclusive language • Avoid jargons and abbreviations; • “Guys” is not gender neutral; • Don’t underplay the impact of mental disabilities; • Coding is also communication;

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Be humble

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Be humble Accept your limitations

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Be humble Listen

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Be humble Let people be heard

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A little bit of kindness goes a long way

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noti.st/jayne

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Jayne Mast (@jayne_mast) Software engineer @ noti.st/jayne Read this book!