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Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'

#171

Post by darkerside »

treis wrote: post #160
scarface74 wrote: post #127

Again, for context, I’m Black and I’ve been in the industry for 25 years. I have never experienced what the author experienced. Maybe it’s because I’ve worked in Atlanta all of my career where companies are use to seeing Black professionals? It could be that I’ve spent all of my career in the staid enterprise development space instead of Big Tech? Whatever it is, I can’t ignore statistics because of the anecdotal exp…

>Again, for context, I’m Black and I’ve been in the industry for 25 years. I have never experienced what the author experienced. >Maybe it’s because I’ve worked in Atlanta all of my career where companies are use to seeing Black professionals? It's not just you. I'm not black but, am from Atlanta, and maybe that's the common link but this just seems like it's from a different planet. It's just hard for me to grok thi…

My guess is the accent was throwing people to the point it seemed like a "bait and switch".

Re: Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'

#172

Post by lilactown »

forgot_user1234 wrote: post #148

I am really curious about brown people. How come Indians succeed in tech? Why do we have so many Indians in tech? if it's just the skin colour. Why do Indians in tech rise to the top. P.S. - Before you try to cancel me - I am not trying to start a flame war. I am curious about your explanation.

In the socratic fashion, I would ask you: why are Chinese or Japanese people treated differently when they have very light skin, similar to white people?

The answer is that it's not just your skin color but many other features that lead people to assume many other things about you: culture, heritage, upbringing, physical and mental acumen, etc.

Historically, black people from Africa in America have been routinely oppressed and forced into the lower class, whereas Indian people have a much different history (that I cannot speak to, I don't know much about it). Therefore, they are treated much differently by our society.

Re: Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'

#173

Post by komali2 »

lilactown wrote: post #162
cal5k wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You may not be aware but this is a common alt-right strawman argument opposed to Black Lives Matter. Just argue the point. This kind of insidious smear-by-association is what I despise so much about the current state of public discourse.

I also despise the current state of public discourse for the very reason that stating that at the beginning of their post is necessary. It's impossible for us to know if the poster of the original point is posting in good faith or not (such is the nature of the internet). By noting that it is a common alt-right strawman, and engaging with it anyway, it can help readers understand the meta of discourse that leads many…

I try to be as generous and good faith as I can, but I'm not the best at it. I tend to point out talking points when I see them because I waste a lot of time arguing on the internet, and so I time and time again will watch a talking head say some red herring or strawman, watch it propagate through Twitter and Reddit, and eventually end up here almost completely unchanged.

It seems important to point these things out when I see them. I want to challenge why someone believes what they believe or is saying what they say. Is "black lives matter means white lives don't matter" what you really believe, or is it something you heard and sounded true to you and thus became embedded in your worldview before you had a chance to really consider the implications there?

Sometimes it feels like public figures, verified Twitter accounts, and massively upvoted comments on Reddit are putting weapons onto a rack in the colliseum of "internet debate," and half the time I'm just finding myself face to face with the exact same sword fifty other people have swung at me... So I just jab back with the exact same spear I've used fifty times before. At that point it doesn't even matter who's wielding the weapon, just that the weapons are endlessly crossing eachother.

Re: Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'

#174

Post by jcims »

Edmond wrote: post #57
jcims wrote: post #24

>Black people make up 13% of the US population, we are naturally in the minority. But in the tech workforce, we are missing. Among the top eight largest tech companies in the land, black people account for only 3.1% of the workforce Just raw extrapolation, this would indicate that (13-3.1)/13 or 76% of black folks in technology are either unemployed or not working in tech. Is that the case? If it is, then laying this…

Not sure where the author got his numbers from but if you read the full article, the author notes that the numbers/percentages themselves can be misleading, because that 3.1% could include the security guard who swipes your badge or some other peripheral role at a technology company. It is also true that Blacks do in fact quit the industry at high rates due to bias treatment; based on the number of computer science a…

Just personal observation but financial and healthcare orgs seem to also have a pretty strong presence of black folks in development/ops/security roles relative to other industries I've worked in.

