Our plan for a more diverse Pinterest • Hacker News Board

Re: Our plan for a more diverse Pinterest

#21

Post by infosample » Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 7:56 PM UTC

BhavdeepSethi wrote: post #11

infosample wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming a different race/gender is under the bar or will under-perform seems discriminatory.

I never said that they will. I'm just wondering how are they gonna do things differently to meet those numbers. I'm sure their current hiring process isn't biased towards a particular race/gender. To make it more balanced, are they planning to have a different hiring bar?

If it is similar to the Rooney Rule, no. The bar is the same, just required to consider a minority candidate.

I personally find tangible monetary value in employees with diverse backgrounds but I don't lower my bar. I just slightly discount sameness and slightly appreciate difference.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooney_Rule

Re: Our plan for a more diverse Pinterest

#22

Post by rheydrichSS » Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 7:57 PM UTC

netfire wrote: post #14

rheydrichSS wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a site whose chief technical accomplishment is to allow women to pin and share cutesy images, I'm not sure having top talent really matters that much.

Really? Pinterest is ranked #16 by Alexa in the US for internet traffic[1]. Do you really think running such a site with that much traffic doesn't require top talent? [1] http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US

Come on. This is not like Cancer research. Its a solved problem.

Re: Our plan for a more diverse Pinterest

#23

Post by rheydrichSS » Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 7:58 PM UTC

ceejayoz wrote: post #18

rheydrichSS wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd rather see more top women doctors, scientists, lawyers, civi, biomedical and chemical engineers. Not sure what having more women sit in front of a computer screen writing CRUD apps all day does for equality.

I'm really having a hard time imagining you're concerned about equality given the username.

Its my SJW troll username. Seems to work.

Re: Our plan for a more diverse Pinterest

#24

Post by Torgo » Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 7:59 PM UTC

Based on their charts, Asians are massively overrepresented and whites are underrepresented compared to US population. So I am curious what they mean when they say "underrepresented", will that include more Asians? If they meant black and Latino, they should just say so instead of vague euphemisms.

Re: Our plan for a more diverse Pinterest

#25

Post by Zikes » Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 8:01 PM UTC

ceejayoz wrote: post #13

rheydrichSS wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a site whose chief technical accomplishment is to allow women to pin and share cutesy images, I'm not sure having top talent really matters that much.

Congratulations on illustrating the problem of sexism in tech so well. Your interest in the content they host has zero relevance to the technical challenges they face as a platform and heavily trafficked website.

I would hardly consider a troll post from an account less than half an hour old to be representative of the technology industry.

Re: Our plan for a more diverse Pinterest

#26

Post by ceejayoz » Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 8:03 PM UTC

Zikes wrote: post #25

ceejayoz wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congratulations on illustrating the problem of sexism in tech so well. Your interest in the content they host has zero relevance to the technical challenges they face as a platform and heavily trafficked website.

I would hardly consider a troll post from an account less than half an hour old to be representative of the technology industry.

There are plenty of folks in our industry moonlighting as trolls, and plenty not outright trolling who still hold these sorts of attitudes.

Re: Our plan for a more diverse Pinterest

#27

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 8:05 PM UTC

infosample wrote: post #21

BhavdeepSethi wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never said that they will. I'm just wondering how are they gonna do things differently to meet those numbers. I'm sure their current hiring process isn't biased towards a particular race/gender. To make it more balanced, are they planning to have a different hiring bar?

If it is similar to the Rooney Rule, no. The bar is the same, just required to consider a minority candidate. I personally find tangible monetary value in employees with diverse backgrounds but I don't lower my bar. I just slightly discount sameness and slightly appreciate difference. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooney_Rule

[deleted]

Re: Our plan for a more diverse Pinterest

#28

Post by querulous » Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 8:06 PM UTC

BanMeWithRage wrote: post #6

bigethan wrote: post #4

Awesome to see a big name company set specific goals for gender and racial diversity. I can't wait for the end of the "almost every meeting is all white dudes" era. And much respect to Tracy for moving the needle.

Moving what needle? Do you work in tech, in which Asians and Indians of all walks dominate, or do you work in "tech" the same way runners work in "hollywood"?

this is only the case in companies that can/do sponsor large number of H1B's

Re: Our plan for a more diverse Pinterest

#29

Post by henok » Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 8:06 PM UTC

BhavdeepSethi wrote: post #11

infosample wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming a different race/gender is under the bar or will under-perform seems discriminatory.

I never said that they will. I'm just wondering how are they gonna do things differently to meet those numbers. I'm sure their current hiring process isn't biased towards a particular race/gender. To make it more balanced, are they planning to have a different hiring bar?

@infosample, you are right. You cannot assume minorities and women will under-perform or are under the bar. The issue of people just don't give it enough thought when hiring. At the same time, you should not hire someone solely based on their gender or race. But if there are 2 candidates with very similar skill sets and meet the standards you are looking for, hire the one who will bring you more diverse background.

Re: Our plan for a more diverse Pinterest

#30

Post by Zikes » Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 8:08 PM UTC

ceejayoz wrote: post #26

Zikes wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would hardly consider a troll post from an account less than half an hour old to be representative of the technology industry.

There are plenty of folks in our industry moonlighting as trolls, and plenty not outright trolling who still hold these sorts of attitudes.

And yet their post is still getting voted into oblivion, even when nobody knows who votes for what.