A presentation at Web Zürich by Jayne Mast
Jayne Mast (@jayne_mast) Software engineer @ noti.st/jayne
Un-bro your culture noti.st/jayne
“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
The great enemy of inclusivity, is the illusion of it
It’s about building a climate of trust, appreciation, and openness to differences in thoughts, styles and backgrounds
The early days of tech
The early days of tech
The early days of tech
The early days of tech
The rise of men
The rise of men Of those 1378, only 186 were women
The rise of men “[Programmers] dislike activities involving close personal interaction.” A vocational interest scale for computer programmers - William M. Cannon & Dallis K. Perry
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”
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
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
The rise of men
The bro culture
The bro culture “We’re elite talent; and it’s potential and talent, not experience, that has merit.” “only the best”
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?
The bro culture Insane work hours, drinking, gambling and Vegas. Plus valuing potential over experience, made the culture male dominated.
The bro culture • Women; • People of colour; • Gender, sexual, and romantic minorities; • People with a disability; • People in economic or social hardships.
Make everyone feel welcome and included
Make everyone feel welcome and included Reach out to new colleagues
Make everyone feel welcome and included On-boarding buddy
Make everyone feel welcome and included Your whole team changes
Make everyone feel welcome and included Don’t assume that they will eventually learn
Make everyone feel welcome and included Use inclusive language
Make everyone feel welcome and included Use inclusive language • Avoid jargons and abbreviations;
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”.
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;
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;
Be humble
Be humble Accept your limitations
Be humble Listen
Be humble Let people be heard
A little bit of kindness goes a long way
noti.st/jayne
Jayne Mast (@jayne_mast) Software engineer @ noti.st/jayne Read this book!
The bro culture is forever present on our work floor. Maybe you notice it, perhaps you don’t. But it’s not surprising that it’s still there if you look at the history of software development. So how do you recognise it? And what can you do to change it?
for free. You
can too.