Re: Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'

#175

Post by komali2 »

SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #166
komali2 wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's patronizing, it's a shitty diversity and inclusion program. Your conversations are the opposite of the ones I've had.

I agree, and I’m absolutely in favor of good diversity programs. It just seems to me that the attitude of “don’t strive to be race blind, always keep yourself aware” consistently leads to bad programs. By far the most bigoted thing I’ve heard at work was in a diversity seminar, where the instructor (a white man) told me (a Hispanic man) that we must make sure to call on Latinas in meetings because they’re not comfort…

That does sound frustrating. That does sound like a shitty D&I program. That is something worth speaking against, I believe.

Isn't there some way to act as an ally to a minority population that doesn't involve patronizing?

Re: Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'

#176

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

komali2 wrote: post #175
SpicyLemonZest wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, and I’m absolutely in favor of good diversity programs. It just seems to me that the attitude of “don’t strive to be race blind, always keep yourself aware” consistently leads to bad programs. By far the most bigoted thing I’ve heard at work was in a diversity seminar, where the instructor (a white man) told me (a Hispanic man) that we must make sure to call on Latinas in meetings because they’re not comfort…

That does sound frustrating. That does sound like a shitty D&I program. That is something worth speaking against, I believe. Isn't there some way to act as an ally to a minority population that doesn't involve patronizing?

Absolutely. I don't tremendously like the framing of "allyship", but there are lots of good diversity-promoting measures that companies should take - one example, we're working on pushing my current company to do an AfroTech sponsorship.

Re: Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'

#177

Post by memling »

komali2 wrote: post #133
numpad0 wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BLM has been creeping towards Asia where I am, and some of those activists are absurdly trying to redefine some Asian views of aesthetics as White admirations that the noble White must responsibly educate to eliminate. To me these ungrounded imaginations are clearly stemming from the idea that some people are objectively not colored and others are colored. I’ve never come across this “POC” term but if it’s not racist…

Lol. The classic "no YOU'RE racist for pointing out race exists!" Deny that black Americans are terrorized by cops. Pretend that people of color is a non concept all you want. It won't change reality. You are aiding a racist status quo when you fight against ally causes like BLM.

it seems to me a rather dangerous precedent to argue that one must ally with blm. after all if you are not a social conservative you are perpetuating an immoral status quo.

of course one might work to end qualified immunity for example or to equalize the education and economic gaps without being a Marxist.

let's not confuse ends and means.

Re: Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'

#178

Post by solzhenitsyn »

o-__-o wrote: post #103

All of these comments and I’m left wondering if I’m the only black person commenting in this thread. I’ve been passed up for promotions, fired, and hired based solely on my color. I keep moving on but y’all it’s been 20 years of this. And it just started getting a little better in the past 3 years but is a total gamble based on where you work. In my current Fortune 500 job, I was hired for my expertise then was moved…

Here's Google's latest diversity report: https://kstatic.googleusercontent.com/files/25badfc6b6d1b33f...

Whites are underrepresented at similar rates as blacks. Asians are overrepresented by 900%.

Re: Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'

#179

Post by anonytrary »

> Black people make up 13% of the US population, we are naturally in the minority. But in the tech workforce, we are missing. Among the top eight largest tech companies in the land, black people account for only 3.1% of the workforce.

I think the right metric to look at is the "percentage of black people who have the necessary degrees or equivalent qualifications". You can't blame companies for the problem if the disproportionality is introduced in the education funnel. In that case, the question that needs to be asked is "why are black people less likely to go into STEM"?

Re: Viewpoint: 'I feel like I was accidentally hired'

#180

Post by searchableguy »

forgot_user1234 wrote: post #148

I am really curious about brown people. How come Indians succeed in tech? Why do we have so many Indians in tech? if it's just the skin colour. Why do Indians in tech rise to the top. P.S. - Before you try to cancel me - I am not trying to start a flame war. I am curious about your explanation.

Split Indians into two categories or maybe three based on - family background (wealth), h1b1 visa and immigrant generation.

I think you might have your answer.

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